Dekkadeci's VGM Piano Transcriptions: Illusion (F-Zero: GP Legend)

[Dekkadeci]

Responses below since I fixed up the Musescore website version of my Multi-Man Melee 1 score:

In the future it would be more convenient if you provided a .mscz or .musicxml file, but if you would rather not then that's ok

• It would be nice to include double barlines before key signature changes

In retrospect, I guess this theme is sectional enough that the double barlines at key signature changes mostly serve a purpose form-wise. The only double barline at a key change I still omitted is the Bar 4-5 one because it's still part of the intro and keys change the fastest there. (The only double barline I put not at a key change is at the start of the solo between Bars 38-39.)

• m1-2 LH there are low F#'s playing here

Added the low notes. I can't seem to hear them at all in the original unless I put the speed at 50% or lower, though, so I kinda originally grouped them with the crowd noise in those measures and didn't include them at first.

• m15/23 RH beat 4.5 lower note sounds like C

Listened to there a bunch and kept hearing that lower note as E flat instead. I did start hearing the lower note of the RH Beat 2.5 in Bar 23 as G, though, so I changed that. I decided to keep Bars 15 and 23 consistent with each other because the Bars 15+ version actually uses sweeps instead (which I don't really feel like making people play).

• m16/24 RH beat 2.5 lower note sounds like Eb; beat 4.5 lower note sounds like C

Good ear for both notes. I changed them accordingly.

• m17 RH beat 2.5 lower note sounds like Ab; beat 4.5 lower note sounds like G

I kept listening to Bar 17, and I kept finding that its RH Beat 2.5 sounded more like it was harmonized with G than A flat. It was hard for me to hear any lower note in Beat 4.5 of both Bar 17 and Bar 25, though, so I switched both to G like you suggested.

• m18 I'm not sure if the 32nd notes really add much, but if you still want to keep that in then you should flip the stems and raise the half rest up to it's default position

I prefer the 32nd notes in Bar 18 and Bar 26 to make differentiating between them easier (just like they're easy enough to differentiate when listening to the original, but only because of those flourishes). Flipped the voices, but I'm now worried that the half rest in its default position will make people play the whole note as if it's a half note instead. Left the stems as-is since the 32nd-note stem direction is what Musescore defaults to and the dotted quarter-note stem looked wrong when pointing up instead of down.

• m20 I'd personally write the fall as a gliss extending to beat 1 of measure 21

Listened to that measure more and found the falls(/glissandos?) actually jumped higher again in Beat 4 of Bar 20.

• m25 RH beat 2.5 lower note sounds like Eb; beat 3 I think it would be better to change the D to C

Good ear for both of those notes. I changed them accordingly.

• m31 RH I don't think this is feasibly playable

Tried playing that passage in thirds and it's a little beyond my skill level, so I removed the inner voice for playability's sake.

• m35-38 LH I think it would be nice if you wrote out the guitar rhythm for one of the A's while keeping the other sustained

Listened to that passage yet again in the original and, as far as I can tell, those low guitar(/bass?) notes in the original really are sustained and are not playing a shorter (e.g. quarter note) rhythm. Are you confusing the low guitar notes with the voices on top (which echo like crazy, which is more apparent at slower speeds)?

• m43-46/51-54 LH why did you exclude the 5ths here?

I just plain don't hear the 5ths there at all, even at slower speeds, unlike the 5ths in the F sharp minor(/major?) solo sections.

[Dekkadeci]

This is my first piano transcription of an orchestral video game theme (that I did completely by ear) - I finally got brave enough!

My transcription of "The Raging Lion Roars" (Leongar's boss theme) from Kirby and the Forgotten Land:
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/7833044

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Several of the notes in this piece may not be accurate (thankfully mostly accompaniment notes). In particular, I am quite unsatisfied with Bars 65-71, as I drastically moved around accompaniment parts in my quest to keep the lowest notes and the sung melody while trying to keep the section remotely playable. I also messed around with the left hand of Bars 31-45 to keep the lowest notes and the highest mid notes of the accompaniment and keep a quarter-note pulse (the pulse is less clear in the original there), and I fleshed out the right hand of Bars 47-62 after finding previous versions too empty.

My goal is to keep this transcription playable by an accomplished pianist without too many difficulties - my aim is to keep this transcription about as difficult as my "Sullied Grace" one and prevent it from becoming as difficult as my transcriptions of Meta Knight's (Kirby Super Star) and/or Morpho Knight's (Kirby Star Allies) themes (cross-rhythms in Meta Knight's theme are hell; the extreme, fast leaps in Morpho Knight's theme are ones I may want to take back). I can actually pull off the extreme leaps in this transcription of "The Raging Lion Roars" at close to full speed, but not accurately.

[Dekkadeci]

Yeah, I'll need some help for this piano transcription, too:

My transcription of "In the Blackest Den" from Beatmania IIDX 19: Lincle:
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/7904087

Beatmania IIDX 19: Lincle

I already had to adjust the lowest notes of Bars 70-76 upwards due to being out of the piano's range in the original(!). I'm not completely confident in the chord contents of this entire transcription, while passages of running 16th notes or faster, along with the lowest right-hand notes, may not be completely accurate. Some left-hand parts have been adjusted from the original in order to make them more interesting (mainly changing straight 8th notes on the same note into broken octaves). Some high notes have been omitted, and the occasional notes corresponding to drum beats have been added.

[Dekkadeci]

Why do I keep needing help for my piano transcriptions? Maybe it's the repertoire I'm arranging?

My transcription of "Morpho Knight" from Kirby and the Forgotten Land:
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/7977413

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

The right hand of this theme was actually fairly easy to transcribe (as long as I purposefully didn't transcribe the quieter, often higher accompaniment parts). The left hand was not. The left hand of Bars 46-53 were particularly rough to transcribe because the ostinato (both versions) no longer reliably plays there. That's where I need some of the most help (I used YouTube at 25% speed, 3 videos, and a bit of guessing there). The chords in Bars 24-25 also may not be completely accurate. Bars 1-2 and the right hand of Bar 13 were purposefully simplified from the original, though, and accompaniment lines were moved around octave-wise (and notes were added for drum beats, etc.).

[LeviR.star]

It's a good thing I made it to the end of the post-game by the time you posted this, but I wasn't quick enough for the "The Raging Lion Roars". I'd better take advantage of my free time today and finally finish off the game.

[Dekkadeci]

Beneath the Duchy's Banner (Bravely Default) should be up sometime later this week.

I know this quote is from 2014, but did you ever finish your arrangement of "Beneath the Duchy's Banner"? I was just starting to consider transcribing this piece, but after seeing that you were nearly done your arrangement, I figured I'd rather listen to yours instead.

I did not. About halfway through the piece, younger me realized that the song was not in 4/4 and didn't feel like changing everything from triplets. If you want it, go ahead.

It's been far too long.

My transcription of "Under the Banner of the Duchy" from Bravely Default:
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/7987193

Bravely Default

I'm using the name of this theme according to the Bravely Default: Flying Fairy Original Soundtrack, which notably does not match names that may be better-known to fans, such as "Below the Duchy's Banner", "Under the Duchy's Banner", and "Beneath the Duchy's Banner". Which name set should we use?

I outright modified the right hand of the second half of Bar 28 from the original to keep both the sustained high F in the melody and the organ-note pulse in the right hand. In other places, chord voicings and octave positions of musical lines may not match the original (especially in the F sharp minor section), the left hand of Bars 39-40 and Bars 47-50 were quite hard to hear and may be especially inaccurate, some high notes have been omitted, and some notes have been added that correspond to drum beats.

This is probably the easiest-to-play piano transcription of video game music I've done all calendar year, hah. Rough drafts of this were reasonably doable on the piano at close to full speed.

[Dekkadeci]

I'd appreciate help for this one, too.

My transcription of "MECHA BEE DESTROYER BLASTLORD" from Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/8190116

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

This transcription - or at least the current version of it - has one of the toughest left-hand parts I've ever put in a transcription in Bars 8-22. I'm barely able to play it myself at full speed, and inaccurately at that. Wondering what the best compromise for that section really is, since I still want to keep the lower melody that comes from Bars 1-8, and putting it one octave lower didn't sound that attractive when I tested that...

Beats 3-3.5 of the bassline of Bar 58 were simplified (there are 4 repeated 16th notes in a row there in the original). The quietest (and often highest) accompaniment lines have also been omitted in places (notable examples - the G minor and C sharp minor sections). Some notes have been added that correspond to drum beats, the bassline may be sketchy in places, some accompaniment notes have been moved around octave-wise...

[Dekkadeci]

This is my first transcription of a song with lyrics!

My transcription of "Fight the Knight" from Sonic and the Black Knight
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/8218667

Sonic and the Black Knight

I simplified all the glissandos in the original to 16th-note runs because I found those glissandos pretty hard to play and pretty unconvincing at the piano. I also skipped some accompaniment notes (generally ones more noticeable in the all-instrumental "strings" version of this boss theme than in this version with lyrics) and added some notes corresponding to drum beats. Accompaniment notes may have had their octave positions adjusted.

[Dekkadeci]

Hey neat, my second ever F-Zero piano transcription!

My transcription of "Illusion" from F-Zero: GP Legend
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/8266481

F-Zero: GP Legend

I still ended up simplifying the right-hand part of Bars 54-61 and pretty much any measure with 32nd notes in Beats 4-4.5 only, omitting some high notes, moving some accompaniment notes around octave-wise to make them easier to play, and adding some other notes that correspond to drum beats.

Note that the only differences music-wise between Bars 10-17 and Bars 54-61 in the original are the presence of a high part and the (slightly different) drumming in the later passage - thus Bars 1-17 being for the left hand only. (Bars 1-19 always somehow have no really low notes in the original, anyway.)