[NDS] Mario Kart DS - "Tick Tock Clock" by Sebastian, E. Gadd Industries & TheClassicalLenny

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Super Mario
Game: Mario Kart DS
Console: Nintendo DS
Title: Tick Tock Clock
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arrangers: Sebastian, E. Gadd Industries & TheClassicalLenny

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[E. Gadd Industries]

Hopefully we can get this in as a contribution to the NSM Y3K update!

[Bloop]

oh hey i'm not the only one who has arranged this song
Maybe you could take a look at my arrangement and compare a bit.

[E. Gadd Industries]

I forgot to say, I won't be able to help with this, as I'll be on a mission trip all week, so Seb and Lenny will have to see this through.

Great minds think alike, though!

[Sebastian]

Did a couple more edits:
- Added staccatissimos in the first few measures.
- Center-aligned the second page title.
- Hid the dynamic in the last measure (I thought I had it hidden, but must've gotten "unhidden.")
- Some misplaced stuff.
- Added some notes.

[daj]

Ooh, I think it looks good! You've chosen a hilarious track that's a little tough to transcribe to piano (because the "tick"-y sound of a clock that forms most of the accompaniment can't be recreated too easily), but for the most part, to my knowledge, you've got the notes and the feel! I like

Erm, personal thing against single-note tremolos though. I think you've got two in the piece, and...it's not nice to see those. In the original we've got tremolos, but in a performance context I don't think it works out.

My suggestion would be to take them out, and if you really want them, then keep the second one buuuuut change it to a split instead. Basically, low-high-low-high etc. The standard two-note tremolo over an octave. I think that'll have a better effect

Otherwise, great work, hope to see this up soon!

[Bloop]

Next to that, I recommend changing a few of the 8th note chords into two 16th notes every two measures (like in my sheet in measure 4, 6, 8 etc.). It's clearly hearable in the original.
Also, I think you should make a musical distinction between the two parts of the song (m. 13-22 and m. 23-30). The drumbeat disappears in m. 23-30, which results in an emptier sound. I think something like that should be noticeable in the sheet too.

[Lenny Face]

Next to that, I recommend changing a few of the 8th note chords into two 16th notes every two measures (like in my sheet in measure 4, 6, 8 etc.). It's clearly hearable in the original.
Also, I think you should make a musical distinction between the two parts of the song (m. 13-22 and m. 23-30). The drumbeat disappears in m. 23-30, which results in an emptier sound. I think something like that should be noticeable in the sheet too.

Hi! I never even realized the two semi-quaver notes until I listened really hardly, so I'd say your listening skills are ON FLEEK. Also, what "drumbeat?" Is it the "tick tock tick tock" or the bass? Because if it was the bass, you could hear the bass if you listened close enough.

[Sebastian]

Erm, personal thing against single-note tremolos though. I think you've got two in the piece, and...it's not nice to see those. In the original we've got tremolos, but in a performance context I don't think it works out.

My suggestion would be to take them out, and if you really want them, then keep the second one buuuuut change it to a split instead. Basically, low-high-low-high etc. The standard two-note tremolo over an octave. I think that'll have a better effect

Latios and I had a discussion about these. I think we decided to keep these in. A lot of the time, there is ambiguity to how fast/how many times a tremolo should be played. That's why tremolos are sometimes added (opposed to 16ths/32nds/etc.).

Personally, when I come across one that is really hard to play (M. 16 for example), I'll switch off fingers (pinky and thumb) instead of playing them at the same time (like the tremolos that are between two certain notes). I don't write it this way because I want it to be like the original, and because some people can play them as they are written. I'd really like to not lose that original feel

tl;dr: If they are to hard to play, you can play them like tremolos that are between two notes instead of like the ones we have in the sheet.   

Next to that, I recommend changing a few of the 8th note chords into two 16th notes every two measures (like in my sheet in measure 4, 6, 8 etc.). It's clearly hearable in the original.

I would agree that they are "hearable" in the original; however, we didn't add them because we didn't want to throw off the clean left hand we have going. If we added those in M. 4 and M. 6, then we'd have to add them everywhere else and I don't want to add them in M. 6-18. It'd make it harder and it'd throw off the effect/mood (in my opinion) we have going in this piece.

Also, I think you should make a musical distinction between the two parts of the song (m. 13-22 and m. 23-30). The drumbeat disappears in m. 23-30, which results in an emptier sound. I think something like that should be noticeable in the sheet too.

We originally had the all the upbeats from M. 23-30 taken out. Latios recommended we add them in to make the piece fuller.

[Bloop]

I would agree that they are "hearable" in the original; however, we didn't add them because we didn't want to throw off the clean left hand we have going. If we added those in M. 4 and M. 6, then we'd have to add them everywhere else and I don't want to add them in M. 6-18. It'd make it harder and it'd throw off the effect/mood (in my opinion) we have going in this piece.
 
We originally had the all the upbeats from M. 23-30 taken out. Latios recommended we add them in to make the piece fuller.

i have a hard time explaining myself in words so i made an example

The main thing that's bugging me is the fact that the bassline isn't that consequent, resulting in emptier and fuller sounding parts in places where they shouldn't be.
I'd recommend something like this.
In this version, the accompaniment is consequent throughout the whole song (mostly ascending fifths for the bass; chords are always on the same octave). I deleted the lower notes in m. 23-30, resulting in an emptier sound.

If you want the bassline to be more like the original (mostly descending fourths), I'd recommend this version. In this version, the bassline consists of mostly descending fourths. I also added the two 16th notes every two bars. In this way, the left hand won't be as hard to play, and I personally feel they do add to the mood of the song.

[Sebastian]

The main thing that's bugging me is the fact that the bassline isn't that consequent, resulting in emptier and fuller sounding parts in places where they shouldn't be.
I'd recommend something like this.
In this version, the accompaniment is consequent throughout the whole song (mostly ascending fifths for the bass; chords are always on the same octave). I deleted the lower notes in m. 23-30, resulting in an emptier sound.

I guess that works. I'll do some messing with it.

If you want the bassline to be more like the original (mostly descending fourths), I'd recommend this version. In this version, the bassline consists of mostly descending fourths. I also added the two 16th notes every two bars. In this way, the left hand won't be as hard to play, and I personally feel they do add to the mood of the song.

I don't like when there are notes repeating each other on the downbeat and upbeat. Olimar has made his statement about this to me as well.
I say we leave it as is.

[Bloop]

I don't like when there are notes repeating each other on the downbeat and upbeat. Olimar has made his statement about this to me as well.
I say we leave it as is.

I don't mind that personally: the upbeat is supposed to be played a bit louder than the downbeat, so there will be a distinction between the two. But that's just my opinion, you can keep it as is.

[daj]

Latios and I had a discussion about these. I think we decided to keep these in. A lot of the time, there is ambiguity to how fast/how many times a tremolo should be played. That's why tremolos are sometimes added (opposed to 16ths/32nds/etc.).

Personally, when I come across one that is really hard to play (M. 16 for example), I'll switch off fingers (pinky and thumb) instead of playing them at the same time (like the tremolos that are between two certain notes). I don't write it this way because I want it to be like the original, and because some people can play them as they are written. I'd really like to not lose that original feel

tl;dr: If they are to hard to play, you can play them like tremolos that are between two notes instead of like the ones we have in the sheet.   

Single-note tremolo is actually a really (like, pretty high up there) advanced technique haha buuut yeah, I get where you're coming from

Gotcha!~

[Sebastian]

 

I don't mind that personally: the upbeat is supposed to be played a bit louder than the downbeat, so there will be a distinction between the two. But that's just my opinion, you can keep it as is.

Haha, ok. The links have been updated.

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

Single-note tremolo is actually a really (like, pretty high up there) advanced technique haha buuut yeah, I get where you're coming from

Especially with octaves.
Even for someone like myself who's fairly good at octaves, it's nearly impossible to get those octaves in rapid succession without creating an unwanted harsh tone.