[Wii] Super Mario Galaxy 2 - "Starship Mario 1" (Replacement) by Sebastian

[Bespinben]

Just look at any string player when they play pizzicato. It may not resonant very long, but until the person actually lets go of the string, it's definitely being held. Seb plays cello, so he can attest.

[Maelstrom]

Thanks.

[Sebastian]

Just look at any string player when they play pizzicato. It may not resonant very long, but until the person actually lets go of the string, it's definitely being held. Seb plays cello, so he can attest.

This.
Even after you let go of the string, it still vibrates for a little bit. So it's definitely being played for longer than I have notated.
Also, I don't think I've ever seen staccatos on pizzicato notes; but, alas, this is a piano solo.

[Bespinben]

Also, if Seb feels his "pianistic" approach better expresses the composition than strict MIDI-like transcription, then I'm all for it

Reasoning:

Spoiler

"...the attempt to make a useful object equally usable for a variety of purposes is usually the way to spoil it completely."
~Arnold Schoenberg

Spoken in the context of piano reductions, I have come to believe that making a pure, computer replica-esque piano reproduction of a song "spoils it completely". I do certainly aim for the highest degree of faithfulness, no doubt, but when push comes to shove, if a song has a bunch of long sustained tones with a really driving percussive rhythm, I'm going to make a accompaniment that reflects the timbre of the percussion using the tones spelled out in the chords (ex: "Primal Dialga", PMD2 "Ending Theme", Pokémon Ranger "Title Theme", etc.), even if not necessarily given in the OST. In the end, I feel like this approach actually produces a MORE accurate piano arrangement than by the "strict" approach.

A similar scenario from other people's sheets: stellarlight24's "Kracko"


Okay, so I think "let's incorporate the rhythm of the high RH ostinato into the notes of the current LH chords, and make that the new right hand part, and then write in the omitted bass:



She likes it! But then...
We have this idea of changing ANYTHING from the original somehow makes it less faithful, somehow less worthy of the title "transcription", but I would like to challenge this notion.

[close]

[Maelstrom]

Uhh, Ben?
Did you look at the two versions first?
It's not really a matter of which is more pianistic

I'm fine with interpretive things that let you add in more voices and stuff, but the harp was nearly strictly chromatic and Seb's version was anything but. In fact, it hit the highest note of the scale a few beats to early.

[Sebastian]

If you want to get literal, here is the most accurate:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1dsh6hop02k0neq/Super%20Mario%20Galaxy%202%20-%20Starship%20Mario.musx?dl=1

I admit. How I had it wasn't too faithful to the original since I thought mine was "cool".....but I guess we don't do that here >.<

Also, if Seb feels his "pianistic" approach better expresses the composition than strict MIDI-like transcription, then I'm all for it

^

[Maelstrom]

That's not to say we don't allow for interpretive stuff here. We do, and encourage it. We draw the line where it becomes quite different from the original. This is most common on clear-cut songs. Creative freedom should be used when needed, but not on clear-cut scales.

Btw, you probably want to change that dotted half to a whole note.

[Sebastian]

So which did we decide on?

[daj]

Errm guys? Let's turn off the heat a little maybe?
Hehe.

Anyway, I saw a music debate, so you know. I spent my precious mobile data actually listening to the youtube track, and now I'm pretty sure of what goes on in that sacred bar.

I'm holding my stand at the point around halfway to Maelstrom's idea.

but the harp was nearly strictly chromatic and Seb's version was anything but. In fact, it hit the highest note of the scale a few beats to early.

No and yes! ^^ The harp is never chromatic because it just can't be (harps are tuned to diatonic scales usually). But yes, Seb's version did hit the highest note too early. It should be almost square on the third beat~

Creative freedom should be used when needed, but not on clear-cut scales.

What I heard was a dominant seventh arpeggio leading up to a high A, which comes down in a diatonic F major gliss. So, yes, Seb's version did stray off the original quite a bit.

That being said, you can't do an F major gliss on the piano (plus it sounds like shite if you wanted the sound of a harp), and an F major scale at a harp gliss speed is tough even if you use two hands unless you're Prokofiev. Or Shostakovich. Or better than they were. And btw, they were angry Russians. *runs*

I would keep the flourish idea (not note-perfect though) in the first half of the bar as it is, definitely. But for this to be effective it shouldn't start on the first beat of the bar - in fact maybe leave an eighth rest before you fade in with the dominant seventh arpeggio. Let it somehow end up on a high A at the third beat, then descend on a A-E-C-Bb pattern (because that's a little ambiguous-ish). The closest example I can think of it Liszt's Rigoletto Paraphrase, which spams this fun little figure around the middle of the introduction.

If you don't get it I'll definitely try scoring it out...once I get access to a computer. But do consider ^^

Also, music is fun! Salt is not. Let's be fun people! ^^

[Sebastian]

Errm guys? Let's turn off the heat a little maybe?

I didn't know the heat was turned on

Also, Ben and I have been working on this via skype. We should be done shortly.

[daj]

I didn't know the heat was turned on

Eep. Weeellllll then.

Also, Ben and I have been working on this via skype. We should be done shortly.

Great to hear this though! ^^ Hope to see the final soon so i can promptly devour it and wash it down in flames nah just kidding i wanna play it

[Bespinben]

This is how you typeset music:
[MUS] [MIDI] [PDF] [MUSX]

Notice that the only actual music edits were on the harp gliss (m. 3, as per dajwxp), and raising the bass line in m. 8+ up an octave (as per Deku). Everything else is strictly in the realm of engraving -- layer management, beaming, stem direction, system spacing, measure distribution, white-space optimization, etc. Focus on the things that matter (visually), and you will get this result every time. Assessing the arrangement/music itself can be helpful to some, but, as a sheet music site, what matters most is facilitating communication between arranger and performer through highly polished musical typesetting.

[Tobbeh99]

^^

That looks really nice Ben. Though in M.3, I'd prefer to keep the LH in the bass clef, and have the notes up in the RH but use bracket or text to indicate which hand the notes are to be played with.

[Bespinben]

Thanks tobbeh, really glad you like it! Seb and I did in fact try that method (and a few others, like using split beaming and opposite stem directions to indicate hand positioning), but this method yielded the most visually uncluttered result, in my opinion. I also was fond of this method since it has a similar style to those virtuoso runs you might find in a Chopin urtext manuscript.

[Sebastian]

Thanks again, Ben, for the great advice and the time you dedicated to reviewing and revising this arrangement with me! : )