The NSM Guess-That-Melody Quiz!

[SlowPokemon]

This quiz is too hard and the selections are too short. Also the constant key changing within examples seems a bit frivolous. Just an opinion, I guess the pieces could actually change keys every two bars.

[mikey]

Here's my Guess-The-Song Quiz:
[PDF] | [MIDI] | [MUS] | [MSCZ]

The MUS is readable in Finale, including Finale Notepad. The MSCZ is readable in Musescore. All other files are based on the original MSCZ, not the MUS--this explains why the PDF doesn't look like the MUS.

Between each melody is a whole rest. This helps MIDI-listeners play along.

You may PM me as many guesses as you want for each melody (I would prefer that you PM me one guess per melody at a time, though). Guesses should contain the title of the song (or best known use, such as "Mini-boss theme") as well as its game of origin. I will PM "Correct" or "Incorrect" for each guess. Your correct guesses override your incorrect ones. You can only get one correct answer per melody. Unsubmitted guesses for a melody are counted as incorrect at the deadline. (This means that you may submit partial lists of guesses that don't contain one guess for each melody.)

You can PM answers to me until Wednesday, Apr. 5 at 10:00 PM MDT (a.k.a. Thursday, Apr. 6 5:00 AM forum default time). I will not count any submissions made after that time, as I'll be too busy tallying results.

Results will be posted on Wednesday, Apr. 5 between 10:00-11:00 PM MDT (hopefully closer to the former). Results include each answer in order, YouTube videos for each answer, all users tied for the most correct answers, and how many answers each such user got correct.

I'm fine with Latios212 posting the next Guess-The-Song Quiz anytime on Wednesday, Apr. 5, regardless of whether I've posted the answers yet.

Five examples of acceptable guesses for a melody (these aren't comprehensive format-wise, but please PM me something along those lines)--note that all examples are incorrect, even though I'd accept each game name as legitimate (note that the fourth example's game name is technically misspelled):

• Under My Control: "Kirby's Return to Dream Land"
• "Thumbs Up!" Blue Dragon
• Galaxy Fantasy - Mega Man 9
• Ridley's Boss Theme, Metroid Other M
• First overworld theme of Shovel Knight

Guidelines for answering, how the melodies are transcribed, and what counts as a correct answer:

• If I were to write full transcriptions of the pieces each melody belongs to, the contents of each file have the notes, key signatures, and time signatures I would use.
• ...Well, except for Melody 5. I'm not 100% certain I would use those key signatures at that point. But I would use those notes and that time signature!
• All tempos are approximate.
• Like with several Guess-The-Song Quizzes before it, there are no dynamic markings. I'm a bit too lazy to retrieve those accurately right now.
• I will listen to the songs of each guess you make. If I find the exact melody in your song-guess at roughly the tempo in my quiz, I will mark it as correct.
• I mark correct, unambiguous titles of songs as correct (of course!). "Unambiguous" is defined as me being able to determine the exact song with the title alone. If I find multiple songs with that title, and you provide a game where the exact melody does not play in that game's version of the song (or you provide no game at all), I will mark your guess as incorrect. Otherwise, if I find multiple songs with that title, and you provide a game where the exact melody does play in that game's version, I will mark your guess as correct. I may be generous and mark your guess as correct if you provide a correct, unambiguous title and an incorrect game (or no game at all), as long as I could find only one song with that title. But don't count on it.
• If you provide a correct game of origin and a correct best known use in that game, I will mark your guess as correct. Examples of "best known use" are provided in the last two example guesses above--specifically, the "Ridley's Boss Theme" and "First overworld theme" excerpts.
• If multiple songs match the game of origin and the best known use, I may ask you to be more specific. For example, I may PM you to be more specific if I receive a guess like "Final boss theme of Final Fantasy VII" (which, by the way, is incorrect), as that final boss has multiple themes. If I do not receive a more specific answer by the deadline, I will mark your guess as incorrect.
• Alternately, if the song title, game of origin, and/or best known use are incorrect, even if one or more of them are ambiguous, I may mark your answer as incorrect instead. (This means that I may PM you back with "Incorrect" for your "Final boss theme of Final Fantasy VII" guess instead.)
• All guesses containing only a video game name and no song title or best known use are marked as incorrect. Please don't try guesses like "Plants vs. Zombies 2" without specifying which song you mean.
• Hint: Do not guess any of the "Super Smash Bros." games as the game of origin of any melody. I will ask you to provide the real game of origin of each guess containing a game in that series only. I may still mark the guess as correct at the deadline if you provide me the correct title of the song (not just its best known use such as "Ganon's boss theme", as multiple games may contain the relevant character or scenario). If all you provide me is the best known use (e.g. "the Mario Circuit theme") and a Super Smash Bros. game by the deadline, I will mark your guess as incorrect.
• Why am I picking on Super Smash Bros.? Hint: at least one melody is found in a song in a Super Smash Bros. game, but none of them were written for Super Smash Bros.
• If all this is overwhelming, just figure that I'll mark your guesses as intuitively as possible. However, I need unambiguous answers--all ambiguous answers that stay ambiguous by the deadline will be treated as incorrect.

dude you're taking this game way seriously

[LeviR.star]

dude you're taking this game way seriously

I'm just glad someone understands the point of this game.

[Maelstrom]

This quiz is too hard and the selections are too short. Also the constant key changing within examples seems a bit frivolous. Just an opinion, I guess the pieces could actually change keys every two bars.

Agreed. There's just not enough to actually recognize a song from. At least it doesn't suffer from rhythm problems....

[mikey]

Oh dang is the third one

Spoiler

checker knights fr Kirby air ride or something

[close]

[LeviR.star]

Noc, not trying to be TOO picky, but the rules are that you PM the host if you have a guess.

[mastersuperfan]

Agreed. There's just not enough to actually recognize a song from. At least it doesn't suffer from rhythm problems....

^^^

[ThatHiddenCharacter]

Number three is neither of the songs that it sounds like. Which is a bummer because it's the only one that sounds familiar to me.

Agreed. There's just not enough to actually recognize a song from. At least it doesn't suffer from rhythm problems....

Shut up, Maelstrom. It was because of faulty sources and software limitations.

[SlowPokemon]

actually it's because you copied an incorrect arrangement instead of doing the work yourself

[Dudeman]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH   savage

[mastersuperfan]

I'm pretty sure #3's in the wrong key

[Dudeman]

I'm pretty sure #3's in the wrong key

I concur, but that's been a recurring thing in this contest regardless...

[Latios212]

oh hey you guys too

I was thinking maybe it's just a theme that reuses this little bit since that's a possible thing but idk

[mastersuperfan]

Oh, I figured #3 out

That's troll

[Dekkadeci]

dude you're taking this game way seriously

You should see the length of the rules of the average Mafia game on Smogon's forums.

This quiz is too hard and the selections are too short. Also the constant key changing within examples seems a bit frivolous. Just an opinion, I guess the pieces could actually change keys every two bars.

You're correct--the piece that Melody 4 comes from actually does change keys every two bars for several seconds at a time! (There's a hint for you.)

Melody 3 and Melody 5 are just situated around pivotal key changes within their respective pieces (although I'm not sure whether I'd even notate Melody 5's key change with a key signature change if I were to transcribe the full thing).

Agreed. There's just not enough to actually recognize a song from. At least it doesn't suffer from rhythm problems....

Sadly, I'm one of those people who can recognize (or misfire on) a song from one bar. The bar doesn't even have to be 100% alike for me to effectively recognize it in another piece. Ever heard how much J.S. Bach's Little Fugue in G minor and "The Adventure Begins" from Kirby's Return to Dream Land sound alike at 0:25-0:27 (or 1:55-1:57 for an even greater resemblance) and 0:03-0:04, respectively? I personally think that Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando may have been inspired by too much Bach there...