[MUL] TUNIC - "Memories of Memories" by PlayfulPiano

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Other
Game: TUNIC
Console: Multiplatform
Title: Memories of Memories
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: PlayfulPiano

[PlayfulPiano]

this took me nearly a year to complete, due to, out of all things, me finding out later from me getting through the game that there is a second rendition of this track that is geared WAY MORE towards a piano arrangement (called Remember to Remember). Eventually I decided today to kinda scrap what I was trying to do before with perfect accuracy to the rhythm or layers or each individual note, and instead do a small bit of proper "arranging" so to speak than try to transcribe.

anyways, TUNIC is very good. please play. ty

edit: quick note on the mus/musx layer choice: to match LH and RH to proper channels, I made RH's layer 2 represent the LH, whereas layer 3 is RH's "second layer" proper.

[PlayfulPiano]

Quick reply to mention that I changed the left hand chording a small bit for page 5, as well as the right hand chording in page 8. Otherwise no change to the arrangement at large.

[Kricketune54]

Sorry for the wait, I've been meaning to post some stuff for a while. I have enjoyed playing parts of this past couple weeks, sounds great on piano

Should the credit be to Terrence "Lifeformed" Lee and Janice Kwan? I see he has a commonly used nickname which is also the name of the channel you linked. Not a big deal but I know we still put Toby "Radiation" Fox on sheets for example

And at the bottom of the page, Shinji (publisher) should be credited. I don't know what LOOPDISK is and didn't find it in any description for the game so feel free to elaborate.

Formatting
-m7-8 and m15-16 LH 16th beaming on beat 3 should like like m11-12
- page 7 the top system is very high. Perhaps lower the systems on this page, or all the pages if you are looking to be consistent between pages 6-11


Notes
- m1 the Ab's from what I can tell continue on with the Bb's, they don't drop off after beat 1.5. in m2
- m1-16 RH beats 3 and 4 do not sound like a half note, I hear them as eigth notes just like beats 1 and 2. Was this an arranging decision or did you hear what I'm hearing as echos as opposed to notes decreasing in dynamic/fading out?
- m1, m3, m7 LH beat 4.75  I hear this as a C#/Db instead of Eb. Similar to m11 and m15. At m5 I hear it as a Cn.
- m2 LH beat 4.0 and similar I hear this as an Ab as the first note of this 16th grouping.
- m41 either delete the Ab from bottom of RH or top of LH.
- m42 LH I think Eb is more appropriate than Db here
- m44 LH there is no movement on beat 2 so this chord can continue to be held out.
- m47-48 and m51-52 RH beat 1 I would suggest removing the Bb in m47 and the C in m48. I know they're supposed to be that high "flute" (?) that is held out and moves from Db to C, but m48/52 in particular sound like the player goofed
   - I would say the same for m59 and m60 RH beat 1. You can see what others say if you want but I think this is just trying to fit a little too much

[PlayfulPiano]

Sorry for the wait, I've been meaning to post some stuff for a while. I have enjoyed playing parts of this past couple weeks, sounds great on piano

Should the credit be to Terrence "Lifeformed" Lee and Janice Kwan? I see he has a commonly used nickname which is also the name of the channel you linked. Not a big deal but I know we still put Toby "Radiation" Fox on sheets for example

And at the bottom of the page, Shinji (publisher) should be credited. I don't know what LOOPDISK is and didn't find it in any description for the game so feel free to elaborate.

Formatting
-m7-8 and m15-16 LH 16th beaming on beat 3 should like like m11-12
- page 7 the top system is very high. Perhaps lower the systems on this page, or all the pages if you are looking to be consistent between pages 6-11


Notes
- m1 the Ab's from what I can tell continue on with the Bb's, they don't drop off after beat 1.5. in m2
- m1-16 RH beats 3 and 4 do not sound like a half note, I hear them as eigth notes just like beats 1 and 2. Was this an arranging decision or did you hear what I'm hearing as echos as opposed to notes decreasing in dynamic/fading out?
- m1, m3, m7 LH beat 4.75  I hear this as a C#/Db instead of Eb. Similar to m11 and m15. At m5 I hear it as a Cn.
- m2 LH beat 4.0 and similar I hear this as an Ab as the first note of this 16th grouping.
- m41 either delete the Ab from bottom of RH or top of LH.
- m42 LH I think Eb is more appropriate than Db here
- m44 LH there is no movement on beat 2 so this chord can continue to be held out.
- m47-48 and m51-52 RH beat 1 I would suggest removing the Bb in m47 and the C in m48. I know they're supposed to be that high "flute" (?) that is held out and moves from Db to C, but m48/52 in particular sound like the player goofed
   - I would say the same for m59 and m60 RH beat 1. You can see what others say if you want but I think this is just trying to fit a little too much

I'll fix the formatting issues, but unsure what you mean by p7. To me, it looks even with the rest of the systems. LOOPDISK is what I found via the copyright of the OST itself on bandcamp, so it might be who owns the OST specifically. I included both Finji and LOOPDISK in the copyright.

Edit 2023/03/03: After discord feedback, now I understand the issue with the page formatting and that's now fixed.

-The half note / drop off in the right hand is a stylistic choice, I'm aware it continues on throughout. I felt though that for piano specifically, having it fade out and held while keeping the Eb/C continue had a better sound.
-Same as above
-I fixed the Cn, but on playback, the Dbs sound kinda, wrong, at least for the phrases that are Ab focused. For the ones that are Gb focused, I made the change.
-Changed but kept the note to be the same as the one for beat 4.75 (so Ab - Ab, Gb - Gb). Didn't change page 2's versions because those sounded fine on playback.
-Removed the upper RH Ab.
-I kinda like the Db here more, but it's hard to tell vs the original.
-Assuming you mean write the Ab octave as a second layer? Sure.
-Honestly when I played these chords on piano proper, it never really sounded like a "goof" to me. Just intentionally dissonant. I'll keep those as is for now.

Updated for things that were mentioned as changed.

[Kricketune54]

I checked out this games credits sequence and vgmdb and I think Terence Lee and Janice Kwan are all that's necessary for the composer credits, no nickname needed.

Continued feedback

-m3-4 and m7-8 I don't think the Gb is actually present in the RH

-m33-34 and m37-38 the F's sound more like Gb to me. Note the difference between this note in m35 for example.
-At m44 I meant I don't hear the Ab outside of the RH.
-m85-90 RH I am hearing the lower layer going between D and C primarily not F and Bb. See attached image for what I'm hearing

-Speaking of m90 I'm not hearing the lower layer part here. I suppose it fades out in a muffled fashion, but have you considered maybe havin the 2nd RH layer be a chord bottom to top like Bb-C-Eb-Bb? Could have it come in on beat 1.5 like the other lower RH layer parts.
   - Is there a reason for having hidden decrescendos throughout?

Overall main feedback I have is that RH lower layer specifically for those 16th note sections. The first note of this rhythm is not alone, and unless that was an arranging decision I would go back, relisten and then write those in.

Examples of missing notes in the RH Lower Layer:
-m19-20 and similar RH lower layer I hear a Gb above the Eb's
-m73-74 I hear a Gb played with the Ab in the RH part
-m89-90 Bb and Fn above Db

[PlayfulPiano]

I checked out this games credits sequence and vgmdb and I think Terence Lee and Janice Kwan are all that's necessary for the composer credits, no nickname needed.

Continued feedback

-m3-4 and m7-8 I don't think the Gb is actually present in the RH

-m33-34 and m37-38 the F's sound more like Gb to me. Note the difference between this note in m35 for example.
-At m44 I meant I don't hear the Ab outside of the RH.
-m85-90 RH I am hearing the lower layer going between D and C primarily not F and Bb. See attached image for what I'm hearing

-Speaking of m90 I'm not hearing the lower layer part here. I suppose it fades out in a muffled fashion, but have you considered maybe havin the 2nd RH layer be a chord bottom to top like Bb-C-Eb-Bb? Could have it come in on beat 1.5 like the other lower RH layer parts.
   - Is there a reason for having hidden decrescendos throughout?

Overall main feedback I have is that RH lower layer specifically for those 16th note sections. The first note of this rhythm is not alone, and unless that was an arranging decision I would go back, relisten and then write those in.

Examples of missing notes in the RH Lower Layer:
-m19-20 and similar RH lower layer I hear a Gb above the Eb's
-m73-74 I hear a Gb played with the Ab in the RH part
-m89-90 Bb and Fn above Db

-Changed the Gb to a Bb3 instead, this I think is closer?

-I tried replacing the F with a Gb and it honestly just sounds a lot worse and conflicting on playback. Keeping this as an F for now.
-Oh, that is based on the synths/strings that play about a half beat later, but only hit max volume at around the 2nd beat. Even if it's not perfectly accurate, I think it resolves well for the solo piano arrangement at least.
-I changed it to an alternating Ab/Db C F/Db C now. A full Bb minor chord seems too dense, and I think it's an Ab on top not a Bb. Should be better though.
-It's definitely audible on playback, all the way to the end of m91, although yes it gets more muffled and quieter as time goes on. The hand structure here is also better suited to stay in the LH for the bottom treble layer, since the final m92 chord is played best with the Gb2 and Bb3 played with the left hand.
-Hidden dynamics are due to the track channels being saved separately for the LH and RH, this is so playback dynamics stay in sync with intended sheet dynamics.

-I don't really hear this Gb? It's more layered, sure, but I don't hear Gb specifically.
-Again, I don't really hear this Gb (maybe it's a harmonic from the bass clef?), and I think this section specifically should keep to 1 note for the lower layer ostinato for clarity and quiet buildup.
-This circles back to the m85-m90 feedback.

Otherwise updated.

Edit: just caught that I had saved over two measures of me testing out on playback one of the feedback suggestions that I didn't include, that's fixed now.

[Kricketune54]

I checked out this games credits sequence and vgmdb and I think Terence Lee and Janice Kwan are all that's necessary for the composer credits, no nickname needed.

"Lifeformed" can be removed.

-Changed the Gb to a Bb3 instead, this I think is closer?

Yes it is.

-I tried replacing the F with a Gb and it honestly just sounds a lot worse and conflicting on playback. Keeping this as an F for now.

Relistened and my feedback more applies to m34, and m38 except for beat 4.5. I hear extra dissonance from the F moving to Gb but then back to F on 4.5.

-Oh, that is based on the synths/strings that play about a half beat later, but only hit max volume at around the 2nd beat. Even if it's not perfectly accurate, I think it resolves well for the solo piano arrangement at least.

Okay.
 

-I changed it to an alternating Ab/Db C F/Db C now. A full Bb minor chord seems too dense, and I think it's an Ab on top not a Bb. Should be better though.

relistened and I think you're right about Ab on top.

-It's definitely audible on playback, all the way to the end of m91, although yes it gets more muffled and quieter as time goes on. The hand structure here is also better suited to stay in the LH for the bottom treble layer, since the final m92 chord is played best with the Gb2 and Bb3 played with the left hand.

Huh, I definitely can hear the lower layer in m91. Now not sure why I didn't earlier
 

-Hidden dynamics are due to the track channels being saved separately for the LH and RH, this is so playback dynamics stay in sync with intended sheet dynamics.

Additional Stuff

The simile text (ex. m35,71,79) that replaces the accent symbols in the top RH layer would make more sense if it were above the top layer rather than adjacent to the bottoms RH layer. And to loop back, I think the simile in m3 might go better if it was under the LH Gb as opposed to above it (I keep looking at the simile thinking it applies to the RH here)

Also small bit I hadn't though to address and I'm not familiar with TUNIC or this track, but is "Cheerful" the right performance text? To me this song sounds more hopeful or determined than cheerful, and I'm not sure cheerful is the emotion I really feel with all these minor chords lol. Obviously a subjective opinion on my part with this bit but wanted clarification

[PlayfulPiano]

"Lifeformed" can be removed.
 Yes it is.
Relistened and my feedback more applies to m34, and m38 except for beat 4.5. I hear extra dissonance from the F moving to Gb but then back to F on 4.5.
 Okay.
 
relistened and I think you're right about Ab on top.
 Huh, I definitely can hear the lower layer in m91. Now not sure why I didn't earlier
 
 

Additional Stuff

The simile text (ex. m35,71,79) that replaces the accent symbols in the top RH layer would make more sense if it were above the top layer rather than adjacent to the bottoms RH layer. And to loop back, I think the simile in m3 might go better if it was under the LH Gb as opposed to above it (I keep looking at the simile thinking it applies to the RH here)

Also small bit I hadn't though to address and I'm not familiar with TUNIC or this track, but is "Cheerful" the right performance text? To me this song sounds more hopeful or determined than cheerful, and I'm not sure cheerful is the emotion I really feel with all these minor chords lol. Obviously a subjective opinion on my part with this bit but wanted clarification

-Removed the nickname.
-Ok so relistening I think it's broken into b1/b2 and b3/b4, where the former has the higher pitch dissonance and the latter is the same as m33/m37. Although I don't think it's just Eb/G, that doesn't sound right. I do hear the note moving up in some fashion, though.
-Fixed the simile text positions, put them all above treble clef (including m3 because the simile also affects the right hand's accents).
-Don't think hopeful or determined is the right word choice. Probably look at the first 10ish minutes of the game in some no commentary video to get an idea of what the vibe of the track is, if you want. But basically it's like, idk, the start of link's awakening if you want some kind of comparison, although more in that "this is a world I never saw before, just got thrown into, and want to explore" vibe.

Won't update the submission yet, will once we figure out the weird notes in m34/m38.

[PlayfulPiano]

nvm am a dumbass, entire time on playback I forgot that Gb wasn't in the key signature, so I was listening to F/G instead of F/Gb.

yeah that works, changed and updated.

[Kricketune54]

-Ok so relistening I think it's broken into b1/b2 and b3/b4, where the former has the higher pitch dissonance and the latter is the same as m33/m37. Although I don't think it's just Eb/G, that doesn't sound right. I do hear the note moving up in some fashion, though.
nvm am a dumbass, entire time on playback I forgot that Gb wasn't in the key signature, so I was listening to F/G instead of F/Gb.

Glad this has been sorted out.

-Don't think hopeful or determined is the right word choice. Probably look at the first 10ish minutes of the game in some no commentary video to get an idea of what the vibe of the track is, if you want. But basically it's like, idk, the start of link's awakening if you want some kind of comparison, although more in that "this is a world I never saw before, just got thrown into, and want to explore" vibe.

Yeah I watched this and I'm moreso speaking to how this track feels and sounds. Honestly a weird track for a first area theme lol. I looked at some of the game's main plot themes and idk this really doesn't sound cheerful to me. Perhaps others could way in but I don't think this performance text goes with the song.

[PiranhaPlant]

Yeah I watched this and I'm moreso speaking to how this track feels and sounds. Honestly a weird track for a first area theme lol. I looked at some of the game's main plot themes and idk this really doesn't sound cheerful to me. Perhaps others could way in but I don't think this performance text goes with the song.

Ah I have played the game and I entirely agree that I wouldn't necessarily describe it as cheerful. ...I don't really know it's more heavily atmospheric than anything - it's too heavy too be considered cheerful in my opinion (but I will say it fits the game perfectly)

[PlayfulPiano]

Probably "Wondrous" would work here.

[XiaoMigros]

Ah I have played the game and I entirely agree that I wouldn't necessarily describe it as cheerful. ...I don't really know it's more heavily atmospheric than anything - it's too heavy too be considered cheerful in my opinion (but I will say it fits the game perfectly)

Probably "Wondrous" would work here.

I think wondrous is still a little too upbeat; atmospheric seems like the perfect choice to me

[PlayfulPiano]

I think wondrous is still a little too upbeat; atmospheric seems like the perfect choice to me

aight, changed and updated