[DELETED] [3DS] Mario Kart 7 - "Rainbow Road" by Sebastian

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Submission Information:
Series: Super Mario
Game: Mario Kart 7
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Title: Rainbow Road
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: Sebastian

[Sebastian]

[Latios212]

I want to discuss the arrangement as a whole:

Left hand
I feel like the potential of this arrangement is somewhat squandered on the left hand part here. It's difficult to play, and it's not very interesting to listen to. For one thing, without pedal the arrangement would sound very dry and you wouldn't be able to pull off the right hand parts effectively. If you do use pedal, the staccatos are rendered somewhat useless, and you still have the left hand droning a single note the entire time. Resultantly, I don't feel like it's rewarding in any way, even though it may be accurate.

Here's an excerpt from Bloop's arrangement of the same track, which I myself learned a number of years ago:

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It manages to engage the ear in a more interesting rhythmic pattern, give the voice a sense of motion that isn't just droning on, and open up possibilities for pedaling without tiring out the left hand. Of course, this is just an example and I'm not saying you have to do something like this, but I feel like deviating from the verbatim bassline would really help. If you think the song is really contingent on the 16th note rhythm being there, perhaps you could raise one of the 16th notes in each group an octave. Take the song to a piano and see what your hands want to play.

Right hand
The majority of this looks good to me. However, there are some comments about texture I would like to make. Be mindful of when and how you use the harmonies. The song starts out strong with a generous helping of triads up until measure 16. Then the sound kind of fizzles out from 17-23 which makes use of mostly single notes with a couple of dyads. I'd also be wary of the harmonies breaking up the focus on the melody later on, like in m. 50.

[Sebastian]

Left hand

I guess I'll revise the left hand then. I actually tried this out at a piano and it worked for me. I think sticking to the original sounds the best, but I understand that I can be wrong. I'll see what I can come up with.

right hand

I actually put a lot of thought into the way I arranged the right hand, especially the chords and texture concerning those chords. I'm never not mindful about that. Is M. 50+ the only issue you had? I could probably revise that if necessary, but I feel that it gives it a nice full sound.

[Latios212]

Hey, it's your sheet; you're free to push back and disagree! Just trying to have a friendly conversation about how to make your sheet even better, is all. It's not about being right or wrong :3

I actually put a lot of thought into the way I arranged the right hand, especially the chords and texture concerning those chords. I'm never not mindful about that. Is M. 50+ the only issue you had? I could probably revise that if necessary, but I feel that it gives it a nice full sound.

I don't mean to imply a lack of thought put into the sheet, so I'm sorry if it came off like that! As I mentioned, my main hesitation about the harmonies is the thinness of the sound in m. 17-23.

[Sebastian]

Hey, sorry if I sounded defensive or aggressive or both. Today was a stressful day and I think I inadvertently responded offensively myself

Anyway, yeah. I'll definitely fiddle around with the texture in M. 17-23 and arrange a more practical left hand. Thanks so much for the feedback!

[Sebastian]

Thanks, Lat, for your willingness to help and to give feedback on this one. I'll be putting some work into it and submitting it at a later date.