[NDS] Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky - "Limestone Cavern" by InsigTurtle

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Pokémon
Game: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky
Console: Nintendo DS
Title: Limestone Cavern
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: InsigTurtle

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[InsigTurtle]

Something simple.

The lower voice parts are in unison with the music box part, and I didn't want to mess around with any transposition for this guy.

[Tobbeh99]

God Job but... lot's of harmony-notes missing . I recommend revisiting the arrangement and check every note and identifying the harmony, because as of now the arrangement sounds too empty. 

[InsigTurtle]

Oh, those were the aforementioned voices that were in unison with the music box part. I used the pedal to emulate those instruments since I didn't want to move the parts around. I guess I could write out the full chord in the music box first, but since people have a tendency to sound the upper notes a lot louder, I decided not to do that. I used the accents in the lower part to demonstrate the slightly different way the voice comes in.

[Tobbeh99]

Emm no, I am talking about the strings and the choir. I believe there are missing notes in the strings and the choir.

[InsigTurtle]

No, that's what I'm talking about too. It's the same chord that the music box plays.

[Bespinben]

The choir is unison with the music box all the time, except for m. 33-44, in which it is an octave higher.

I would like to see the choir incorporated because, although the harmony is intact, the texture suffers from its omission. I propose the following adjustments:

[MUSX]

1.) Transpose an octave lower the choir, and sustain with pedal
2.) The descant-like melody doesn't bring the same richness on the piano as a single note, so octave double it.
3.) Formatting stuff -- Remember PMD2 has 5 composers. Also, you'll notice I halved all the note values.


This here is another example of tasteful octave registration. Transposing the reeded instrument (oboe?) an octave lower helps the voice contrast with the previous string section melody. You'll also notice that there's no choir line in the LH (because it drops out in the OST here).

[InsigTurtle]

Hmm, I was really hoping to make this one a lot more accessible, even if it meant sacrificing texture, but I guess I'll make the changes tomorrow.

Just wondering, after the first few measures, the choir plays (or sings, I guess) 'held' broken chords (I forgot the proper name) instead of blocked chords, so why did you notate it the same way as the beginning?

[Bespinben]

While I certainly do respect authorial intention (c.f. Ace Attorney "Prologue" by SlowPokemon), Latios and I both agree adding the choir as a 2nd layer doesn't add any undue difficulty. It does look bulkier on paper, but on the keys it's nearly the same. Thanks for being open about it!

Just wondering, after the first few measures, the choir plays (or sings, I guess) 'held' broken chords (I forgot the proper name) instead of blocked chords, so why did you notate it the same way as the beginning?

This is one of one of those weird instances where being "exact" about a transcription makes it ironically less like the original. This is how that passage and the following ones would turn out if we broke up the choral voices (which I moved to layer 1 for the sake of notation):


See how this texture is markedly opposed to the spirit of the original? (This discrepancy is in part due to the fact we moved the choir voices down an octave)

[Bespinben]

I guess I'll make the changes tomorrow.

I anxiously await its arrival!

[InsigTurtle]

here we ho.
just wondering, why did you respell that first chord? i originally thought it was a C7b5 2nd inversion, but i guess you think otherwise? i don't think it has anything to do with tonality either?

[flygon9]

If no one minds my intruding- While my opinion may be uninformed, shouldn't it be written in 8/8 instead of 4/4? Yes, I'm aware that its pretty much the same thing, but I feel as if there's too much movement with the sixteenth notes for it to be in 4/4.

[Tobbeh99]

If no one minds my intruding- While my opinion may be uninformed, shouldn't it be written in 8/8 instead of 4/4? Yes, I'm aware that its pretty much the same thing, but I feel as if there's too much movement with the sixteenth notes for it to be in 4/4.

No. I don't know if you this but 8/8 commonly refers to the irregular meter(3+3+2, 3+2+3 or 2+3+3) and this song does clearly not group the notes in any such way.

[flygon9]

True, I have seen 8/8 used that way many times. However, I've also seen it used as a very slow 4/4- kinda like the opposite of 2/2, which is a fast 4/4.

[InsigTurtle]

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