[MUL] Celeste - "First Steps" by PlayfulPiano

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Other
Game: Celeste
Console: Multiplatform
Title: First Steps
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: PlayfulPiano

[attachment deleted by admin]

[PlayfulPiano]

Also, a piano only version:

https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/track/first-steps-piano-only

Hey there, wanted to add a new Celeste arrangement into the NSM mix.

Quick thing to note, and the reasoning why I'm linking both the original audio & the "piano only". Basically, this arrangement is sort of a mix between the former and the latter, by having the main melody of the former, and the left hand accompaniment of the latter.

Probably still needs a lot of work though through feedback fun.

Take care!

[Libera]

This is quite a step up in difficulty from your last arrangement!  Unfortunately with extra difficulty comes more feedback generally, so I'll try to break it up a bit.  There are some things that I think you should go away and have a tinker with, maybe things that you weren't really considering before.

-Dynamics:  At the moment, I think these need another look.  For example, in the opening you have the RH marked as mezzo-forte and then when the slightly louder synth part comes in you have it marked as mezzo-piano?  Another example is the final section that begins at bar 45 which you have marked as fortissimo even though it's significantly quieter than the rest of the piece.  I think I mentioned this on your previous submission, but I'd personally try to avoid giving the left and right hands different dynamics unless the difference is very noticeable; it's surprisingly difficult to bring it out in performance and can often be recreated in other ways (articulations, directions etc.).  To reiterate, these are just examples, not the only instances of problems with dynamics.

-Measure distribution:  This can seem like a minor thing, but it really makes a big difference to how the sheet looks.  Don't just trust finale to get it right (it won't 9 times out of 10).  Focus on making the systems look balanced and even, giving tricky sections (read: lots of notes) more space, and making sure that when something appears multiple times it looks the same each time (or as close to as you can manage.)  Related to this is staff size, and I'd suggest decreasing the staff size that you currently have (6.5mm is what I tend to use) so that you have a bit more space to work with to make the sheet look right.

With regards to notes, nothing stands out to me as brazenly wrong, but I've haven't really checked yet.  (I think you have enough to be focussing on at the moment.)  I'll have more to say when you've given this stuff a go.

[PlayfulPiano]

I've updated the dynamics, but i'm unsure on how to modify staff size (using finale allegro btw). Is it under page layout?

[Libera]

I get to it by using the resize tool and clicking near the staff until I get this box to come up:
You cannot view this attachment..

[PlayfulPiano]

Alright, was able to do that but I'm unsure on how to reposition measures so I can move them into a different system line.

[Libera]

That's alright.  The main way I go about doing it is using fit measures which is brought up by highlighting the measures in question and then pressing ctrl + m.  It's also in the utilities menu.  If you're still having trouble ping me on discord.

[Libera]

Ok, checking properly now.

-General comment about the synth line: some of the notes have shorter lengths than you've notated so I'd suggest using staccatos in some places to get the same sort of feel (e.g. bar 36 I think could do with a staccato on the F#).
-The 21-24 section.  I'm not hearing the D in the second and fourth bar.  I'm guessing you're getting the E in 21 and 23 from another part (which is totally cool to include) but that part is playing exactly the same thing in 22 and 24 so I'd stick an E there as well.  Maybe the four triplet quavers at the end of each bar here could do with tenutos as well to help get the 'lagging' feel that the original has here.
-The 41-44 section.  The first two bars aren't exactly the same as previously: there's now a B in both bars.  Also in 43-44 the top note is an E rather than a D and it sounds like there's a B in the second bar that the D falls onto.  I'd have another look at this section definitely.
-From 61-68 I'd drop the lower line in the right hand.  It seems like an odd place to suddenly increase the difficulty, and more importantly even if someone could play them it's not going to sound how it does in the original or on finale playback (it'd be extremely difficult to make it quiet for one thing.)

I thought this was going to be a massive pain to check but actually the patterns are quite nice and easy to follow.  This is looking a lot better by the way.

[PlayfulPiano]

Updated the submission with Libera's feedback.

[Libera]

We fixed this up on discord.  I approve.

[Latios212]

The margins and some spacing in general were kind of lopsided - fixed that for you to avoid the hassle of passing files back and forth between Finale versions.

Good to go!

[Zeta]

This submission has been accepted by Latios212.

~Zeta, your friendly NSM-Bot