Category: Music

Hybrid vigor

While there are plenty of Vocaloid cover versions of popular songs, examples of live human vocalists covering songs originally “performed” by software singers are less common. They do exist, though, and Wagakki Band‘s first album consists entirely of Vocaloid songs. Even without the novelty repertoire, the group is noteworthy for their lively combination of traditional Japanese instruments and hard rock. I’m curious to hear their second album, which features their own material.

I think this is the original, with Hatsune Miku.

If you’d like to play along, there are plenty of arrangements here.

(Via Vocaloidism.)

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Gensokyo inverted

Minor and major

Touhou melodies generally are in minor modes. However, if you invert them — e.g., where the original goes up a major second, the transformed melody goes down a major second — you frequently get bright, cheerful major key tunes. I combined several inverted themes and made a piano rag out of them. Here is the “Gensokyo Rag.”

Touhou music aficionados might find it interesting to identify the original tunes. The excerpts from “U.N. Owen” should be easy to spot, but the others may be more challenging. Standing on your head might help.

You can download it here.

Update: The sources of the tunes I used are identified below the fold.

The score is up at my MuseScore page.

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Notes, briefly noted

Recent editions of the free notation software MuseScore have the ability to import MIDI files. This means, in principle, that I can export pieces I’ve written in Logic to MuseScore and put them online for anyone silly enough to want to play them. It’s a bit fiddly, but it does work with a little fussing, and I’ve launched a page at MuseScore for my sheet music. There are only a couple of pieces there so far, but there will eventually be more. Whether anyone finds them worth playing remains to be seen.

Count twelve

Nuclear fusion

Here are the first two measures of “Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom — Nuclear Fusion,” from the Touhou Game Subterranean Animism, as arranged by Dorian Bluet. The notes in the treble clef include C, G, G-flat, D, A, A-flat, E, F, D-flat and B. In the bass clef there are E-flat and B-flat. ZUN might not be a rigorous old-fashioned avant-garde dodecaphonist, but there are surprises in his music.

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Was it Ulick Norman?

Flandre Scarlet

Most versions of “U.N. Owen Was Her?,” whether they be rock, techno, frenetic piano, accordion or whatever, tend to be frenzied, heavy and ominous. I took a different approach with ZUN’s tune.

It’s my computer playing, as usual, though I think this arrangement is simple enough that even I could manage it. I’m not entirely happy with it and I may revisit it someday.

The connection between Ulick and Una Owen and Flandre Scarlet is rather tenuous.

Update (July 16): I revised the arrangement and uploaded a new recording. I’m still not satisfied with it, but I’ve tinkered with it long enough.

You can see and download the score here. The mp3 is here.

Flandre Scarlet

Status report

I’m in the middle of several projects right now, plus it looks like the rains are pausing long enough to allow a bit of gardening. Consequently, I will continue to be scarce here, and what I do post will likely be inconsequential.

Here’s a preview of one of the projects. Those who know their Touhou might recognize the tune.

Welcome to Gensokyo

Reimu Hakurei

“Eternal Shrine Maiden” is the theme of the first level of the first Touhou game, Highly Responsive to Prayer. ((You can tell it’s Touhou by the obsessive 3+3+2 rhythms, i.e., dotted quarter, dotted quarter, quarter note. The notation component in Logic annoyingly assumes that every dotted quarter must be immediately followed by an eighth note. Apparently the coders have never played a snappy strathspey or a Touhou tune.)) Like most of ZUN’s tunes, there are innumerable versions on Youtube of widely varying degrees of listenability. For no good reason, I made my own. As usual, the performance is by my computer, though I think this arrangement is playable by any pianist with passable thirds and a reliable sense of rhythm.

Update: I uploaded the score to MuseScore.

Shipwrecked

Captain Murasa's Spiced Rum_by_mikoneyoru

The audio player that I’ve been using no longer works, so I’m trying a new one. Let me know if this doesn’t work for you.

The tune is “Captain Murasa,” yet another piece from the vast Touhou project. I worked on the arrangement for a while, then got sidetracked on other projects. I doubt that I’ll do more with it, so here is my not-quite-satisfactory version as it is. (It’s not entirely my own work; parts of it are almost verbatim from the transcription I worked from. Also, that’s my computer playing, not me.)

Incidentally, if Minamitsu Murasa asks you for a ladle, be sure the one you give her has a hole in it.

(The illustration is from here.)

Update: The new player doesn’t work so well when there are many tunes on a page. Let’s try a different one.

Update II: Uploaded a better-sounding recording.

Musical immaturity?

If you’re worried about losing your love of new music, your fears are justified. That’s according to new research that finds listeners reach “maturity” around age 33. In other words, you’re done with discovering new music when you reach your mid-thirties.

Is that so?

On my way home from Overland Park this past weekend, I listened to Be Bop Deluxe, who fall within the 33-year limit. However, on the way up I listened to Floating Cloud and Onmyouza, both of whom are recent bands active in the 21st century. I recently compiled an iTunes playlist of favorite non-classical tunes. It includes plenty of pieces from my youth by Fairport Convention, Frank Zappa, the Lovin’ Spoonful, Spirit, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Cream and so on. But there are also such artists as the Hot Club of Cowtown, Jun Togawa, ((Hers is the only version of “Pachelbel’s Canon” I can tolerate.)) No Strings Attached, Gjallarhorn, Yuki Kajiura, Rare Air, Mayumi Kojima, Susumu Hirasawa and others whom I never heard until well after my 33rd year.

In fact, I’ve found more music in the past 15 years than in all my years in the previous century, thanks to the internet. I may be atypical, but I don’t think I’m unique. I seriously doubt that I’m the only person my age who actively searches for new music to listen to.

(Via Dustbury.)