ReMix: Super Mario World 'Grand Valse Mario'

Alas, I too am of the frothing hordes of rabid piano aficionados; I have no alibi, but I also have no regrets.
I absolutely love this piece, and often find myself inadvertently pretending to play it.

- Lucentas on December 6, 2008

This is pretty much THE song (together with Chopinesque Kirby) that brought me to start learning to play the piano, and also the reason I feel like I'm progressing really fast (been playing for a month and a half, and almost got Chopinesque Kirby nailed). These two songs really hold a special place in my heart for the simple reason that they're some of the very first OCRemixes that I've heard and that were able to leave me awestruck at the amazing arrangement, and the skillful and emotive use of dynamics and playing in general. To sum it up, Bladiator, you're a god on piano, and thanks for introducing me to such a fine instrument. =P

- Tensei-San on August 27, 2007

I love all you guys.
Yeah, it's a keyboard.

- bladiator on June 5, 2007

Alright. Well, thanks for telling me what he used - like zircon said, it doesn't matter THAT much, since he performed the piece live and it still sounds relatively real, especially compared to other mixes. I tend to be super-picky about music; basically, the less synthesized something is, the more I'll like it. That probably stems from the fact that I play all my music using actual instruments rather than synthesized sounds and arrangements. Again, though, that's just me - I like music to be as close to the actual thing as possible; it just feels more "real" to me that way. Thanks again.

- ContinueTheEnd on June 5, 2007

I've been having trouble getting in touch w/ Karl lately... I think this mix used sampled piano, but it doesn't really matter. He played it in live (as opposed to sequencing), and piano samples are so realistic these days that it doesn't really matter what you use IMO.

- zircon on June 4, 2007

I recently heard Bladiator's "Super Mario World Grand Valse" remix; I think it's a very well done piano mix, probably one of the best I've ever heard. I'm curious about one thing, however: is that an actual piano playing the song, or is the piano sound synthesized? It certainly sounded like a real piano to me, but I just want to make sure. I'd prefer if Bladiator himself could answer this for me since it's his work, but if anyone else knows what it is, feel free to speak up. Thanks.

- ContinueTheEnd on June 4, 2007

I'm quite certain I hear a bit of Bergmuller at the beginning, I think it's the C major(?) chord followed by the three 16th note Cs. Very good though, I've always loved waltzes.

- Mariofreak on September 28, 2006

Karl's still the man. Been listening to this one a lot recently. Loving it more now than before for some reason.
Doo, doo doo. Love that ending.

- The Orichalcon on May 25, 2006

Gershwin is alive???

- Bobwillis on August 6, 2005

Liontamer wrote:

Rexy wrote: Well done Karl, and don't give up in making Paige fall for you!

[b]BAH, U THINK I'M NOT WATCHING U! GRRRRR![/b]
Karl with a K, I'm watching u. U2, Bev with a B.

*ponders the thought of alternate spellings of Bev that don't include a "B," and still remains baffled.*
Great mix, Blad, you are a piano god.

- Cyan_Ide on June 16, 2005

Liontamer wrote:

Rexy wrote: Well done Karl, and don't give up in making Paige fall for you!

[b]BAH, U THINK I'M NOT WATCHING U! GRRRRR![/b]
Karl with a K, I'm watching u. U2, Bev with a B.

No you're not, I'm standing right behind you.
Bwahaha, just kidding. But seriously, I was.

- bladiator on June 16, 2005

Rexy wrote: Well done Karl, and don't give up in making Paige fall for you!

[b]BAH, U THINK I'M NOT WATCHING U! GRRRRR![/b]
Karl with a K, I'm watching u. U2, Bev with a B.

- Liontamer on June 16, 2005

Heck yes, everyone loves Bladiator :) And as far as i'm concerned, I too grew to love it when I first saw its release. Although on a different method of recording his performance this time around he has been able to develop a cleaner recording than Chopinesque Kirby while at the same time still maintaining much of the character that made it possible.
This mix gets the VGmix Revisited™ treatment from me:-

[b]Production setup[/b]
Just like his Kirby contribution, we are brought straight into a piano waltz interpretation. There is shown to be evidence on some wide stereo panning, which can help to vary upon the scope of the instrument as a whole. I understand that this is a piano sound font rather than a proper instrument, but even so it's been processed to a very high realistic quality. The sound levels have also been firmly realized and do well to add to the expression. So even though the sample can be shown to be synthetic I have noticed that it's at a strong enough quality to impress the listener through the duration of the arrangement.
[b]Composition sequence[/b]
The track begins with a grand waltz-like intro, which has been shown by some strong high dynamics to begin with, before leading towards a gentler riff from 0:04 onwards. It's good to see the basic chord progressions for the original be reflected by 0:19, to slowly add some familiarization for the listener. Although the dynamics could have been a bit sudden for some, I've been intrigued by how they created a dramatic introduction.
At 0:16, the melody manages to show up, almost resembling the playing progressions for the game's underwater theme as such. What has been shown in this section is a lot of playing around the original theme and creating a more majestic variation; some improvisational highlights could be noted at 0:28, 0:36 and 0:41 among others. Even though some of the moods could be seen to be a bit sudden for some, they still manage to work well enough to create a strong and energetic arrangement for the listener to take in.
1:24 starts to add in some change in progressions; here, the chord structures are kept almost the same, but I have noticed the right hand melody has provided some fast improvisations from 1:31 onwards. It's here that the dancing feel of the piece has been closely reflected to help keep a lot of further interest satisfied. Returning back to references to the source material at 1:55 may sound a bit brief, but it has managed to work well to slowly bring the listener back to the main riff before the ending.
2:03 is where the basis for the finale as established - a lot of tension holding within the tremolos on the right hand has done well to settle the occasion to begin with. And this is soon let out by the use of some faster note progressions at 2:17, leading through to a supposedly energetic ending sequence. I see that the track mainly finished with some left hand progressions, although personally I think the scope should have been broadened to provide a more powerful punch to the listener - maybe some similar progressions on the right hand about an octave higher? Either way, it still manages to have its place in the arrangement.

Going towards the judges' thoughts on all this they seem to be rather ecstatic over the contribution; I feel for them, although I would have thought that the rather synthetic piano sound would have ended up throwing a curveball towards them in terms of mixing quality. But I have to agree with them that there's just as much character as there was in his Kirby debut here, which I feel has essentially granted Blad with his deserved title of "Friendly Neighbourhood Piano Bastard". ;)
Well done Karl, and don't give up in making Paige fall for you!

- Rexy on June 16, 2005

You get my vote for the second nicest thing I've heard today. Only after that cool Jazz remix from SMB2. But that would be hard to beat wouldn't it?
I love your messed around melody. And your major thirds are just so well implemented. It sounded perfect, and I would love the sheet music to play this on the piano.
Your ending is VERY strong and I commend you for that.
Congrats.

- metal_conker on June 7, 2005

I loved it, it was a great remix you should keep remixing mario songs. It's a great mix i love it you should keep this up.

- Super Metal Mario on May 4, 2005