WiiMan96's Arrangements | Added Trine "Main Theme" 23rd January '12

[The Deku Trombonist]

Yes! I love Spyro music. Also, we should so do that Title Screen duet you suggested like last year 

[WiiMan96]

Spyro's soundtrack has always been one of my faves.

YES! Y'know, in my excitement, I'ma go figure out those pounding guitar chords in the beginning right now.

EDIT: Thank god it started on a C, I might've been there for a while.

C - F - G - Bb -- is the chord progression in the beginning.

[WiiMan96]

What I've done of Magic Crafter's Home so far...

[PS1] Spyro the Dragon - "Magic Crafter's Home" - WiiMan96 (incomplete)
MUS

Any help and/or comments up to this point would be greatly appreciated!

[The Deku Trombonist]

I had a whole nice post typed up but then the forum died on me and now I'm annoyed so I'm just going to post dot points.

I'm not quite sure why there are staccatos in the left hand. I personally think it would be better without them seeing as piano doesn't resonate as well by itself as the combination of instruments does in the soundtrack.

Right hand:

• Measure 1,3,5,7 - Chords are F/E/C and F/C
• Measure 25-32 switch the layers around. Layer 2 should have bottom notes.
• Measure 30 - tie in quavers in top line should be between 4th and 5th quavers instead.
• Measures 27-28 bottom line should have all dotted crotchets with notes E-F#-G-E

Left Hand:

• Measure 1 should be C-D-F
• Measure 2 1st note is D
• etc etc until Measure 16. Incorporate the above into what you have currently. The rhythms are all correct btw.
• Measure 26 1st note is E
• Measure 27 - Last 2 quavers are E then A descending
• Measure 31 - D-E-G ascending
• Measure 32 - First note is E

[WiiMan96]

Wow. Thank you so much for all this. Everything fix'd, I think.

It's amazing how parts I was confident with ended up being completely wrong, and others which I doubted ended up either being correct or incredibly close. All part of the learning process, I guess.

Thanks again. (seeing as I'm not capable of providing this much in return all I can really do is repeatedly thank you ) Updated to reflect changes here.

[The Deku Trombonist]

Whoops, forgot to mention one thing. When you have a key change, put a double bar line (Right click on bar->Barline->Double).

Once you get the hang of it, transcribing is really fun and rewarding. Especially when you finally work out some strange chord or weird rhythm that you've been struggling with for ages.

[WiiMan96]

Whoops, forgot to mention one thing. When you have a key change, put a double bar line (Right click on bar->Barline->Double).

Fix'd, but link not yet updated. Once I figure out the maze that is the next section of the piece I'll fix.

Once you get the hang of it, transcribing is really fun and rewarding. Especially when you finally work out some strange chord or weird rhythm that you've been struggling with for ages.

What's amazing is I'm already finding it rewarding, regardless of how terribly I'm doing. I guess I have you to thank though.

So thanks!




New arrangement! Please post thoughts and improvements if you can!

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

• Battle Win - MUS

[The Deku Trombonist]

You know you can reposition your staves to un-squash the top bit? Click the page layout tool on the top right of the tool bar stuff. It's the one that looks like two pages overlapping each other. Using that you can drag staves around also set a number of staves per pages if you go to "Space Systems Evenly" in the menu.

Just a couple of quick things for this one:
Pedal Markings go under the left hand.
Is it realistic to expect someone to hold that A in measure 2 while playing the triplets underneath?
Same with the D in Measure 3
The two minims with staccatos on them could be re-written as crotchets followed by crotchet rests.
A similar thing perhaps with the dotted crotchet in measure 4 but that's not really an issue. More just something to think about and to keep in mind whenever writing notes with staccatos.
Perhaps the last right hand chord could be written up an octave? You'd have to sit down and work out how playable it'd be though, I dunno.

[WiiMan96]

You know you can reposition your staves to un-squash the top bit? Click the page layout tool on the top right of the tool bar stuff. It's the one that looks like two pages overlapping each other. Using that you can drag staves around also set a number of staves per pages if you go to "Space Systems Evenly" in the menu.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

Pedal Markings go under the left hand.
The two minims with staccatos on them could be re-written as crotchets followed by crotchet rests.

Fixed.

Is it realistic to expect someone to hold that A in measure 2 while playing the triplets underneath?
Same with the D in Measure 3

The Measure 2 one I simply thought would be ignored because of the pedal marking. Measure 3 was just laziness on my part. I'll be more specific about those things later on.

A similar thing perhaps with the dotted crotchet in measure 4 but that's not really an issue. More just something to think about and to keep in mind whenever writing notes with staccatos.

Upon listening again, I'm fairly certain it is staccato. Or, at least, it should be played as so on the piano. But I will be less liberal with my staccatos.

Perhaps the last right hand chord could be written up an octave? You'd have to sit down and work out how playable it'd be though, I dunno.

I think there might be a D or two higher in the register but it is fairly unplayable and the chord below I think is adequate.


Thanks for this, all updated.

[The Deku Trombonist]

Upon listening again, I'm fairly certain it is staccato. Or, at least, it should be played as so on the piano. But I will be less liberal with my staccatos.

Woooaahhh! No! That's not what I meant. You can't be too liberal with articulations. Following articulations when playing is what gives a piece it's style and feel.

I meant whenever you use staccatos you have to consider whether it looks tidier or makes more sense by just writing a shorter note value or vice versa. For example, if you're going to have a semiquaver followed by a semiquaver rest, for the sake of tidiness, you're better off writing it as a staccato quaver. And then there's the flipside which is what you did with the two staccato minims.

I think there might be a D or two higher in the register but it is fairly unplayable and the chord below I think is adequate.

Yeah, I had a feeling it might turn out to be unplayable.

The Measure 2 one I simply thought would be ignored because of the pedal marking.

Nope. If you write that a person should hold an A throught, then they should hold an A throughout, irrespective of what's going on with the pedal, even if it kills them (well, perhaps not the last bit).


I'ma suggest you move all notes in the first 2 Measures onto the first layer, it looks a whole lot tidier, and it doesn't make too much sense currently seeing as the notes all line up perfectly rhythm-wise.

[WiiMan96]

Woooaahhh! No! That's not what I meant. You can't be too liberal with articulations. Following articulations when playing is what gives a piece it's style and feel.

I meant whenever you use staccatos you have to consider whether it looks tidier or makes more sense by just writing a shorter note value or vice versa. For example, if you're going to have a semiquaver followed by a semiquaver rest, for the sake of tidiness, you're better off writing it as a staccato quaver. And then there's the flipside which is what you did with the two staccato minims.

Alrighty then. I'm thinking a loose rule to follow is to be more wiling to apply staccato for shorter note values, and chop the notes up for the long ones. I can see how staccato doesn't make too much sense on a minim note.

Nope. If you write that a person should hold an A throught, then they should hold an A throughout, irrespective of what's going on with the pedal, even if it kills them (well, perhaps not the last bit).

I guess I was accustoming to my needs; I'm not that great at performing so often I take shortcuts like that.

I'ma suggest you move all notes in the first 2 Measures onto the first layer, it looks a whole lot tidier, and it doesn't make too much sense currently seeing as the notes all line up perfectly rhythm-wise.

Sorry, the last update was in a rush and I didn't look for other corrections than the ones listed.




Erm... sorry, I've been noticing I've been saying "thank you" more than once in every reply to your help, Deku. Is it alright if we make some kind of assumption where me saying thank-you is a given?

...

It doesn't feel quite right. Thank you. 

Arrangement updated again. Hoping this is the last time.

Also, Deku, I forgot to ask last post but are all my notes correct? Pitch-wise? Because it would be one helluva breakthrough for me if they were.

[The Deku Trombonist]

Bah, don't bother with the thankyous. Oh yeah, the notes are fine.

EDIT: Feel free to whack it in the empty update topic it would be nice to have someone post something there lol

[WiiMan96]

Thanks!

I just completed Spyro's Magic Crafter's Home. My first full song arranged by ear... *slow clap*

[PS1] Spyro the Dragon

• Magic Crafter's Home

Thoughts, corrections and telling-me-I'm-wrongs are appreciated!

[The Deku Trombonist]

I reckon it's good. *slightly faster clap* 

One thing, and it's just a layout thing. I try and put most things in one layer when possible. For example in 33-34 & 39-40 both layers line up perfectly rhythm-wise so why not put them in one layer? 

[WiiMan96]

The only reason I'm hesitant to merge those specific measures into one layer is for the sake of continuity. For me, having the parts conjoined in some measures and separate in others just doesn't seem right. Personally I would prefer to keep the layer 2 going for that entire section rather than breaking it up, but I can always change it if it is a problem.