[DELETED] [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions - "This Is Minion Turf!" by WobbliestGem

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Super Mario
Game: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Title: This Is Minion Turf!
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: WobbliestGem

[WobbliestGem]

Here is the original song for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1U4AtODKHE

[Latios212]

Measure 40 and the bits around it aren't really playable by the right hand due to the large gap between the lower and upper layers. This is something that we noticed across your previous submissions as well initially - do you play piano? Do you need any help on how to write a reasonable part for solo piano?

[WobbliestGem]

I do play piano, I've played piano for around 7 years now, but I always struggle when it comes to writing or arranging music, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Latios212]

Gotcha! It really helps if you simply try playing your arrangement yourself. That will give you a sense of how difficult or even impossible something you wrote actually is.

A good rule of thumb is trying to avoid any figure that extends to much more than an octave. An octave is standard to play, ninths can be okay too depending on the person, and tenths are pushing it a bit unless you expect the performer to quickly roll the notes since not everyone has big hands. Also consider how fast the piece is and how difficult different moving layers make it for one hand to play.

For this piece in particular, you should be able to tell that playing the upper and lower layers in m. 40 is not doable with one hand due to the large distance between the upper and lower parts.

[WobbliestGem]

I simplified measures 39-42, I removed the 2nd voicing entirely that way it all flows better instead of only having the notes from the 2nd voicing that can be played in unison with the 1st voicing.

[mastersuperfan]

Sorry for the delay! I just got around to taking a look at this, and long story short, it needs a lot of work. Here's some advice:
- The whole thing should be notated in F major, to start.
- There are a lot of wrong notes and rhythms in the RH melody. Be careful not only with getting the correct pitches, but also with writing the correct note lengths and making sure they're in the right octaves. For instance, this is what the melody in m3-4 RH should look like:

- This is what the RH melody in m27-30 should look like (you started the 8va too early over m30):

- And be careful with your note lengths in m31 RH onwards. Those string notes are held and should be written as such (like half notes or whatever note value is appropriate in each case).
- The above are not an exhaustive list, but just some examples. I would recommend going back and looking at the whole RH from start to finish.
- There are also harmonies under the RH melody in most places, like the ones I included in the first screenshot. I didn't write them in the second screenshot, but they're there, as well as throughout most of the piece. It'd be great if you could write these in.
- I'd try to stick to a more consistent LH pattern the whole way through. Based on the original track, I'd suggest having the LH play the bassline on each beat (beats 1, 2, 3, 4) and a dyad on the "ands" (beats 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5). Basically what you have in m1-2 LH, but just write the LH that way throughout the entire track (except for obvious places where it changes, like m54/56).
- Also, the whole sheet should be written in F major.

I know this is a lot—I'm essentially asking you to go through the whole sheet again and rework both the RH and LH. If you haven't already, I'd suggest using AudioStretch, which lets you slow down the audio and shift it up/down an octave to hear the notes more easily. Here's a guide to using it: https://www.ninsheetmusic.org/forum/index.php?topic=11175.0

Also, this is a really difficult track where a lot of the parts are blurry and not easy to hear. If you try using AudioStretch and continue to have a hard time picking out the notes, there's no shame in trying easier tracks instead.

[WobbliestGem]

No need to worry about the delay, it actually gave me some time to work on some side projects. Also, I think that I'm going to take your advice and try an easier piece, since I've tried a software similar to AudioStretch and still had a lot of trouble.