The Piano Discussion thread

[KholdStare]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

Yeah, I've played it at like ten different speeds and Hoshizora no Waltz just sounds better when played slowly. (That means yes, play it slowly.)

Speaking of which, I relearned it (again) because of you, KholdSecks.

And all of the long-fingered Asians and I who can almost play tenths are laughing at you right now.

Also, Mr. Agarrado tends to transcribe octaves for the right hand at random parts (not really, they're for climax-y parts and it's usually easy + efficient to stick in octaves in cantabile songs for emphasis.), and I remember that I couldn't play full octaves smoothly and quickly when I was a beginner, so it may be difficult for you. (or maybe it was because I was like 3 feet tall and my hands were sized accordingly, in which case, go for it.)

Meh, I love those octaves. Otherwise, the song would be really really really dull and repetitive. I can't play them smoothly either, especially near the end of the piece. When in doubt, move quickly and pedal down, is what I say.

[Z3120]

A late thanks for your compliment here Marina if you're reading this. I still don't feel like I'm making enough progress even with all the practicing I've done until now. I'll most likely try to learn on my own during the summer to see if I can truly improve without the stress of many classes. Perhaps skip a level. Beats me.

Originally Posted by tripperazn

Extremely overplayed by all the pianists I know, but Final Fantasy X - To Zanarkand is one of my favorite piano pieces.

I thought of that specific song too actually. I was planning on To Zanarkand if I didn't feel confident I memorized the songs I planned on doing. It was either that song you mentioned or Fisherman's Horizon if I had one FF melody in mind to do. Thanks.

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

Ah, I agree, but I haven't found anything similar to the feeling I get from You (thank you Asamidori. ). Have you started practicing You though? If not, you should definately try it out for your piano exam thingie. I spent maybe an hour or two learning it (after Asamidori mentioned it.) because of the simple repeating left hand and general repeating melody of the right, so you shouldn't take long to learn it either.
Hoshizora no Waltz may take a bit longer, even if you're playing it in C Major, but you can probably do it if you like the challenge it brings.

When I finally had the chance to sit down and listen to You carefully and intently (probably about as perfect of a situation for someone who still needs to finish the anime), I've been terribly hooked to it ever since. Looks like I won't be shaking off listening to You for quite some time.

As to whether I was able to practice You, I've did a little actually. When I sat down and begun to practice it a bit, like Kholdstare's version of Hishizora no Waltz, it's really helping me to 'liven up' (lack of a better word at the moment) and develop my left hand play much more than the songs I see in the book.

Originally Posted by KholdStare

Oh, and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is extremely difficult because it has the same problems as Hoshizora no Waltz--it's very hard to show the right emotions (or speak through your playing if you will). Just like how I have never made my Hoshizora no Waltz as soothing and climatic as I liked, it's very hard to feel the suspense in that YouTube link. I hope you understand what I mean... If not, go watch Nodame Cantabile now.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Right now, both of those pieces are great at practicing my left hand movement. My LH play is horrible still imo

Originally Posted by KholdStare

When in doubt, move quickly and pedal down, is what I say.

I do that out of habit so many times... I really should stop.


Ahh, I still need 1 more song idea. Perhaps another one from B5CM. I can't think of a song from a video game at the moment I want to do besides the FF games. I was thinking something by Masashi Hamauzu from Saga Frontier 2 before, but as I looked at the sheets, I'm definitely too much of a beginner to attempt that yet. Especially the tempo and the huge leap/jump between intervals.

[KholdStare]

Well, there's always Sayuri's World from The Place Promised in Our Early Days. It's also left-hand intensive, but it's as slow as hell (quarter note = 60, which is like, a quarter note per second). It's sweet sounding and has a nice melody though.

Of course, you can find it here.

[Claude]

Beginner and already playing anime/video game sheets? Wow, I barely played anything my first year. You must be good, I hope you do well.

If it's six measures, I would really reccomend a slow but beautiful one that people wouldn't mind hearing twice. It could be pretty awkward if you played something fast and then played the exact same thing twice. Especially if you made a mistake. 6 seconds of embarassment.

[Z3120]

Originally Posted by Claude

Beginner and already playing anime/video game sheets? Wow, I barely played anything my first year. You must be good, I hope you do well.

If it's six measures, I would really reccomend a slow but beautiful one that people wouldn't mind hearing twice. It could be pretty awkward if you played something fast and then played the exact same thing twice. Especially if you made a mistake. 6 seconds of embarassment.

I'm not that good. Honestly, I shouldn't be pushing myself ahead so quickly and just wait perhaps another year to get more experience, but I'm just so eager right now that I can't help it (love anime and video game music, so yeah... I blame Air TV). So I'm making many mistakes as I try to improve my sight reading too by playing these songs.

This thread was originally made a month ago if you didn't catch it. I said last month somewhere in this thread generally any piece is alright now, instead of only 6 measures which I misheard from my teacher. So those of you who want to help me with a few suggestions, you're more than welcome to drop a name. Only from anime and video games now. Provided the piece is appropriate for a beginner (and I'm able to play it decently hopefully, I hope), then all is fair game.

I'm somewhat confident I can do well as long as I don't have play at a blazing fast pace of a tempo. I could slow it down and play it as well as I can at my speed but I wouldn't feel right to do that to such songs like Time's Scar.

The nice suggestions of You and Hishizora no Waltz is keeping me pretty occupied and attentive that I do continue practicing. Besides, it feels like a great sense of satisfaction to me if I can play such songs whenever I want after I learn them and memorize them of course.

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Z3120

I'm not that good. Honestly, I shouldn't be pushing myself ahead so quickly and just wait perhaps another year to get more experience, but I'm just so eager right now that I can't help it (love anime and video game music, so yeah... I blame Air TV). So I'm making many mistakes as I try to improve my sight reading too by playing these songs.

No Natsukage yet?
You could easily play the main segment (the part people actually care about) if you can play Hoshizora no Waltz. The middle section of the Grand Piano Arrangement 1 is the best of the three on Josh Agarrado's site, but it's a bit difficult for a beginner, so you might want to wait a bit. (not that long, though, if you practice your hands at this rate consistently, you can probably attempt it in a month or less.)

Spoiler for size:

And have you seen ef - a tale of memories?
In my opinion, Tenmon's BGM work in ef was better than his work in 5 Centimeters per Second.
It'll really get you eager to practice.

Originally Posted by Z3120

I'm somewhat confident I can do well as long as I don't have play at a blazing fast pace of a tempo. I could slow it down and play it as well as I can at my speed but I wouldn't feel right to do that to such songs like Time's Scar.

The pianist is cutting the speed in this one.
Also, if you ever play this song, please don't do that "purposely miss notes for emphasis" thing. Gah.

Kudos to me for thinking Chrono Cross! within two seconds.

Hoshizora no Waltz is more difficult than Time's Scar in my opinion. Time's Scar really only that one fast part and some occasional segments that are difficult.

Lulz at me for forgetting Yubiwa wo Katte Ageru from Da Capo. It was one of the first anime piano songs I learned, and it's pretty simple.
I started playing piano long before playing this though, but I'd say it's easier than most of the stuff recommended here so far.
It's simple enough that you can either just learn it as written as practice, but it's fun to play around with the right hand in the first section to make it more unique and such.

[Z3120]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

No Natsukage yet?

You know, I was actually considering Enishi before both Giniro and Natsukage. Don't know why or how I ended up finally coming to terms and deciding on Natsukage (I blame Aozora and the memories associated with Giniro. I don't think I want to shred tears in front of class. Seriously )

Once I get hooked on an series I like, it's very hard for me to shake off my focus elsewhere until either I eventually find something else to entertain me or a newfound interest. Which is why I ended up prioritizing B5CM - End Theme

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

And have you seen ef - a tale of memories?
In my opinion, Tenmon's BGM work in ef was better than his work in 5 Centimeters per Second.
It'll really get you eager to practice.

Haven't really gotten time to take a good look and listen to ef ~ a Tale of Memories, truth be told.

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

Hoshizora no Waltz is more difficult than Time's Scar inmy opinion. Time's Scar really only that one fast part and some occasional segments that are difficult.

I suppose it's my impression of thinking Time Scar is harder ever since I saw Martin Leung play it live. And since I always remember him as the dude who played the Super Mario Theme inhumanely quick, accurately hitting the keys with near 99% precision, well, what can I say? But now that I think about it more, I'll end up doing Arni Village (Another) as one of the two other songs I have in mind to complete my project.


And qtipbrit92, thanks mentioning Da Capo. I think I've realized all the songs I'll be doing. How they'll sound together, I'm wondering myself. But considering the number of songs I'm planning, I'll most likely splice Hishizora no Waltz up somehow since it's the biggest to learn (again, thanks for your version Kholdstare).


As for what songs I've narrowed it down, most likely final (only a month and a bit more to learn and memorize so I think this is plenty). Looks like no games and anime besides music in general for a long month. If anyone is interested on what I've chosen, they're:

Hikaru no Go - Mae O Muite
Chrono Cross - Arni Village (Another)
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - You
Air TV - Natsukage
Card Captor Sakura - Hishizora no Waltz
Byousoku 5 Centimeter - End Theme

Edit: Copied and pasted the wrong title qtipbrit92 =P. I was trying to be Flash and fix it before anyone noticed. Looks like I'm caught.

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Z3120

Haven't really gotten time to take a good look and listen to ef ~ a Tale of Memories, truth be told.

Ah. Its BGM is simply amazing.
The songs alone don't have the same impact as some others, but the way the music is fitted in with the anime and its excellent animation is win.

Originally Posted by Z3120

Hikaru no Go - Mae O Muite
Chrono Cross - Arni Village (Another)
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - You
Air TV - Natsukage
Card Captor Sakura - Hishizora no Waltz
Byousoku 5 Centimeter - End Theme

This looks like a good set of songs, though Hoshizora no Waltz is from Kimi ga Nozomu Eien.

Good luck!

[KholdStare]

Just curious, but did you only hear of Hoshizora no Waltz because of this thread?

And you're welcome. :0

[Z3120]

Originally Posted by KholdStare

Just curious, but did you only hear of Hoshizora no Waltz because of this thread?

Shoot. Your question ended up being a long rant of why so and so happened. You've been warned.

Pretty much I've heard of Hoshizora no Waltz since this thread. Perhaps it escaped my mind when I was watching Kimi Ga Nozumu Eien because I was trying to watch it around the same time I got into Air TV. Guess which one got my utmost attention

There's a bunch of anime music I'm sure I've passed up by not realizing it when I first watched it, and I do notice there are gems I've missed out on heavily by not having the same musical tastes as I do now compared to before like .hack//SIGN even, which is one reason out of many I created the "Looking For Good Anime OSTs" thread here. I was hoping there are people who could point me in a new direction to explore or rekindle a pleasure I didn't notice the first time. I developed the passion to listen to anime and video game music heavily these last few years. I do enjoy classical too, perhaps trance and ambient. It use to be I was only interested in OP, ED and insert songs at first when watching anime along with the occasional catchy battle songs, but Hikaru no Go was the first step for me to break away from that mold.

Also, I have a weird, peculiar habit where I can easily become obsessed with a series for quite awhile if the combination of characters, story and music captivates me. Air TV, well, the music especially besides Misuzu, opened up my eyes to the beauty of the piano. One of the reasons I wanted to even start playing the piano was because of me wanting to play Giniro and Natsukage. And someday, if I'm good enough, I'll be able to create my own arrangement of those pieces. So yes, the urge to play the piano started with Air TV actually. Getting a piano made it an absolute decision. But yeah, I wanted to learn the piano badly because I wanted to play those songs. Funny I suppose.

Originally, I was thinking of doing a bunch of video game music and one or two anime songs, but as I looked at some piano sheets from like Saga Frontier 2, I looked elsewhere to where all this began: anime music.

The main reason I wanted to do Hishizora no Waltz and I decided for it was because the melody reflects something personally I won't go deep into. Besides, it's not the first time where a great piano version of a song escaped me. I'm still very much tempted, if I can ever find the sheet, to do Hikaru no Go - Get Over played during the last New Year's Special.

But yeah, you can probably figure out now why the pieces I want to select and play must be from an anime or video game.

Out of curiosity, has anyone heard of OverClocked Remix? They were also one of the strong influences of me beginning the piano, especially Reuben Kee. I didn't even know of OCR for so long and someone's music I deeply enjoyed and liked passed away. That moment triggered a few things for me to think of and upon carefully.

And speaking of OCR, Noir's Final Fantasy 7 - Jenova is pretty amazing. Did you guys ever play it before?

[KholdStare]

So, I'm not sure if you're still looking for simple piano pieces for a medley or in general, but I forgot that this existed:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/qdmtql

Once again, sorry that it's in separate PDF files, since I saved them using *cough* Photoshop.

[bungmonkey]

I'm not sure if you don't want any more FF songs but I really recommend learning breezy from ff8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QXNQskSh3c). I just learned to play it on guitar a few days ago and it's very relaxing, fun, and sounds awesome!

[Gotank]

Speaking of Josh's arrangements. Someone take a look at his Lucky Star OP arrangement. It's so fascinating... Wonder if it's even playable =)

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Gotank

Speaking of Josh's arrangements. Someone take a look at his Lucky Star OP arrangement. It's so fascinating... Wonder if it's even playable =)

Yes, it's quite fun.
It was someone else who arranged the sheet music though, which was a bit weird.

It would probably be difficult for Z3120 if he's probably not used to changing keys every time the medley switches, but it's not very difficult aside from that.

[Nekonya]

Where can I Find True tears opening song's sheets?,anybody help

[KholdStare]

Originally Posted by Nekonya

Where can I Find True tears opening song's sheets?,anybody help

Here you go.

[mg1942]

What do you think of this guy's piano skills?

[Nekonya]

Omg!! He's so good at playing piano,( i myself play piano too) i wonder if he composed that by himself, but i think he's really good
I wouldn't mind if i would have that song's sheets , really good job...

By the way, i wish i could have same kind of piano that he has

[~viva.la.vida~]

david sides... one word.. brilliant

[Narona]

Great. Loved it