[SNES] Kirby Super Star - "Marx's Theme" (Replacement) by Latios212

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Kirby
Game: Kirby Super Star
Console: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Title: Marx's Theme
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: Latios212


Replacement Information:
Links to Existing Sheet: MUS | MIDI | PDF
Replacement Type: Challenge (new arranger)

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[Latios212]

One of the most iconic themes on site that still (very badly) needs a replacement! Meant to finish this a while ago, but never got around to finishing it until I dusted off the 6-month old file over the past day or two.

Note: think I got most of the chord spellings right and courtesy accidentals placed to go along with them, but would like a look at m. 18-19 in particular

[Tobbeh99]

I'm posting my post on your arrangement board here as well, in case you or someone cares.

Cool arrangement. If it was me I'd make those time signatures half the beat, aka. 8th notes. So time signatures in the first few measures:

(intro) 2x 4/4
M.5 7/8, 6/8 (or 3/4) 9/8, 6/8
M.14 2x 5/8, 4x 3/8
M.20 4x 3/8 (or 2x 6/8), 2x 5/8, 2x 6/8
M.30 2x 5/8, 6/8, 5/8, 4x 6/8

I sort of thought about what time signature would fit this song best. I think the way I went with might be good. But I think your is easier to read. I don't know how good mine is. I just feel like measure 5 might be 7/8, and some other measures like 26 feel more like a 6/8. But y.
Also I kind of feel the pulse as slower (half the speed), and therefore feel the 7/8 and so forth. You could have that tempo, I'd prefer it half the tempo, but it's up to you. Both works I think. (although it might be a good idea to keep it with your tempo if you want it to have a more frantic and fast feeling, then it work very well).

[LeviR.star]

Just my two cents, but shouldn't we keep the arrangement either fully simple or fully compound time? It seems to me, Tobbeh, you're trying to make the number of measures as short as possible by compiling the beats into larger measures, and you seem comfortable switching back and forth from simple to compound time, but Latios has his sheet entirely in simple time, and the time signature changes less frequently with the way he has it set up.

Call it just my opinion, but I think the way it is right now is perfectly fine and to change it would just make the song harder to count and more complicated than it needs to be.

[Tobbeh99]

Y it does look a bit simpler the way he has it.

just my two cents, but shouldn't we keep the arrangement either fully simple or fully compound time?

Don't know. We could. I just gave my opinion on the time signatures. I like counting in slower beats, so that's why.

[Latios212]

Yeah, I'll be sticking with the way it is due to the reasons mentioned above - besides the fittingly frantic tempo, I find it a lot easier to count the beats in this song as quarter notes. You can take a look here to see what the rhythm looks written like you suggested, and there are some areas that I think are considerably trickier to read, particularly when the bass is syncopated and when the right hand plays the faster notes.

Thanks for taking a look!

[Static]

Looks great. I've seen several ways to spell out the time signatures (like going by chord changes or something like that), but I think what you have is the simplest and clearest. Accidentals are also good. Places like m14-15 are a little weird and would be fine with either sharps or flats I think, but yeah it's all fine as you have it.

One thing I would consider is adding a piano marking to the echoed parts in m31 and 34.
Also since the dotted quarter rest is hidden in m46, you should flip those last couple 8th notes down.

[Latios212]

Cool, thanks for checking it over.

One thing I would consider is adding a piano marking to the echoed parts in m31 and 34.

Ah yeah. I added mp markings for those. Thanks for the suggestion - much clearer now!

Also since the dotted quarter rest is hidden in m46, you should flip those last couple 8th notes down.

I think I'd like to keep it as is because I think it'd look even more odd with those flipped downwards, what with the second beat still being flipped up.

Files updated!

[Static]

Looks good to me. It does look weird with those 8th notes flipped down, I agree, so yeah, keeping it is fine.

[Maelstrom]

One issue I have with it:
m30-37 LH - I'm pretty sure those tied notes restrike on b3 rather than being tied.

[Latios212]

Just listened closely both at reduced speed and raised an octave, and I'm pretty sure they don't.

[LeviR.star]

Just listened closely both at reduced speed and raised an octave, and I'm pretty sure they don't.

I'm leaning closer to Latios on this one, but my concern is for the 16ths in m. 30, 32 & 35. I get that they're part of the all-important melody, and that use of them is very limited, but this is still at 187 bpm, and I don't think any performer is going to be able to get them right with human hands. Is there anything you'd like to try to make that part of the melody easier to play?

[Maelstrom]

I'll concede on my point.
Personally, I think it's playable, as I was able  to nearly play that with my sucky piano skills.

[Latios212]

Thanks for the concern! I agree it's approaching an unreasonable ask, but I think that it's in a reasonable enough context - they only occur a couple times around parts where the hand is already not moving around, so I feel you can kind of pound it out quickly enough to get by if you're playing near tempo (which is already pretty difficult).

The performer could always do this (or omit the G on beat 2 as well) -
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but I'd rather leave the original intent there and have the performer decide.

[Libera]

If you want my take, I'm with Levi on this one.  They can ... sort of be played, but this:
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sounds practically identical and is 10 times easier to play.