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[cacabish]

This year, I've got two Halloween sheets, both from Mario Party! Gee, what a surprise...

The larger piece is a spoOoOoky board's theme (which will also be included in the upcoming Mario Party Superstars game)!
And the shorter is just a 4-measure little ditty that plays in the background when you're deciding which of your friendships you'd like to end. No biggie.

"Horror Land"
[N64] Mario Party 2
[MUSX]

-----
"The Boo House"
[GCN] Mario Party 4
[MUSX]

[Zeila]

The real horror is the NPC difficulty level on very hard

Horror Land
- m10 RH beat 3.5 sounds like there's a staccato F here

The Boo House
- I like the tempo marking! Just one thing to mention, but maybe you could add an 8vb/8va to the LH part. What you have currently is correct, but lowering it would just be to increase the octave range since this is missing out on the higher octave. It's fine the way it is now though

[cacabish]

The real horror is the NPC difficulty level on very hard

True that. And nothing is quite as terrifying as a computer with 50 coins nearing Boo when you're in first place with a star.

Horror Land
- m10 RH beat 3.5 sounds like there's a staccato F here

Ooh, this one was really subtle, but it's there. Barely, but it's there. Good catch! I've put it in.

The Boo House
- I like the tempo marking! Just one thing to mention, but maybe you could add an 8vb/8va to the LH part. What you have currently is correct, but lowering it would just be to increase the octave range since this is missing out on the higher octave. It's fine the way it is now though

Sounds reasonable. I've gone ahead and added and 8vb to the LH and, I mean, it sounds spookier because spooky music loves that D E E P  B A S S. But, if it doesn't sound good or needs to be removed (or if I've misunderstood something), nothing one tap of the Delete key won't fix. Thanks for the suggestion!

With that, both files have been updated! Thanks Zeila!

[Bloop]

ohhhhhh my favourite childhood mario party board :O
Here's my comments on it:

-m2 and 4: Not sure if this is controversial, but you could add a tie between the two notes in the R.H. to show that the trill continues from the note in beat 1. Currently, it may look like you need to lift your finger, restrike the note and then do the trill. Making the first note a dotted half note while keeping the triller where it is could work too, though it may look a bit confusing.
-m5 and on: If you want, you can put a tenuto marking on the 3rd beat to emphasize that this beat is not played staccato. You could also put a simile marking after 2 or 4 bars or so, so you don't have to show all the staccatos (and possible tenutos) in all other bars.
-m5 and 9: Is there a particular reason you started the slur on beat 3 instead of beat 2?
-m6 and 10: The D's on beats 3 should have a staccato too.
-m7-8 and 11-12: I think I'd prefer having beats 1 here as A# in m7-8 and E# in m11-12, as they're the M7 and #4 in their respective chords.
-m10: The F on beat 3.5 is in that soft xylophone background right? I actually don't think you should add it in, as it's not part of the main melody you're transcribing.
-m20: The D grace note should be a D# I think.
-m27 and 35: I think you can put the G-Bb dyads in beats 2 and 3 in the treble clef, for a bit better readability (arguably also for the F-A's m25-26 and 33-34). Though, if you wanna keep them as is, that's fine too: the stepwise motion makes the ledger lines a bit more managable.
-m29: Though I can hear the F here is timed a little laidback, I think it's still better to just write this with D# and E grace notes and a dotted half note F.
-m30: What you have is not necessarily wrong, but you can write the tied 8th notes F's on beats 2.5 and 3 as just a quarter note too.
-m33: I don't think the grace note is here, I just hear the F connected to the E in m32.
-m37: I remember seeing a question about the beaming from this bar on discord, though in 3/4 I don't think it's as much of a problem to use two dotted quarter notes.

About Boo House, the only thing I can say is that the G on beat 1.5 from m2 would probably work better as a staccato 8th note (instead of 16th + 16th rest). Otherwise this looks fine! (It kinda sounds like the first 8th of m1 is two 16ths, but I believe that's just a percussion note that's throwing me off)

[cacabish]

ohhhhhh my favourite childhood mario party board :O

Neato! I didn't grow up with Mario Party 2, so I don't have a "favourite childhood" board, but this one's pretty good, ngl.


Anyway, addressing the feedback...

-m2 and 4: Not sure if this is controversial, but you could add a tie between the two notes in the R.H. to show that the trill continues from the note in beat 1. Currently, it may look like you need to lift your finger, restrike the note and then do the trill. Making the first note a dotted half note while keeping the triller where it is could work too, though it may look a bit confusing.

I didn't do this originally because I wasn't sure if this worked or not. I referred to Gould and, while she doesn't mention anything explicitly, her advice would seem to suggest that this works, particularly since the trill line helps clarify. So, I've tied the quarter to the half note. Let me know if this looks off and should be changed!

-m5 and on: If you want, you can put a tenuto marking on the 3rd beat to emphasize that this beat is not played staccato. You could also put a simile marking after 2 or 4 bars or so, so you don't have to show all the staccatos (and possible tenutos) in all other bars.

The tenuto makes sense and does clarify the articulation pattern, so good idea! As for the sim., I've never done one before and so I didn't use one originally, but since the LH never changes the articulation pattern, it's pretty reasonable to use one here. I've included it, however, since I haven't used one before, let me know if my positioning is off, something is ambiguous, or other such derp-age has occurred.

-m5 and 9: Is there a particular reason you started the slur on beat 3 instead of beat 2?

To me, the legato doesn't begin until beat 3. I can hear slight breaks for the two eighth notes that come before, but afterwards I cannot. However, I would say it does look nicer if the slur starts on beat 2 and, arguably, would be better for playing (and it's probably not even a big deal). I've changed it to beat 2 for now, but if you believe my rationale is justified, let me know and I can switch it back.

-m6 and 10: The D's on beats 3 should have a staccato too.

Good call! Fixed.

-m7-8 and 11-12: I think I'd prefer having beats 1 here as A# in m7-8 and E# in m11-12, as they're the M7 and #4 in their respective chords.

Sounds good! I went through like 3 or 4 different accidental combos while going through this originally. This was one of them that I had considered, but I wasn't sure of which was the best, so I just picked one I thought worked.

-m10: The F on beat 3.5 is in that soft xylophone background right? I actually don't think you should add it in, as it's not part of the main melody you're transcribing.

Fair point. REVERT!

-m20: The D grace note should be a D# I think.

I was pretty sure I had this as a D#, but I guess I didn't? Maybe it got lost somehow. Anyway, it's there now.

-m27 and 35: I think you can put the G-Bb dyads in beats 2 and 3 in the treble clef, for a bit better readability (arguably also for the F-A's m25-26 and 33-34). Though, if you wanna keep them as is, that's fine too: the stepwise motion makes the ledger lines a bit more managable.

You make a good point and I certainly don't prefer towers of ledger lines in my music, however, in this case, I think what I have works fine. There are several issues I have with moving them up and one such issue would be ambiguity with the 8va that controls the melody in measures 25-27 (this wouldn't be an issue in measures 33-35). I'm also not sure if I should just move them as if it were cross-staff notes, add LH brackets, how the stems of the RH should be oriented, etc. That said, if you have a nice elegant solution that works, let me know and I'll gladly put it in! But in my limited testing, stuff looks weird and I'm not confident enough in what I'm doing to make that change.

-m29: Though I can hear the F here is timed a little laidback, I think it's still better to just write this with D# and E grace notes and a dotted half note F.

Good call! It certainly cleans that measure up really nicely. That said, should I add something that makes it sound more laidback? Or is that something left for the performer?

-m30: What you have is not necessarily wrong, but you can write the tied 8th notes F's on beats 2.5 and 3 as just a quarter note too.

Interesting... I wouldn't have considered that before. Anyway, I've made the change, but given the slew of tied notes around it, I thought it looked pretty nice with the tie. That said, if it looks good to you, it works for me!

-m33: I don't think the grace note is here, I just hear the F connected to the E in m32.

Yeah, definitely not necessary with the whole section under a legato. Derp. Removed!

-m37: I remember seeing a question about the beaming from this bar on discord, though in 3/4 I don't think it's as much of a problem to use two dotted quarter notes.

Would you mind expounding on this? I definitely am still learning about how rhythmic groupings work, but based on my present understanding, I think what I have is good and the Discord members seemed to agree. However, if there is some good reason why two dotted quarters work here, I'd like to know it! I'd be happy to make the change once I better understand "why" that change is better than what I have.

About Boo House, the only thing I can say is that the G on beat 1.5 from m2 would probably work better as a staccato 8th note (instead of 16th + 16th rest). Otherwise this looks fine! (It kinda sounds like the first 8th of m1 is two 16ths, but I believe that's just a percussion note that's throwing me off)

Yeah, that staccato eighth cleans it right up and definitely makes it look better. Thanks!


That should be everything! Thanks for all the feedback, Bloop! I really appreciate it. (Hopefully, you didn't get carpal tunnel after typing all that up. )
I've updated both files and feel free to let me know of additional things I can fix!

[Bloop]

I didn't do this originally because I wasn't sure if this worked or not. I referred to Gould and, while she doesn't mention anything explicitly, her advice would seem to suggest that this works, particularly since the trill line helps clarify. So, I've tied the quarter to the half note. Let me know if this looks off and should be changed!

I personally think this would be clearest. I asked other updaters for a third opinion, and one is pro without a tie, while another is pro with a tie, so it's an even split lol. Either way is probably fine, so I guess just keep it like you have now :p

The tenuto makes sense and does clarify the articulation pattern, so good idea! As for the sim., I've never done one before and so I didn't use one originally, but since the LH never changes the articulation pattern, it's pretty reasonable to use one here. I've included it, however, since I haven't used one before, let me know if my positioning is off, something is ambiguous, or other such derp-age has occurred.

I think this is fine! My initial reaction would have been to put it below the L.H., but I think placing it around the area where the simile applies to (like you have now) is actually better

To me, the legato doesn't begin until beat 3. I can hear slight breaks for the two eighth notes that come before, but afterwards I cannot. However, I would say it does look nicer if the slur starts on beat 2 and, arguably, would be better for playing (and it's probably not even a big deal). I've changed it to beat 2 for now, but if you believe my rationale is justified, let me know and I can switch it back.

It may be there, though it is a bit hard for me to hear tbh. It could also just be N64 soundfont stuff that disconnects some notes. Anyway, it'd probably be nicer to play it like you have now in a phrasing standpoint.

That said, if you have a nice elegant solution that works, let me know and I'll gladly put it in! But in my limited testing, stuff looks weird and I'm not confident enough in what I'm doing to make that change.

I meant something like this originally:

The 8va marking won't really interfere with the L.H., so you don't have to worry about that. I personally think it's alright to have it like this, but if you feel it looks a bit confusing for one bar, I can understand that too ^^

That said, should I add something that makes it sound more laidback? Or is that something left for the performer?

I wouldn't worry too much about if something is played laidback or not. The question we'll have to ask is "Does it matter if the player knows this one note is played a bit later than normal?" and I personally would answer "nah not really, it sounds fine if they play it like normal too". You could even say it would sound a bit weirder on piano than on oboe (is it an oboe?), as the oboe has a less strong attack than a piano.

Would you mind expounding on this? I definitely am still learning about how rhythmic groupings work, but based on my present understanding, I think what I have is good and the Discord members seemed to agree. However, if there is some good reason why two dotted quarters work here, I'd like to know it! I'd be happy to make the change once I better understand "why" that change is better than what I have.

It mainly has to do with strong and weak accents in a bar. In 4/4, beats 1 and 3 are strong, while beats 2 and 4 are weak. When working with nothing faster than 8th notes, it's fine to hide beats 2 and 4 behind quarter notes or dotted quarter notes, because they are the weak beats. We wanna see beat 3, because that's a strong beat. (Of course, beat 1 will always be visible, you can't hide that one :p)
Now, in 3/4, there's just one strong beat, namely beat 1. Beats 2 and 3 are weak beats. As we don't really care much about weak beats (again, when working with nothing faster than 8ths), it's fine to hide beats 2 and 3. For example in m30, you currently have beat 3 hidden like I suggested. I would've said the same if the tie was on beat 2 instead of beat 3. So that's why I think it's also fine to hide both of them: it doesn't create any ambiguity in my opinion.

I'll definitely approve of The Boo's House, and I'll approve the other one once you decide what you want to do with the answers to your questions ^^

[cacabish]

I personally think this would be clearest. I asked other updaters for a third opinion, and one is pro without a tie, while another is pro with a tie, so it's an even split lol. Either way is probably fine, so I guess just keep it like you have now :p

It really only matter what our glorious leader Latios thinks... His words are absolute.

I think this is fine! My initial reaction would have been to put it below the L.H., but I think placing it around the area where the simile applies to (like you have now) is actually better

Good! Glad to hear it.

It may be there, though it is a bit hard for me to hear tbh. It could also just be N64 soundfont stuff that disconnects some notes. Anyway, it'd probably be nicer to play it like you have now in a phrasing standpoint.

Right, and that's what I figured was going to be the case.

I meant something like this originally:

The 8va marking won't really interfere with the L.H., so you don't have to worry about that. I personally think it's alright to have it like this, but if you feel it looks a bit confusing for one bar, I can understand that too ^^

Oops! This didn't even cross my mind! I thought you were talking about some crazy cross-staff shenanigans! Derp.
Well, this works great (save actually doing it in Finale... *grumble* *grumble*), so I've gone ahead and done it! I've also applied it for the F/A dyads as well since they could benefit from it too. I do have to wonder if this might be appropriate elsewhere, like m. 28 to keep the system uniformly formatted, or something like that. If you think other places may benefit from the same modification, let me know!

I wouldn't worry too much about if something is played laidback or not. The question we'll have to ask is "Does it matter if the player knows this one note is played a bit later than normal?" and I personally would answer "nah not really, it sounds fine if they play it like normal too". You could even say it would sound a bit weirder on piano than on oboe (is it an oboe?), as the oboe has a less strong attack than a piano.

Yeah, I figured this was the rationale and it makes sense. If somebody cares enough for being accurate, they're probably already familiar enough with the song and the notes are really just what they need.

It mainly has to do with strong and weak accents in a bar. In 4/4, beats 1 and 3 are strong, while beats 2 and 4 are weak. When working with nothing faster than 8th notes, it's fine to hide beats 2 and 4 behind quarter notes or dotted quarter notes, because they are the weak beats. We wanna see beat 3, because that's a strong beat. (Of course, beat 1 will always be visible, you can't hide that one :p)
Now, in 3/4, there's just one strong beat, namely beat 1. Beats 2 and 3 are weak beats. As we don't really care much about weak beats (again, when working with nothing faster than 8ths), it's fine to hide beats 2 and 3. For example in m30, you currently have beat 3 hidden like I suggested. I would've said the same if the tie was on beat 2 instead of beat 3. So that's why I think it's also fine to hide both of them: it doesn't create any ambiguity in my opinion.

I see. You've made your case well enough. I'll have to let that stew for a little while in the ol' noggin, but that's not important right now, so I've gone ahead and made the change.


That should be everything addressed! The file has been updated too. Do let me know if I've overlooked something in the sea of text.

[Bloop]

Hmm, I can see something in a system uniform with having m28 with different clefs too, as to better compare this bar to m27. You could even go ahead and do m21-24 as well, as that would remove all ledger lines, though it may also be too much clef changes.

Anyway, I think I'll just move this to the folder now! At whatever place you decide to change the clefs, I'll most likely agree with you, haha.

[Latios212]

Horror Land

-m2 and 4: Not sure if this is controversial, but you could add a tie between the two notes in the R.H. to show that the trill continues from the note in beat 1. Currently, it may look like you need to lift your finger, restrike the note and then do the trill.

I didn't do this originally because I wasn't sure if this worked or not. I referred to Gould and, while she doesn't mention anything explicitly, her advice would seem to suggest that this works, particularly since the trill line helps clarify. So, I've tied the quarter to the half note. Let me know if this looks off and should be changed!

I personally think this would be clearest. I asked other updaters for a third opinion, and one is pro without a tie, while another is pro with a tie, so it's an even split lol. Either way is probably fine, so I guess just keep it like you have now :p

It really only matter what our glorious leader Latios thinks... His words are absolute.

oh hi
Yeah, about this - I agree with Bloop. There's two main reasons for that:
1 - Writing the trilled note without the tie implies that you have a separate melody note being struck, instead of starting to "modify" the existing one.
2 - As Bloop mentioned, writing it with the tie implies that you start alternating with the note above instead of re-striking the written note. (Similar to how if you had a woodwind instrument, you'd use one breath for the whole measure and just use your fingers to alternate the notes)

I don't have too much else to say about this one!
- Is it just me or is the molto legato really close to the slur in m. 29?
- To me when listening to the original, the RH in the last measure sounds like it might be more fitting an octave lower


The Boo House

Nothing to add here, accepted!

[cacabish]

oh hi

Spoiler

Hi

[close]

Yeah, about this - I agree with Bloop. There's two main reasons for that:
1 - Writing the trilled note without the tie implies that you have a separate melody note being struck, instead of starting to "modify" the existing one.
2 - As Bloop mentioned, writing it with the tie implies that you start alternating with the note above instead of re-striking the written note. (Similar to how if you had a woodwind instrument, you'd use one breath for the whole measure and just use your fingers to alternate the notes)

Right, and I figured that was the rationale; it's very logical. However, it's one of those "corner cases" that I've never run into (likely won't run into it again for a long time either) and was unsure about and Gould never mentioned anything explicit, which didn't help. Nevertheless, when I look at it and pretend that I have never seen it before, I feel like I would know what to do and what was intended -- it's pretty clear overall, which is a good sign that this is good.

- Is it just me or is the molto legato really close to the slur in m. 29?

Barring the slur being invisible (which we talked about in the Discord), it's a bit close, yeah. I never quite know where to put directional markings, so I was bound to have it be too close to something or misaligned or somethin'. Anyway, I've bumped it up a smidge. If it needs some more, let me know.

- To me when listening to the original, the RH in the last measure sounds like it might be more fitting an octave lower

Fair point. I was primarily going for a flourish at the end where the octave was different than that the D that you just finished holding (going for the whole "over-the-top, emotional pianist" vibe here), but the octave down is more accurate, for sure. Adjusted!


All that said, Horror Land has been updated! If there are more fixes, please let me know!

[Latios212]

Awesome! The changes look good! I don't have any more feedback so I will accept. You're all set for Halloween