Thanks for five years!

[Latios212]

Hi!

Today marks five years since I first introduced myself here after lurking around! Five years ago, the name Latios212 meant nothing to anyone as this moniker was nothing more than a failed attempt at coming up with a decent username after deciding to join the forums on the spur of the moment. Little did I know it would really... need to stick. No regrets though!

In the year and a half or so before signing up, I had been trying out video game sheet music on the piano from all over the internet. I found a lot of stuff. But nowhere else did I find such an extensive and accessible collection of piano sheet music, even if the quality was... questionable at times. Slowly becoming acquainted with good and bad sheets (as I didn't know what the heck I was looking for when I started out) made me more curious about the creation process and how people were able to make such things - I'd never had any experience trying to transcribe, arrange, or compose before. I popped over to peek at the forums for a month or two to see what was going on, and decided to join - just to have some sort of interaction with some arrangers to learn about what they did and potentially offer some feedback from a performer's standpoint. (There was one arranger in particular I had been keeping an eye on - you can probably guess...)

So I joined, and was immediately welcomed and told by people that arranging was fun and I should give it a shot! I figured "sure why not lol". My first few attempts at getting something down were not great, but the community was incredibly helpful and I took small but steady steps under the guidance of a few fellow arrangers in particular. I enjoyed working on sheets and started doing more and more arranging and reviewing... and here we are today. I really learned a lot from so many people during my time here - about transcribing, arranging, being inventive, performing, music theory, and so on. I can only hope that I can serve as an inspiration to other younger members like so many of you did for me.

The site, too, has grown by leaps and bounds since five years ago. We've added a couple thousand sheets which is no small feat especially considering that our quality bar has also continued to improve. There's a lot more to do in terms of new improvements for the site and replacements for old sheets, but taking a step back really shows how far we've come and how much potential we still have for growth.

Thank you all for your support these past five years! For teaching me how to make sheets. For caring about quality. For surprising me with what the piano can do. For helping the site run. For being my friends.

And above all, thanks for making my time here a blast - I'm not going anywhere anytime soon

[Th3Gavst3r]

Congratulations Latios! I'm glad to have been around for most of these five years, and I'm consistently amazed by all you do. Never stop being you

[Bespinben]

good vibes here : ) : ) : ) proud of you

[Static]

Hey, congratulations! It's been a pleasure knowing you (and eventually working with you) for a good chunk of those 5 years. You mentioned your first experiences here being helped by a welcoming community as you learn to make quality sheets... thanks for being one of those people to me as I continue to learn here!

[The Deku Trombonist]

Congrats Lat! You've come a long way in those 5 years. Keep it up!

attempt at coming up with a decent username

it's probably harder than making sheets

[Code_Name_Geek]

Congrats on five years Latios! I can only speak for myself but I think you've achieved your goal of being one of many sources of inspiration for younger arrangers like me. Thanks for all that you do