~Hakurei Shrine~ > Alice's Art Atelier

[Music] Touhou music arranged by Z.A.

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Z_A:
This one is kinda worth reading, trust me =P very inspirational, etc.

https://soundcloud.com/user-595154314/flower-land-of-the-past-present-and-future

So, this one time I sent Yuuka's theme to a friend of mine with a comment like "Hey, check it out - great rock tune!" or something along those lines... Wait. What do you mean, it's not rock? Dude, it is so obviously rock that idunno lol. Well maybe the instruments are not very common for rock, but if they were to be changed~ that's right, I totally need to change the instruments and make an arrangement! It took me a really long time to find the midi, and it even failed to open in my midi editor, so I had to do all the work in DAW. It didn't turn out all that bad, actually, I even found that using piano roll to edit the drums is much easier than the way I did it before. Indeed, the drums in the original composition appeared so surprisingly simple and boring, that I even had to verify myself, whether that was really the case, or just insufficient quality of the midi. Hence, I reworked them quite a bit - you expect something more exciting in rock, right? Well, this arrange is probably as eclectic as everything else that I've made, not proper rock. Having two synth players in a rock band is rather unusual... Still, it turned out quite well, I think. Other than changing the instruments and fitting all the necessary lines into fewer tracks, I also increased the tempo just a bit. I suppose it makes the song slightly more agressive - the original, even being a very special boss theme, is still so calm and soothing, such is the nature of this amazing game. I hope you enjoy listening to it, and if you have any ideas on how to make it resemble rock even more - please share it with me! Any other feedback is appreciated as well.

GenericArrangements:
I can really see something great forming from your work. Please keep it up!

Concerning this piece specifically, I have a few things to mention:
 - The start was really nice! It gets a really nice vibe going. The main problem though, is that it loses interest as it progresses.
 - This is rock, so you should be really showing off more with the rock guitars. It's good in parts, but there's a very long time where the guitars continuously play this simple offbeat rhythm. It gets very boring, which most certainly the opposite of what you want for this. It would be good to experiment with the accompanying layers in various parts based on each section.
 - More on accompanying layers, the drums aren't really focused enough (mainly the volume; it's too quiet). Continue to experiment with drum patterns more, because it's a greatly important part of most works you'll end up making.
 - Really I'm not sure how much the song has been developed to fit a rock song better, although I do see elements of it. It may come back to my first point though. Just needs more interest.

Otherwise a nice arrangement, and I think you're improving a fair bit.

Z_A:
A pity I'm not that fluent in English to properly reply to that :smokedcheese:

First of all, I'm touched by what you said about where I'm going with all this and how I'm progressing, as I'm not sure myself, whether any of my work even makes sense; that's why I'm so eager for feedback... Thanks.

Next, about the boring parts. I guess I really messed that up: I tried to come up with some sort of riff to replace those offbeat notes, but I failed, so I just left this part from the original composition.

As for the drums and the volume - it might be just a matter of personal preference. I never try to make the drums stand out. Enough if they're audible. Also, when I'm trying to arrange the drums, I usually try to imagine, how a person would play it IRL, but I have so little experience with it, that it becomes very hard. I should probably do something about that.

--- Quote ---Please keep it up!
--- End quote ---
I most certainly will! And thank you very much for your comment!

Z_A:
Well the thing is... I was actually going to post two arrangements, but it's been a month since I finished the first one, and I haven't really made too much progress with the second, so I guess I'll just post one atm. I'll try to compensate with the story though (;

https://soundcloud.com/user-595154314/end-of-daylight

Did I mention that Story of Eastern Wonderland has some awesome tunes? Not too many though, but this one (the original, I mean) is actually pretty great IMO. Especially this moment in the middle, where the "bells thingie" plays high-pitched notes over a layer of very fat bass and a pad... it does give this feeling "lotsa things happen at night, so be wary" - and then comes the crescendo part, as if those scary things are really starting to appear! (= also, in fact, I made it at night, and only made several necessary corrections the day after.

So, about the arrangement... I think I really like to play around with various padding instruments. At least, that's what I did in the Headless Hunter (and enjoyed it) and in The Final Page, where I enjoyed it even more, because the original there is very minimalistic in nature, and I had the urge to add some "completeness" to it. That's why I decided to try and make some arrangements approximately in the same manner, as this might actually be my "thing" =) Also, I'm not sure whether I should credit the author of the MIDI that I based this arrangement upon, but just in case - I took it here. It's actually mostly wrong, compared to ZUN's original (though maybe it relates more to the "upgraded" version by Romantique Tp), but I only found out after I posted the arrangement, and while I felt kind of sorry about it, a number of people told me that my arrangement is very nice, despite being half an octave off, so I let it stay that way.

It turned out so that I, for the most part, changed only the instruments... and the volume... and slightly modified the rhythm... and added a layer of padding, as I saw fit =P so, basically, yeah, it's an arrangement) it still very much resembles the original, but it has a completely different feeling to it. Something nostalgic and calm, maybe? I think it has a "nightly" touch as well, but in a different way from ZUN's tune. Hence the name, and I hope you enjoy it! There'll probably be more like this one - the other arrangement that I was going to make was Himorogi, Burn in Violet, but the name kind of implies that it needs to be made metal \m/ it's part complete, but atm it critically lacks the growling vocals and I have no idea where to get it, I am no singer and most certainly not a metal singer! So I put it aside for a while, and currently I am working on another one, but in the style of The Final Page and this arrangement as well. Actually, it might be the easiest way - I don't have complete notes, but fiddling with the padding leaves my hands untied. Anything that sounds good fits, basically. I'll be sure to post it here, so look forward to it!

GenericArrangements:

--- Quote from: Z_A on July 03, 2018, 09:59:37 PM ---Did I mention that Story of Eastern Wonderland has some awesome tunes?
--- End quote ---
It does indeed have some really nice music. My favourites are Complete Darkness and Himorogi Burn in Violet, and End of Daylight has a really nice atmospheric feel to it too. My personal interpretation of the piece uses more strings and less synth (it's still there obviously, just not the whole focus), but I do really like yours too!

As for real suggestions though, I'd say your ensemble demands more focus on percussion. I think what really strikes to me is how the bass doesn't really suit the percussion lines. I know it's the original bass, but for accompanying parts (especially the bass) it's much better to redo it based on the arrangement, treating your arrangement more as your own personal interpretation of the piece, instead of a transcription-based interpretation (if that makes any sense at all). Besides this, I enjoyed the music. Keep it up.


--- Quote from: Z_A on July 03, 2018, 09:59:37 PM ---Also, I'm not sure whether I should credit the author of the MIDI that I based this arrangement upon, but just in case - I took it here. It's actually mostly wrong, compared to ZUN's original (though maybe it relates more to the "upgraded" version by Romantique Tp), but I only found out after I posted the arrangement, and while I felt kind of sorry about it, a number of people told me that my arrangement is very nice, despite being half an octave off, so I let it stay that way.
--- End quote ---
Ah the classic problem with using someone else's MIDI. Being half an octave off isn't too much of an issue; it's just a key change really. As for notes, don't trust a random transcriber from the internet unless it's clear they have great experience in it. The best strategy really is just to move from a simple transcription-based arrangement into something more original. Sometimes it's nice to have adaptions of synth pieces though (particularly famicom chiptune or PC98 stuff).


--- Quote from: Z_A on July 03, 2018, 09:59:37 PM ---the other arrangement that I was going to make was Himorogi, Burn in Violet, but the name kind of implies that it needs to be made metal \m/
--- End quote ---
Haha yeah. It's really got a rock feel to it, and I can't wait to hear your interpretation/arrangement.


On the subject really, I think it's important to distinguish between interpretation works and full unique arrangements. I'd call this more of an interpretation work as it continues to use many similar parts with the same structure as the original. Interpretation arrangements are pretty fun to make really, and I have a few HRtP ones lying around (was going to do the whole soundtrack but got lazy. Maybe some other time?). I think it's really enjoyable to see others' interpretation of a synth work.

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