Author Topic: yoshimo's Touhou Arrangements Dump  (Read 2655 times)

yoshimo

  • Impractical Coder
  • Just your neighborhood-friendly Yoshi!
yoshimo's Touhou Arrangements Dump
« on: August 14, 2016, 09:34:52 AM »
When I'm not procrastinating, managing translations, or programming, I'm making arrangements.

When I sequence my music, I try to be as faithful to the original song as possible while still adding a bit of "me" to them.
Thus, they aren't exactly remixes, but they aren't exactly remakes, either.

I started by using General MIDI. After that, I started using LMMS with soundfonts I myself ripped from Banjo-Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing using some programs to rip individually each sample and rebuild them as SF2 soundfonts.
Once I started using LMMS, I started giving my arrangements their own titles.

Songs which use the Banjo-Kazooie or Diddy Kong Racing soundfonts are marked with [B-K] or [DKR] respectively.

JUST SAYING if you are looking to hear music that actually sounds okay, please do NOT listen to the Alice Maestra arrangement.

[General MIDI] Alice Maestra (Stage 4 - TH04)
The first and my least favorite. It really does sound like the first one I ever made.

[General MIDI] Vanishing Dream ~ Lost Dream (Kana Anaberal - TH03)
I was very proud of this one when I was finished with it. Looking back, there are flaws in instrument balance and choice, but it still sounds pleasant for the most part.

[General MIDI] Alice in Wonderland (Extra Stage - TH05)
I never did like this one as much as Vanishing Dream, but now I'm more fond of it. This song taught me that I don't need to be exact to have good sound.

[General MIDI] The Call of the Nephilim (Stage 3 - Mystical Power Plant)
I feel this was a suitable end to my days using General MIDI to make my sequences. Unfortunately, the synthesizer on my computer couldn't handle it, so some instrument imbalance occurred... This is my favorite out of the General MIDI sequences.

[B-K/DKR] Lucid Magic (Stage 1 - TH04)
For my first sequence outside of General MIDI, I didn't do that bad. I personally really like the sequence, I would only change some of the instruments.

[B-K/DKR] Homesick Waves of the Roaring Calm (Stage 6 - TH15)
My only gripe here is the bass is too loud. This was the first song where I attempted to use reverb to my advantage. It splendidly worked.

[B-K/DKR] Unimaginable Terrors of an Undiscovered Land (Stage 7 - TH15)
This is my current favorite of all my sequences. I did one take and hated it in the end, so I made another (this one). I am very proud of the amount of effort I put into balancing instruments and mostly just letting myself control the original song rather than letting it control me.
Side note: Yes, it's Stage 7. Touhou 15 calls it Stage 7, not Extra Stage.

[B-K/DKR] Turnback Sword (Hell Levels 11-14 - TH01)
Rather than basing from the version from Akyu's Untouched Score, Vol. 5, I sought the original as it's vastly different. Its simplicity made for a simple song to arrange as a sort of cool-down from Unimaginable Terrors. My choice of instruments could have been better...

[B-K/DKR] Inert Winds of the Summer Moon (Stage 1 - Shining Shooting Star)
This fangame recently caught my attention (only a day after its release!), and its music is very fitting. What better way to appreciate its music than making a sequence of it!

[B-K/DKR] Romantic Laser Expression (Marisa Kirisame - TH08)
This sequence is regrettably cancelled. Its percussion killed me on the inside. I mainly was doing it for a friend, but I'm not a fan of the song... I still have the half-completed project file; perhaps I'll record that...

[DKR] Broken Images of the Bright and Dim (Stage 4 - Shining Shooting Star)
I challenged myself to do this arrangement with only one soundfont. It worked! There are two composers for Shining Shooting Star. I felt that it was only fair to arrange a song by the other composer!

[B-K/DKR] Keep on Dreaming, Alice (Extra Stage - TH05)
In celebration of having 10 sequences, I wanted to redo an old sequence. I chose the Alice in Wonderland sequence. It took a while, mainly due to college, but I finally finished it, and I'm very pleased with the results. I like it at the same level as Unimaginable Terrors of an Undiscovered Land.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2016, 05:31:33 AM by yoshimo »
My perception of my work ethics.

Mеа

  • catnapping
  • three dots connect to rectangles
Re: yoshimo's Touhou Arrangements Dump
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2016, 09:24:34 AM »
hiii welcome!

I don't have time atm to listen to every arrangement you made, but I checked out two of those, the 2nd and 3rd ones from the top, also since I'm an alice fan hhehe. If I can offer some critique, I would say the instruments you're using are lacking a sort of richness to them. They sound 'flat', like a one ply sheet of toilet paper. If you can get some higher quality instruments while also listening a little more carefully to the baseline -- which I heard some notes that weren't harmonizing quite well, iow: they weren't the original notes -- you can certainly get more of a nice thick warm rug of a texture.

Harmonies are a big part of what bring out the emotional thrust in a piece, so make absolute sure they are working well! Hearing an incorrectly harmonized section almost betrays the emotional expectations and emotional emotionmotions of the listener, so make sure you conserve that integrity.

Hmm, maybe that sounded a bit haughty. But keep it up. On the positive side, I think your ear for stratifying the individual elements of the texture itself (the instruments) is working well for you though.
Naked expression; purple raspberry flavour

yoshimo

  • Impractical Coder
  • Just your neighborhood-friendly Yoshi!
Re: yoshimo's Touhou Arrangements Dump
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2016, 10:15:25 PM »
Since I have Windows, General MIDI soundfonts default to Microsoft GS WaveTable Synth, which has very poor-quality instruments (in traditional Windows pre-package style).
Also, keep in mind that the closer to the top, the earlier the arrangement.
My perception of my work ethics.

yoshimo

  • Impractical Coder
  • Just your neighborhood-friendly Yoshi!
Re: yoshimo's Touhou Arrangements Dump
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2016, 05:41:23 AM »
Update: New song - Keep on Dreaming, Alice. An new attempt at arranging Alice in Wonderland, the Extra Stage theme for Mystic Square.

I wanted to redo an old arrangement in celebration of creating 10 sequences. I picked this one because it was the one I felt had the most potential for improvement. I initially went on a route of sticking with the rhythm, as I usually do. I eventually lost motivation, which is why this one took so long. During my hiatus, I realized that there are ways to add onto a song without ruining its integrity. This sequence was too far along to do too much to it, but I still added whatever flair I wanted while still maintaining something that did not stray too far from the original song.

I am very pleased with the result because my additions helped the song feel more rich and less repetitive. I like it just as much as Unimaginable Terrors of an Undiscovered Land, another song where I learned to let myself go a bit. I hope to take my new skill into my future sequences, and I'm also becoming increasingly interested in composing. I'm excited; can you tell??

Oh, I also never made an update post for Broken Images of the Bright and Dim, so if you haven't heard that one, you really should!
« Last Edit: December 12, 2016, 05:43:20 AM by yoshimo »
My perception of my work ethics.

Hello Purvis

  • *
  • Hello Jerry
Re: yoshimo's Touhou Arrangements Dump
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2016, 03:17:06 PM »
That ain't half bad!