[GB] Mega Man V - "Saturn Stage" by instrumaster56

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Mega Man
Game: Mega Man V
Console: Game Boy
Title: Saturn Stage
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: instrumaster56

[instrumaster56]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS3PmtiKe24

[XiaoMigros]

Is this your first submission? This is looking really solid!

• The rest in m24 beat 1 RH should be moved up 1 sp
• the sets of two tied quarter notes in m25-26 can be written as half notes
• Is the last measure your own original ending? If so, it should be labeled as such ("Optional ending", 14pt/bold, above the top staff). Also, for clarity, the time signature should be restated here: Would 4/4 perhaps make more sense? And filling the duration of the measure as well
• You currently have 5 systems on page 1 and 4 on page 2. I think 4 and 5 respectively would be better, since the title texts take up more space on page 1. Doing so frees up some space to move the composer and arranger texts further down too
• Your tempo marking would best be updated to match our new guidelines (Notehead: MaestroTimes, 16pt, symbol Œ; = and number: Times New Roman, 12pt/regular)

Let me know if anything is unclear or you'd like further assistance!

[instrumaster56]

Is this your first submission? This is looking really solid!

• The rest in m24 beat 1 RH should be moved up 1 sp
• the sets of two tied quarter notes in m25-26 can be written as half notes
• Is the last measure your own original ending? If so, it should be labeled as such ("Optional ending", 14pt/bold, above the top staff). Also, for clarity, the time signature should be restated here: Would 4/4 perhaps make more sense? And filling the duration of the measure as well
• You currently have 5 systems on page 1 and 4 on page 2. I think 4 and 5 respectively would be better, since the title texts take up more space on page 1. Doing so frees up some space to move the composer and arranger texts further down too
• Your tempo marking would best be updated to match our new guidelines (Notehead: MaestroTimes, 16pt, symbol Œ; = and number: Times New Roman, 12pt/regular)

Let me know if anything is unclear or you'd like further assistance!

Hello, thank you for all of the feedback. I just updated my submission with the suggested changes.
This is my first submission. I've been a huge fan of the site for a long time, so I'm happy to finally be able to submit a sheet!

[XiaoMigros]

That's great to hear! There's a few more things that caught my eye:

• For m11-m24, is the idea that the pedal is held down continuously? If not, you could write "con pedale" at m11 and "senza pedale" at m25, 12pt/italic, below the staff.
• For the "Optional ending" text, make sure 'fixed size' is unchecked, or it will be huge..

Thanks for the swift response

[instrumaster56]

That's great to hear! There's a few more things that caught my eye:

• For m11-m24, is the idea that the pedal is held down continuously? If not, you could write "con pedale" at m11 and "senza pedale" at m25, 12pt/italic, below the staff.
• For the "Optional ending" text, make sure 'fixed size' is unchecked, or it will be huge..

Thanks for the swift response

Thanks, I'm always unsure about pedal markings since I'm not a pianist. Fixed!

[XiaoMigros]

Wait nevermind, I think the issue with the ending text size can be resolved by adding it through the expression tool instead of the text tool (I found it at the bottom of the first page). Then it will look like below:
You cannot view this attachment.

I also repositioned the second repeat ending to align it to the barline rather than the time signature.

[instrumaster56]

Wait nevermind, I think the issue with the ending text size can be resolved by adding it through the expression tool instead of the text tool (I found it at the bottom of the first page). Then it will look like below:
You cannot view this attachment.

I also repositioned the second repeat ending to align it to the barline rather than the time signature.

Yes, that looks much better.
I don't exactly understand what the issue with the text is. Could you explain it?

[XiaoMigros]

The issue is, from what I can tell, that when you add text with the text tool, Finale doesn't adapt its size to the music, which can range from super small staves (e.g. orchestral writing) to larger ones like Piano. Using the expression tool however resizes it fittingly, which is why it looks more suitable now

Thanks for the edits and congrats on your first approved sheet!

[Latios212]

Welcome to NinSheetMusic! Awesome first submission you have here, things look great

Some feedback before we wrap up this one:
- For the left hand 16th note groups in m. 3-10, the fourth note in each is too high. That's to say it should be F-G-Ab-Bb and Eb-F-G-Ab in the respective measures.
- On beat 4 of m. 10, the left hand descends G-F-Eb (matching the rhythm of the right hand) instead of repeating the Eb as in previous measures
- The Bb notes in the left hand of m. 15-16 should be Cb instead
- The tied Bb-Db dyad in m. 17 could be written more simply as a quarter note
- I'm hearing the first three 16th notes of m. 18 as Ab-C-F instead of C-Eb-F
- I hear the bass in m. 25-27 as this instead:
You cannot view this attachment.

Also, one thing that doesn't really affect how this is read/played but I think it might be a bit nicer - for m. 12-24 you have pedal notated but I think it'd make sense to fill in all the rests (i.e. with longer/tied notes) since the rests visually imply a kind of detached sound.

[instrumaster56]

Welcome to NinSheetMusic! Awesome first submission you have here, things look great

Some feedback before we wrap up this one:
- For the left hand 16th note groups in m. 3-10, the fourth note in each is too high. That's to say it should be F-G-Ab-Bb and Eb-F-G-Ab in the respective measures.
- On beat 4 of m. 10, the left hand descends G-F-Eb (matching the rhythm of the right hand) instead of repeating the Eb as in previous measures
- The Bb notes in the left hand of m. 15-16 should be Cb instead
- The tied Bb-Db dyad in m. 17 could be written more simply as a quarter note
- I'm hearing the first three 16th notes of m. 18 as Ab-C-F instead of C-Eb-F
- I hear the bass in m. 25-27 as this instead:

Also, one thing that doesn't really affect how this is read/played but I think it might be a bit nicer - for m. 12-24 you have pedal notated but I think it'd make sense to fill in all the rests (i.e. with longer/tied notes) since the rests visually imply a kind of detached sound.

You're right. Great catches! I reviewed it again and caught a few more errors.
I'm thinking the last three notes of measures 15-16 and 23-24 are Ab-Bb-Db rather than Ab-Cb-Db, but it's hard for me to tell. Could you double-check that?

[Latios212]

You're right. Great catches! I reviewed it again and caught a few more errors.

Thanks for making fixes! Was there anything else other than things I mentioned? Just to confirm that any additional changes made were correct.

A couple of last things before we wrap up this one:

for m. 12-24 you have pedal notated but I think it'd make sense to fill in all the rests

Make sure beats 3.75-4 are tied too

I'm thinking the last three notes of measures 15-16 and 23-24 are Ab-Bb-Db rather than Ab-Cb-Db, but it's hard for me to tell. Could you double-check that?

I am quite sure that these are Cb, yep. It matches the pattern for the rest of the section. I'd also suggest using AudioStretch to be sure yourself if you haven't used something like that yet!

- I hear the bass in m. 25-27 as this instead:

I'm pretty sure the bass Eb is not restruck at the beginning of m. 25 and 26 either.

[instrumaster56]

Thanks for making fixes! Was there anything else other than things I mentioned? Just to confirm that any additional changes made were correct.

Regarding my previous revisions, I noticed that there was a missing low F in measure 18 RH on beat 3.

Make sure beats 3.75-4 are tied too

It is hard to hear, but I believe the pitches on beats 2 and 4 are restruck. I'm going to tie them anyway, for playability.

I also just remembered that the mGBA emulator actually has a feature which lets you mute individual channels. So I was able to isolate each channel and play them slowly to make sure everything is 100% accurate, and I caught even more errors with this method. I think I should make a post about it, since it's a really useful tool.
- The second channel has a sustained Ab in measure 1. There is also a C in measure 2, but I omitted it for the sake of playability.
- I fixed the LH in measure 2. This version is a lot less satisfying, but it is accurate.
- In measures 3-9, I missed the pitch on the & of 4 in the second channel. I think this is more important than the pedal F/Eb in the bass, so I replaced it.
- In measure 18, the F-Ab-C-F arpeggio is repeated on beat 4, but it has been omitted for playability.
- The Eb in measures 25 and 26 are definitely restruck -- it is hard to hear because there's not much decay on the notes, but, after isolating it, I can say for sure that it is rearticulated.

After carefully listening and playing back with each channel multiple times, I'm quite certain that this version is accurate. If there is anything else that needs to be changed, please let me know.

[Latios212]

The changes look good, thank you for your attention to detail! No complaints about the restruck Eb's near the end since it sounds better like this anyway.

I think I just have one last suggestion to make about measure 2. It may be accurate, but there's a lot of awkward overlap between the two hands and it's not super clear to the performer what to do - you could omit the parenthesized notes but the overlapping G and Ab notes on beat 2.5-2.75 are really awkward.

Would you consider cutting some notes to prioritize one voice that makes sense to you? Listening to the original at full speed, this is what sticks out to me and seems most pianistic to write, although you may feel differently.

[instrumaster56]

I think I just have one last suggestion to make about measure 2. It may be accurate, but there's a lot of awkward overlap between the two hands and it's not super clear to the performer what to do - you could omit the parenthesized notes but the overlapping G and Ab notes on beat 2.5-2.75 are really awkward.

I agree, that makes a lot of sense. The solution I decided on was similar to yours, except I kept the C-Db-C in the RH. I also moved the Ab in measure 1 to the LH for better fingering.
Thank you so much for all of your help and feedback!