Theme of Love (FF Piano Opera Ver.)
LOL I really thought I had recovered back in November, huh. I think I’ve recovered from this slump for good this time, though- I’ve been slowly working on this piece since December and I even recorded a progress video but I ended up not uploading. And now it’s done! This is a piece that I’ve had on my list for a veryyyyy long time, so I’m really glad I was able to finish it. Finally. There was one specific part that made me chicken out time and time again (more on that later), but I overcame the challenge and made it to the end!! I’m not really happy with this take but given that I haven’t completed anything in "*checks watch* 8 years, I’ll take it. This is also the piece I had done a sightreading take for back in August or something, but dropped it at the time.
Lovers’ Oath
WOWWW double post today!! Actually this is a super belated post, though- I got this take on July 31 and waffled for weeks since I wasn’t super happy with it. But, it’s not too bad now that I watch it a few weeks later, and I definitely no longer can play this piece as well as I did when I recorded this, so I’ll call it done and move on! This is another track from “Genshin Impact” featuring yet another very bittersweet melody (there’s definitely a pattern in the stuff I learn, whoops).
Scala Ad Caelum (Field Theme)
Shorter project this time! A friend from work recommended this arrangement and it was a nice change of pace- this is definitely my fave new track from KH3 (granted the number of new tracks introduced wasn’t… that big BUT STILL), so it worked out nicely. I learned it in a couple of days last weekend, but didn’t get a chance to record until today. Also wanted to give myself some time for muscle memory since trying to record anything TOO fresh is always a nightmare lol.
Vanille’s Theme
FINALLY A POST, between the piano being twangy and my new job and just generally not having any motivation for piano, I had nothing to post for a while but I knocked the rust off of Vanille’s Theme and am finally able to post it. I do believe this is the very first time that I’m posting anything for this piece despite having recorded it tons of times over the past several years… today’s take isn’t perfect, either, but it’s good enough that I’ll post it and finally have it up! There’s a lot of meaning behind this piece for me but more on that later.
Yuna’s Determination
Hurriedly updating the blog once before the month ends- and Happy Halloween!! This update has nothing to do with spooky things, though... this is a oneshot for “Yuna’s Determination” from FFX, which I worked on last month and then just… haven’t uploaded… pretty happy with this one, though!
Fisherman’s Horizon
Hello, hello! Here’s a piece from FFVIII (which I haven’t played) that I picked up near the end of December- I’d originally wanted to have it done by Christmas since it’s got some cozy holiday vibes in my opinion, but… that didn’t pan out. But hey, it’s still winter, right? It’s still winter… with 87F degree weather…
Tender Strength
Happy belated Holidays and Happy New Year for 2021!! Here’s my last piece for 2020; I played a lovely piano arrangement of “Tender Strength” from Genshin Impact (link to the arrangement!). I never got to meet Venti in-game (my run with Genshin lasted exactly one evening), but his backstory is extremely Emotional and this piece also has such a bittersweet vibe… which is exactly my brand so I had to play it haha.
A Place in the Sun
A few months later, Alvin and I return with another collab!! This time we played “A Place in the Sun” from Xenoblade Chronicles II- haven’t played the game, but I found this piece in a playlist by chance and when I realized it was just cello and piano, I got super hyped lol. This wasn’t my best performance since I was a bit time-crunched (my bad), but I did hit all the notes so I guess that was my first priority. It was a faster project than the one from before, but it was enjoyable all the same and I learned a lot!
Smile Again
Finished my latest “break” piece- this time I played “Smile Again” from ARIA. I don’t know much about ARIA; I only read a handful of chapters when I was a young teen because the art was nice but didn’t get into it, but a friend showed me this piece recently and it was just so lovely I was like “I must learn this someday”.. and then I finished “1000 Words” and was like now would be a good time. So here we are!! Today’s post is going to be shorter than usual since the difficulty was extremely manageable for me, and the piece itself is pretty short.
Somewhere to Belong
Today’s post is a first for this blog!! I did a COLLAB with my dear friend Alvin and we played “Somewhere to Belong” from FE3H together- neither of us have played the game but it’s no secret that I have been emotionally invested in FE3H since like August 2019 without playing the game, so.. this was bound to happen. (Yes, I’m still eyeing “Fodlan Winds”..) Anyway, I’m posting both Alvin’s full video and also just my piano part so I can talk about both!