[GBA] Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - "Clock Tower" (Replacement) by Atcero

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Castlevania
Game: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Console: Game Boy Advance
Title: Clock Tower
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: Atcero


Replacement Information:
Links to Existing Sheet: MUS | MIDI | PDF
Replacement Type: Challenge (new arranger)

[Atcero]

And with this sub, all of Aria will be replaced. Quick note for the name as well, it is "Clock Tower", rather than "Clocktower". Double checked the OST right before this.

Now some comments for the arrangement:
I have added in octaves where some where not present to give it a more full sound.
I am unsure of many of the accidentals but hopefully most are correct.
The intro is intended to be played with the left hand catching the lower treble clef notes, and if need be I can add in a performance note cause otherwise that be impossible.

[Bloop]

For the intro part, harmonically it's a bit weird to figure out a tonal center: it starts with Am, B, Bb, Am, which is an unusual but possible loop in Am. After that it goes to Cm then D, which is similar to the Am - B as before, but instead goes to Eb then Gm, which is what the piece ends up being. For a key signature, it might be easier to have m1-8 be in Am (so no accidentals) and then go to Gm in m9 (the two flats you have now). At m9 it isn't yet clear we really are in Gm, but the cadence makes sense (Cm, D, Eb and Gm are all naturally occuring chords in Gm).
Accidentals then should be:
-m1-2: all naturals everywhere (A minor is A, C, E, and everything else is just part of the A minor scale too)
-m3-4, C#'s, D#'s, A#'s, F#'s and B's (The chord is B major, which is the B, D# and F#. A#'s and C# are then just one step lower in the scale of B major)
-m5-6: Should hopefully be the same as what you have right now, but if not, Bb's and the rest naturals
-m7-8: G#'s, but for the rest naturals. (G# is the (raised) leading tone in A minor)
-m11: Gb's should be F#'s, Fb's should be En's. (D major is D, F#, A, and the En's are just the second note in the D major scale)

As for what the L.H. should and shouldn't play: I hear all of the L.H. arpeggio's an octave higher. They won't get in the way of the R.H. (except for later but i'll get to that haha). It's best to have some way to notate that the offbeat 16th are meant to be played by the L.H. like you mentioned, you could do that with cross-staffing those notes, or just putting them in the L.H. in a separate layer and have the R.H. play simple 8ths.
I'd also remove the offbeat 16th on beat 1.75 (when the L.H. is still playing that arpeggio), as that'd be easier for the L.H. to manage, and you won't miss too much since there's something filling that beat anyway.
Maybe adding pedal marks (or just con pedale) helps too, to keep the L.H. held longer. You can then also tie them over into each second measure, and maybe adding that church bell in as well?

From m9 up to m14, I hear the lower piano voice of the thirds an octave higher in m9-11, and the upper voice an octave lower in m12-14. Might be easier to leave out the 8va too (but don't forget to move up the offbeat 16ths then too).

In m16, I hear the guitar in beat 3 as a G (above your current Bb). The slide isn't that prominent though, and I think it might be better to just continue with the offbeat 16th D's in the L.H. What you could do though, is move the very last offbeat 16th D in the L.H. an octave lower, so there's some form of downwards motion, as well as an easier transition to m17.

That should be all for the intro though! I'll get to the next section on another time.