Arrangement of the Kingdom Hearts Overture! [updated]

[x RiTZbabby]

Hello there!

I go by a variety of names, but you can call me Ritz. c:

I am currently attempting to arrange a piece for wind ensemble: the Kingdom Hearts Overture. It's something that I've always wanted to do, arranging the art music of the video game industry into something a bit more playable for wind bands, and upon persuasion from a friend, I've decided to undertake this monster task!

I must emphasize the fact that I am only an "amateur", and that I hadn't arranged anything "officially" outside of piano and solo instruments yet. I realize that "professional" or otherwise artful arrangements can take weeks, or even months to complete. Time notwithstanding, I still wish to be able to produce "something great" to play, in a sort of tribute to our graduating class.

My goal is to have the Kingdom Hearts Overture arranged, if not simply transcribed, by the middle of March 2012 (as I'm fairly certain of my abilities fine tune in the end!).

And so, here is my request: I am in need of assistance transcribing roughly :50 ~ 1:20, particularly the repeating bass part (whose musical term eludes me for the time being...), and hopefully there would be someone who is willing to offer constructive criticism as to how I'm doing so far?

I have roughly the first :50 transcribed that I'm relatively confident of that you can hear in a crappy recording of a midi here. I use Melody Assistant due to my inability to install any other music editing software on the computer, and I am using the arrangement labeled Kingdom Hearts Overture here as a base reference, and I am essentially planning on using the same instruments plus a piano, which I have planned out as well.

... and that's about it. c: Please and thank you, Musician's Forum?

I HAVE OFFICIALLY FINISHED THE 1.0 VERSION OF HIKARI. (One month after the planned release date. OTL) The ensemble and I are looking forward to rehearsals very very soon. o wo

Here's a mp3 of 1.0. I would appreciate any and all constructive criticism if anyone wants to offer any!

[AkaTsuki-chan]

Other than 'crappy midi is crappy,' there isn't much to say yet. You've got a nice start here, very true to the original. What instrument are you using in place of the violins? Hard to tell with the midi.

(Also, lovely choice of music - I always wanted to play this when I was in high school...)

[x RiTZbabby]

Someone replied! o: That's awesome. Hello there!

Well... I use a combination of instruments; I like to use alto sax + clarinets base, though sometimes I use tenor sax instead of alto because I need the alto to double some of the amazing French horn parts -- mostly for crappy .midi purposes, though, because you won't be able to hear the French horn if it's not doubled... orz

I also use flute when it's not playing all those noodly-parts, haha. (I have two, though, so...)

But thank you very much! ; v; I want to be able to share this with everyone if/when I ever finish, so...

[x RiTZbabby]

Bloop. o uo;;

[Lady Ravenway]

Wow so far it sounds amazing!!! I hope if you guys pull it off you'll record and post on Gaia. I think this is great biggrin . haha. Something I always wanted to do was start a small-medium sized group to play anime, game and movie music so this is really cool! I hope you can pull it off in time.

[x RiTZbabby]

Hello there and thank you very much! ; u; Such kind words motivate me to keep going...

And most definitely! I'll be sure to post it where people can see it. c: You mean YouTube? [/shot'd]

[x RiTZbabby]

Bumpu! o uo;
I think I've finally managed to pick out the syncopation stuff I had trouble with...
I've also been procrastinating on it quite a bit. Time to get back into gear!

[x RiTZbabby]

Bump! Here's my finished version 1.0.

I would appreciate all/every bit of constructive criticism! C:

[AkaTsuki-chan]

Ah! You updated!


Fabulous job!
I hate the balance of a lot of the instruments, but that's midi files for you. If you manage to get a recording using live instruments, I'd love to see how it sounds with humans rather than computers. :-p

There were a couple articulation markings I didn't quite agree with, but that may also be the midi issue.
You should be very proud of yourself - you did a wonderful job on this.
What's the next step for you?

[x RiTZbabby]

Hello there! Good to see you again. C:

And, again, really sorry about the midi. OTL

I do agree about the articulation markings, though. @___@;; Of course, this just version 1.0, so I will be sure to make plenty of corrections and the like before releasing it.

But thank you so very much. ; w; I really appreciate it.

At the present, I'm forming a small (?) ensemble to play this version since... the midi leaves a bit to be desired, heheh. We're going to start rehearsal next week, and hopefully have a recording of some sort within the next couple.

And I'll be sure to update whenever something exciting happens? ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[carmina_vienna]

It sounds really good! It definitely has that Kingdom Hearts feel to it, you did a very good job with it!

[x RiTZbabby]

Ah, thank you very much! C:

... agh. The more I listen to it, the grosser the midi sounds. OTL
And the reason why there haven't been updates about actual recordings yet is 'cause of AP testing! The first rehearsal had been postponed until next Tuesday.