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For what it's worth, I also prefer Latios' picture to the double dotted notes in 23.

Fair enough. Two concurring opinions is good enough for me, so I'll make the swap.

Files updated!

One option to consider as a "middle ground" of sorts is tying the half to a dotted quarter:
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Interesting... I also hadn't considered that, but that definitely works here! Yeesh, all the options that all work.... However, I think the double-dotted note works well to keep the lack of ties from cluttering the sheet, so I think I'll stick to the double-dotted note. Thanks for the suggestion, Latios!

Fair point! One solution I thought of is using a double-dotted note instead of a dotted one here to hide the rest without ties, but I'm not a particular fan of double dotted notes so you can decide what you think is best

Huh. I hadn't thought about using double-dotted notes, mostly because I, too, am not a fan of them. However, in this situation, with it smoothing over the rest, I think it's actually acceptable, especially since the length of the note is obvious or, probably more accurately, not super important to get exact. Besides, it's not like a double-dotted quarter or eighth where you have to start doing some serious math, here, it's just an eighth note left over, which isn't syncopated, so it's easy to follow, play, and sight-read. So, I've gone ahead and replaced it with that double-dotted half. Thanks for the suggestion!

• In m20, 23 & 28 you have rests in the RH, is there a thought behind that? I'd suggest extending the note lengths to cover them, or it might imply non continuity concerning pedaling/phrasing.

• For m20, it was because of the Bb, which the left hand would hit. Had it been a dotted half, the RH would still be holding it whilst the LH restrikes it, which makes no sense. However, I'm okay changing it to a dotted half for the reasons you said.
• For m23, it was because of how having it fill in made it the sheet more complex for very little. In order to have the RH fill the rest, I would have to tie four notes across beat 4. To me, this looks super and unnecessarily complex for only adding an eighth note of duration, which is going to be covered by the pedal anyway. This, and then you end up with the tetrad beamed with a single note, which is fine, but it looks off to me yet again (and splitting the beam is not appropriate here). In short, it just looks nicer, especially compared to the surrounding systems and measures, and I don't think an extra eighth note of duration is worth it. I still stand by this, so I didn't change this one.
• For m28, I'm not entirely sure of my reasons, but I believe it was for the reason that the LH is coming up in-between the two Bb's of the RH. This would be very uncomfortable to play as holding the two Bb's while your LH sneaks in behind it to play notes between your RH's fingers. It may have also additionally been to allow your RH to move up an octave, and an eighth rest wouldn't have cut it because of the tying issue à la m23, so a quarter rest was the shortest rest without introducing complexity. However, if you say that it makes sense for continuity, that's cool by me.

• It's a bit odd to have a slur in m8 and nowhere else, so that would probably best be removed.

Good call -- removed!

• To make the cross-staff sections less visually interfering, you could flip the stems to get something like this:
  
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  Entirely optional, I just thought it looked a little neater

Ooh! It certainly looks nicer in quite a few respects. However, I think I'll stick with this; I checked Behind Bars, and she said that the stems should "point towards the centre of the system". So, given its optionality, I'll stick with what I've got.

Alright, files are updated! Thanks yet again, Xiao!

Thank you for all your hard work and effort Maestro, Braix, and MSF! While it's sad to see you guys retire, it's been awesome to see your work and to be a part of your interactions with this community! Enjoy your well-earned retirement and your honorary titles -- you absolutely deserve it! ❤️❤️❤️

And Xiao and Kricketune as updaters?! I remember when they both joined the Discord server... seeing them all grown up as updaters brings a tear to my eye. :') (okay that makes me sound super old I'mma stop that)
I look forward to working with the both of you even more! You're going to be great updaters!

This looks great.  The only thing I noticed is in bar 20.  I'm not sure I hear the low G rearticulated on beat 4.  It just sounds like the B-D there and the G held over with the pedal.  I think it sounds a bit too heavy with the G as well compared to the original.

Agreed. The triad definitely feels very heavy, so I think you're right with the B-D dyad.

Thanks, Libera! Files have been updated!

About the key signatures, m13-16 is definitely a bit weird. The chords all seem to function like a piece in C major, but it never really fully gets there. If it was a part taken out of another piece it'd probably have been C major, but in this case I think G major works fine too. However, for m21-24, this is a lot more clearly in A minor, so you could change the key signature here. It won't affect the readability much to have another key signature change (especially to one that has no accidentals).

Fair enough. I've changed m.21-24 to A minor.  I could change m.13-16 to C major, but I'd prefer minimizing the number of key changes as much as possible.

-m17 and 19: Maybe mp might work better as a dynamic marking instead of mf in these two bars? Especially the accompaniment sounds a bit quieter than mf compared to the f in m18 and 20.

Yeeeaaaah, I'm not very good with dynamics yet and I think you've got a good point here. Changed!

-m18 and 20: I think you can change these pedal markings to two lines of two beats (instead of one line for the whole measure). A player might interpret as having to press the pedal for the whole bar, since it's currently specifically notated that way.

Good point. I had always thought of it that way, but I guess I didn't think about writing it that way too.

-m22 and 24: I hear a C above the L.H. A in beat 1 here too, like in m21.

Oops -- this one slipped by me when I did Xiao's fixes. Fixed! However, did you also mean to include m.24? I don't hear anything extra and a C would certainly not work for beat 1.

-m28: The pedal mark here should be extended for one more beat. You can change the C in the L.H. beat 2 to a half note too then, so it's a bit more clear where the pedal line stops.
-m32: I think you can change the L.H. C in beat 2 to a dotted half note: leaving a rest after notes might suggest the note needs to be dampened, even though there's a pedal mark that says it shouldn't.

Yeah! This looks a lot cleaner and flows a lot better. Me likey!

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Alright, that should be everything addressed and the files have been updated. Thanks, Bloop!

To adress your notes:

• I think it's clear enough with the double barlines alone. Besides, anyone playing this will probably be aware of how it fits together in the game.
• The key signature as you have it is fine, even though the track does dance it around a little. It dips into some C-centric stuff in the first half, but the second half is made up of 2 I-IV-V-I patterns, so all in all the cadence is definitely centered around a tonic of G major.
• m37-39 looks great like that! If you want you could add slurs to each fourth-eighth pattern but I think it's clear what the arranger's intent here is.

Sounds good. Thanks!

• Slurring: I think the slurs you have are great, and help show the performer how to structure their playing. That said, I think the first page in particular is a little sparse, so looking over it would be appreciated.

Fair enough. I've added some more slurs. I haven't added any to m.5-12 mostly because, according to what Libera said to me once (which I may be misusing here), slurs are best when they show contrast. Since the phrasing for m.5-12 is the natural phrasing and there aren't any additional articulations, I feel that adding slurs here wouldn't do anything to contrast. But, I reserve the right to be wrong here.

• m4 & m40: I think one continuous roll on beat 3 would more accurately reflect the original

Nuuuuuu don't make me do it...
Unfortunately, I agree and I've added it, I just wish it wasn't such a hassle to do in Finale/MuseScore sometimes...

• m5-12: The LH pattern sounds like it does in m37-39, with beats 2 and 4 not sustained as long as 1 and 3. Changing note lengths and/or adding slurs would help make this distinction.

Yeah, this was related to my 3rd point and I originally had it as such, but I wasn't sure, so I just changed it back because it's cleaner. Given that m.37-39 looks good to you, then m.5-12 are fine too.

• m18 b4: The D in the LH chord is an octave lower
• Same thing with m20, I think the B might also be lowered here

Good catch! In fact, I think the m.20 b.4 G major chord was an entire octave lower, not just the B & D.

• m21-24: I feel like the LH could use some more slurs. In the RH, I would recommend writing the staccato dotted eighth notes as just regular eighth notes (no staccato). Additionally, I think beaming over the resulting and already existing 16th rests would look neat.

I forget about beaming over rests. I agree, this looks nice!

• Beat 1 in the LH of m21-23 is missing a C just above the A.
• Beat 1 in the RH of m25, 27 & 29 is missing an F just below the A.

Yep, you're right! I've added those.

• I think the C on beat 2 of m28 is an octave lower.

I disagree. When I slow it down and raise the pitch an octave, I can clearly hear an ascending C major chord: E-G-C.

• m32: It might be worth either moving the C in beat 2 to the LH, or copying it over and adding parentheses.

Yeah, I felt that was awkward, especially contrasting the parallel structure of measure 28, so this is a good fix!

• m39 beat 3: I don't hear the G in the RH.

I do and I remember spending quite a while on this. It's really subtle, but even now when I slow it down, I can clearly hear a F-G resolution across beats 2.5-3 and that G doesn't come from anywhere else, so I'm pretty sure it's not a harmonic or from a sustain. It may be too subtle to care, but I'm pretty sure it's there.

• the rit. markings and similar are best written above the staves.

Yep. Something I've learned through this that I didn't know prior!

Does the copyright have 2 years in it because this track was released in a later update? I'm not that familiar with New Horizons lore :p

Correct. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in March 2020, just a couple weeks after the pandemic quarantines started (which I couldn't have been more happy to have during that rough time ). However, the game received several major patches to add lots of additional content throughout 2020 and 2021. This song (and the corresponding activity) was added in the last major patch, v2.0, in November 2021. [SOURCE]

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Alright, that was quite a bit, but I really, really appreciate all the feedback, Xiao! Files have been updated accordingly.

It could probably go either way but I think it would be better in the lower layer for 2 reasons: 1) Showing the divide between melody and harmony, and 2) Consistency.
Side note (pun not intended), there's an Ab in m13 that would be better off in the lower layer.

Fair enough. I don't really have a strong opinion, so I'll set it to the 2nd layer for now.
Also, I missed that Ab by accident. I fixed it in MuseScore, but forgot to do it in Finale. Whoops.

Those are both strong points! There's no doubt that leaving the sheet as it stands is a valid option. Here's the specifics anyway, just in case:
1) m12 b2.5: Moving this one to the RH would avoid the hands getting a little close and give the LH time for the jump. Also, m11 b4.5 may or may not be more comfortable in the RH as well.
2) m22: Some of the high Fs and As might be easier to play with the RH, they would fit pretty nicely there imo. The drawback is that the RH part gets a little more complicated.
Feel free to ignore this!

Honestly, having tried these out, they're not too bad! Particularly, since it's just one note being moved cross-staff. Your point about allowing the LH some time to jump is actually a really good point. Also, by moving some of the notes, it's visually clear that one can basically keep their left hand in a I-V-I position, which is pretty natural. That said, I just decided to only move the A for m22 because that way your LH can just sit on a root F3-C4-F4 position all the way and keep complexity minimal (moving the Fs dirties the RH too much, IMO). I think I'll stick with these for now. If I change my mind, I'll just put them back. Thanks for the specifics!

The poco rit. and a tempo markings should both be the same height.

Ah yeah. That's a little thing, but good point.

Files have been updated. Thanks again, Xiao!

• m8: I hear the Bb below the F in the LH.
• m9: I don't hear the middle notes in the RH triads
• Same thing for the RH's Ab in m12
• In m13 I hear a low Db instead of a Bb in the RH
• I don't hear the Gb in m14, but I do hear an Ab on beat 3.
• Though I'd like them to be there, I don't hear the Fs in the chords at m15 b4 and m16 b1.
• m27: The last two notes in the RH also play in octaves. You can add the lower Bb in parentheses, or you can add parentheses to the Bb in the LH.
• m31: Despite the 8va getting in the way a little, the rit. marking is still best positioned above the staves, like you did everywhere else.

All great advice and all either correct or appropriate! I am quite surprised you were able to hear some of these as they slipped by me for a while! All implemented -- thanks Xiao!

• m15: I think I hear an F just above the Eb in the LH at beat 1.5

Hmmm, I can't hear this one. Also, I'm also not sure why it'd be there in the first place? Maybe it's just me. Anyway, I'll leave it out for now until I can ascertain otherwise.

• m24 beat 4: I hear an F above the Bb (in the RH), and I think I hear one below it too.

The lower F I hear (good catch!), but I can't hear the higher F. Same as the previous point, I'll keep checking and I'll add it once I'm more confident it's there.

• m9-16: In the RH you're using two layers a little inconsistently, is there a reason you wrote some chords in two layers and some in one?

A variety of reasons, most of them stemming from the idea of "still holding a note that is about to be restruck before the duration's up." However, with your notes (pun intended) above, a lot of those have been addressed and now it just looks better to be consistent. I still have questions about m.16, since, while I could make the RH Eb a layer 2 note, the resolution is handled by the LH and there rest of the notes in the measure are singles for the RH, so, to me, it looks like that Eb is hanging. So, I'm not sure quite what to do there.

• For this section it might also be easier for the performer to play some of the high LH notes with the RH. There's nothing problematic with what you have currently but it might be worth trying some things out if you haven't already!
• m21-23: Same comment about moving some LH notes to the RH; it's playable as is but you might find it could be easier.

Yeeeah, I thought about this point while arranging it, especially since the LH gets up into the stratosphere a bit. Firstly, I think the sheet looks really clean and adding stuff to denote that it should be handled by the other hand will just gunk it up. That triviality aside, I still feel that since the LH is really just doing one thing and that's fine and so if the player wants to hand something off, I feel that should be their decision, not necessarily mine. If you have some specifics, I'd be open to hear them, though!

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Alright, that should be everything addressed. Subsequently, the files have been updated. Thanks for the thorough (and timely) feedback, Xiao!

A couple notes:

• I originally had breath marks after some of the "verses", but I removed them due to be inconsistent. Let me know if you think breath marks would be a good addition or not and where.
• I'm not sure about key signatures for m.13-24. I've stuck with a single shift to G major, which m.17-20 definitely is and m.16 resolves to, but I'm not sure if it's prudent to make a switch for both m.13-16 (not sure what key; some kind of pentatonic scale perhaps? Do let me know!) and m.21-24 (A minor) too.
• m.37-39 have the LH lift on beats 2.5 & 4.5. This is there, but I wonder if it may be better to notate it as quarter notes, rather than eighth notes. Let me know what you think!

And yes, I do apologize for the instructor's nattering -- I have never found a version without it.

[Day 12:]

With all that said, to close out this year's Sheetsmas, I thought about all the different pieces I could arrange/finish for the final day's piece. However, I decided on a simple piece -- the piece that plays when you put your cute bug adventurers to bed -- as I think it's quite fitting. For the poet once wrote:

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Indeed. I think that sums up everything nicely. ❤️
Day 12:

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - "Night at the Inn"
[PDF] [MIDI] [MUS] [MUSX]

With this final piece, I conclude my 2022 Twelve Days of Sheetsmas! This year, I found it much easier than last, probably because I had a plethora of mostly-finished pieces lying around compared to last year. That said, who knows what next year will bring? If I post more often, then I'll probably be less likely to participate next year, and vice versa. We shall see.

Thanks to all who took a gander at, offered suggestions on, and enjoyed my submissions! I wish you, your families, and everyone else a very merry Christmas, a happy holidays, and a fantastic New Year!

[Day 11:]

One more Trails in the Sky piece for good measure!

As I've said before, Trails has got some great music and I've thoroughly enjoyed arranging pieces for it. A lot of the pieces have some serious emotion behind them and serve well in the scenes they're in. This one's not nearly as powerful as "Confession" imo, which I did earlier, but the music box-ness of it hits some feels for sure.

Enjoy your Christmas Eve!
Day 11:

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - "In My Heart"
[PDF] [MIDI] [MUS] [MUSX]

[Day 10:]

Gotta do some more Animal Crossing.

So, 3 PM is probably my second most favorite hourly theme in the game, with 6 PM being my absolute favorite for the game (might arrange that one someday). It's bouncy, upbeat, and I think accurately captures a mood of "3 PM" quite well! There were a couple tricky parts with this, particularly near the end, so it'll need some cleanup before submission, plus I also didn't do the "rainy" version, but it's basically the same, with just the bass up 2 octaves (and yes, that does create problems, thank you for asking).

Enjoy! Bonus points if it's 3 PM where you live right now!
Day 10:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - "3:00 PM"
[PDF] [MIDI] [MUS] [MUSX]