Palace Theme
Format: PDF
Difficulty: Intermediate
Info: This arrangement was mostly inspired by the “Hyrule Temple” theme from Super Smash Brothers Melee. I threw in the notes for the Zelda “secret sound” at the end, too! (Watch me play it or hear the original from Zelda: Adventure of Link.)
November 28, 2009
“Palace” Sheet Music, from Zelda: Adventure of Link
I’ve gotten a few requests to write up the sheet music for my Zelda Palace arrangement, so I hope those of you who’ve been waiting for it will enjoy it!
November 25, 2009
Masashi Hamauzu: Trailer Music from Final Fantasy XIII
This piece of music is so cool! Even though I’ve only played one and a half Final Fantasy games, I’m excited for this soundtrack. I’ve noticed that the FFX soundtrack is one of my favorites in the series, where Masashi Hamauzu co-composed with Nobuo Uematsu and Junya Nakano. Apparently he’s working on the FFXIII soundtrack without Nobuo Uematsu.
FFXIII’s trailer theme, composed by Masashi Hamauzu.
I love the blend of electronic and orchestral elements here. Both genres involve a very different palette of sounds and thought process for piecing those sounds together, but they fit together seamlessly in this piece and Masashi clearly is fluent in them both. It sets up such a colorful sound world.
Since I seem to like Final Fantasy music when Masashi Hamauzu is involved, I started looking into his other works, like the SaGa Frontier 2 soundtrack. I’m finding that I like just about everything I hear of his; at a glance, his music seems to be piano-oriented and mixes a lot of light electronic textures with heavy ambient chords and orchestral sounds. (Did I mention before I’m a fan of light, “sparkly” sounds?) I think I’ve found a new favorite composer!
This piece was especially striking to me during my quick skim of Masashi’s music: “Arrangeur” from SaGa Frontier 2.
November 20, 2009
Works in Progress: Assault and Gusty Garden
It’s been slow around here again, hasn’t it? I’ve been working on a few small projects, but I don’t have anything substantial to show off yet. The good news is I’ve been composing a lot more lately, both as a personal hobby and for “clients” so I can build my portfolio.
On the YouTube end, I’m trying to decide what song to cover next. At the moment, “Assault” from the FFX Piano Collections is the farthest along, though I still have a long way to go before I can perform it.
The other piece I’m working on covering is “Gusty Garden Galaxy” (by popular demand) though honestly, I’m so stuck! I’ve worked out an introduction that I like, but it’s tough recreating the sweeping emotions of the piece without an orchestra to back me up. I also want it to stand as a good piano arrangement rather than a simple imitation of the original, and do justice to the soundtrack, so… we’ll see how this goes. I’m trying, though!
*Thanks for correcting me, guys! I had a feeling I was giving Koji Kondo too much credit again! Mahito Yokota composed the Gusty Garden theme.
On the YouTube end, I’m trying to decide what song to cover next. At the moment, “Assault” from the FFX Piano Collections is the farthest along, though I still have a long way to go before I can perform it.
“Assault” from the FFX Piano Collections, a beautiful piano arrangement of the original, composed/arranged by Masashi Hamauzu and performed by Aki Kuroda.
The other piece I’m working on covering is “Gusty Garden Galaxy” (by popular demand) though honestly, I’m so stuck! I’ve worked out an introduction that I like, but it’s tough recreating the sweeping emotions of the piece without an orchestra to back me up. I also want it to stand as a good piano arrangement rather than a simple imitation of the original, and do justice to the soundtrack, so… we’ll see how this goes. I’m trying, though!
“Gusty Garden Galaxy” from Super Mario Galaxy, also known as the main theme of Mario Galaxy. I believe it was composed by Koji Kondo, but I’ve been known to credit everything to him and should probably check on that, haha.*
October 13, 2009
September 30, 2009
Thoughts Here and There: Piano Lessons, FF6, Upcoming Video, Rachmaninoff and Rufus
Sorry I haven’t posted anything new in nearly a month. I’ve been a bit distracted lately, but I think I have good reasons! The biggest news is that I’m back to teaching piano. It’s nice to have something consistent to do, and with my hobby as an arranger-transcriber, I can easily assign pieces that my students are interested in.
My second bit of news is that Alex introduced me to FF6, my second Final Fantasy. I’m sure many of you already realize this, but THIS GAME IS AMAZING. We recently completed the famous opera scene, which left me awestruck. After experiencing the inventiveness and sheer variety of characters and things to do, backed by a beautiful soundtrack (and feeling like I’ve only scratched the surface of the story) I feel inspired and ashamed that I’ve never played it before. I’m not very far in the game yet, but if things continue on like this, I think FF6 could easily sit among my favorites.
The most striking piece of music for me so far has been the Serpent Trench theme. It’s such a cool orchestral sound for a video game, and I can’t imagine many situations in any RPG that would allow a piece of music like this. Walking-pace string pulses, flitting motifs, unusual chords that give it somewhat of a surreal tone... I love it!
Finally, the main reason why I haven’t uploaded a new video is because I’ve been incredibly picky. For awhile now, I’ve been practicing “Besaid Island” from the FFX Piano Collections. I memorized the notes about a month ago and can get from point A to B, but rather than “reciting” the piece from memory, I’d like to be “fluent” in it, to the point where it feels completely effortless. I do feel like I’m close to nailing it, though, so I’ll try to post it soon.
(Somewhat unrelated, I’ve also been teaching myself “Rufus’ Welcoming Ceremony” from the FF7 Piano Collections and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor, which now that I think about it, have quite a few similarities. I suppose I’m in a chord-smashing mood.)
My second bit of news is that Alex introduced me to FF6, my second Final Fantasy. I’m sure many of you already realize this, but THIS GAME IS AMAZING. We recently completed the famous opera scene, which left me awestruck. After experiencing the inventiveness and sheer variety of characters and things to do, backed by a beautiful soundtrack (and feeling like I’ve only scratched the surface of the story) I feel inspired and ashamed that I’ve never played it before. I’m not very far in the game yet, but if things continue on like this, I think FF6 could easily sit among my favorites.
The most striking piece of music for me so far has been the Serpent Trench theme. It’s such a cool orchestral sound for a video game, and I can’t imagine many situations in any RPG that would allow a piece of music like this. Walking-pace string pulses, flitting motifs, unusual chords that give it somewhat of a surreal tone... I love it!
Finally, the main reason why I haven’t uploaded a new video is because I’ve been incredibly picky. For awhile now, I’ve been practicing “Besaid Island” from the FFX Piano Collections. I memorized the notes about a month ago and can get from point A to B, but rather than “reciting” the piece from memory, I’d like to be “fluent” in it, to the point where it feels completely effortless. I do feel like I’m close to nailing it, though, so I’ll try to post it soon.
(Somewhat unrelated, I’ve also been teaching myself “Rufus’ Welcoming Ceremony” from the FF7 Piano Collections and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor, which now that I think about it, have quite a few similarities. I suppose I’m in a chord-smashing mood.)
September 3, 2009
“Dragon Roost Island” Video, from Zelda: Windwaker
I’ve been dying to cover this song for a long time, and yesterday it finally happened. My friend Alex and I put our own spin on the “Dragon Roost Island” theme, arranging it for piano and guitar. We recorded separate tracks for the background strumming and three layers of clapping (three layers times four and a half minutes… you do the math! Our arms were so sore.)
We also made the video after recording the audio – trying to sync our performance was pretty darn funny.
This was a blast to work on, and I hope I’ll get to do more collaborations like this in the future!
We also made the video after recording the audio – trying to sync our performance was pretty darn funny.
This was a blast to work on, and I hope I’ll get to do more collaborations like this in the future!
August 25, 2009
“Rikku’s Theme” Video, from FFX Piano Collections
One of my favorite arrangements by Masashi Hamauzu from the FFX Piano Collections, an adorable rendition of Rikku’s Theme with hints of bossa nova. I downloaded the sheet music from SODA Sheet Music and altered it a little bit for accuracy.
I also added an extra high E at the very end, which wasn’t in the original performance by Aki Kuroda. For some reason, it just felt right!
The FFX piano arrangements are very inspirational to me. I’d definitely like to take an example of their inventiveness when I make own game music arrangements in the future.
I also added an extra high E at the very end, which wasn’t in the original performance by Aki Kuroda. For some reason, it just felt right!
The FFX piano arrangements are very inspirational to me. I’d definitely like to take an example of their inventiveness when I make own game music arrangements in the future.
August 15, 2009
“Palace” Video, from Zelda: Adventure of Link
The famous “Palace” music from Zelda II, a quick gift for a good friend. It’s a simple arrangement that only took about 15 minutes to come up with, but it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a video, so why not!
Despite my silence on YouTube, I’ve been working on a number of videogame arrangements – the ideas on my to-do list have just been taking some time to write and practice. In fact, I met up with the multi-talented Alex Culang yesterday (one of the artists behind the Buttersafe webcomic, and a multi-talented musician) to jam on our Dragon Roost Island arrangement. I’m also working on a monstrous Melty Molten Galaxy duet with Zach Sershon (zachpiano on YouTube). So, keep your eyes and ears open!
Despite my silence on YouTube, I’ve been working on a number of videogame arrangements – the ideas on my to-do list have just been taking some time to write and practice. In fact, I met up with the multi-talented Alex Culang yesterday (one of the artists behind the Buttersafe webcomic, and a multi-talented musician) to jam on our Dragon Roost Island arrangement. I’m also working on a monstrous Melty Molten Galaxy duet with Zach Sershon (zachpiano on YouTube). So, keep your eyes and ears open!
August 12, 2009
A Custom Boss Battle Medley
The last time I put together a Boss Battle Medley, I picked songs that my friend Mike and I enjoyed mutually since it was a gift to him. He’s familiar with a lot of the SNES/Playstation RPGs that I’ve never played, hence the emphasis on games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross and Secret of Mana.
Between all the “you have good taste” comments I received about it, I began to realize with guilt... that’s not quite my taste. That compliment is really directed towards Mike, the person who inspired me to arrange it in the first place. So, I started to wonder what I’d put in my own boss battle medley, were I arranging one as a gift to myself. After coming up with a list of songs, I’ve decided that the end result would sound... interesting. Even awful. Or maybe amazingly epic. It’s hard to tell.
Some medley that would be, huh?
Between all the “you have good taste” comments I received about it, I began to realize with guilt... that’s not quite my taste. That compliment is really directed towards Mike, the person who inspired me to arrange it in the first place. So, I started to wonder what I’d put in my own boss battle medley, were I arranging one as a gift to myself. After coming up with a list of songs, I’ve decided that the end result would sound... interesting. Even awful. Or maybe amazingly epic. It’s hard to tell.
I’d open with “The Extreme” from Final Fantasy VIII, using the introductory section between 0:19-1:40. I also like the sound of 3:16-3:48.
I’d want to play something crazy, like “Danger” from Secret of Mana.
Or the lick at 0:44 from “Meridian Dance.”
Somewhere in the medley, I’d try to squeeze in the “Decisive Battle” from FFX, as featured in the Piano Collections.
I’d also include several boss battles that were definitely not meant to be played on the piano.
“Dark Beast Ganon” from Zelda: Twilight Princess.
“VS Altair (Part 2)” from Bomberman 64.
“Master Hand” from the original Super Smash Brothers.
“Smithy Battle (Part 2)” from Super Mario RPG.
Some medley that would be, huh?
August 4, 2009
YouTube MP3s now on Last.fm!
I have a last.fm artist page, which you can find it here:
http://www.last.fm/music/Aivi+Tran
It’s a bit sad-looking right now but at least it’s a start. I’ve noticed that several people rip MP3s from my YouTube videos, so I’ll try to make things easier for you guys and post up the high-quality stereo files. Look out for a “Videogame Piano Covers” album on my last.fm profile!
I also put up some original compositions for free download, so feel free to snag those if you’re interested. I’ll add a lot more music once I get some decent recordings.
http://www.last.fm/music/Aivi+Tran
It’s a bit sad-looking right now but at least it’s a start. I’ve noticed that several people rip MP3s from my YouTube videos, so I’ll try to make things easier for you guys and post up the high-quality stereo files. Look out for a “Videogame Piano Covers” album on my last.fm profile!
I also put up some original compositions for free download, so feel free to snag those if you’re interested. I’ll add a lot more music once I get some decent recordings.
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