ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past "A Link to the Piano" 5:06

By zylance

Arranging the music of 6 songs...

"Ganon's Message", "Opening Demo", "Overworld", "Princess Zelda's Rescue", "Sanctuary Dungeon", "Title"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo , 1991, SNES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2005-11-20, evaluated by the judges panel


Lost power for half a day yesterday - flipped all the circuit breakers, still nothing, but all my neighbors were hooked up a-okay. Turned out one of the main lines to my house is gimp, they need to dig to fix it, and in the meantime I get a small thermonuclear device in my backyard as some sort of temporary measure. Also saw m.o.v.e. live at Anime USA, which, while the acoustics sucked and the lighting was weak, was still a good show. We hung out around back and pretended to talk to the security guy so I could at least give the keyboardist the props he deserved. So, picking back up again, we've got yet another Zelda 3 ReMix from yet another newcomer to OCR, with Zoola (aka John Torkington) sending in a solo piano medley to keep Tepid's piece company. For a change, I'm gonna start right off with a quote from Brandon:

"I’ve thought a lot about this mix. Listening casually this mix is amazingly expressive, soothing and unimposing in all the right ways. A careful listen however reveals that this mix is expressive, soothing, unimposing but really quiet. Honestly though, I think there is too large a disparity in volume between the loudest sections and the quietest sections. That’s not too terrible a transgression considering all that there is to like about this mix.

The selection and composition of source material is a real highlight. The themes are made to flow seamlessly together and the arrangement, though conservative in spots, is creative. The performance is generally nice as well. My largest gripe there is that the accented chords during 0:47-1:19 are a bit harsh and jerky. The second part of “opening demo” from 1:20-1:43 is handled much better. Nice resolution with the epic overworld theme."

Ditto. That's pretty much what I have to say, particularly on the rather low recording level and at 0'59" specifically the jerkiness Brandon alludes to. The strength of the arrangement is not, however, in its articulation or prevalence of technically impressive passages, but rather the progression, harmonic changes, and very fluid, pensive fashion John's weaved everything together. It's a somber, dark, rich tapestry of themes that have been creatively homogenized, and the tone ranges from stark, to intimate, to tentative, to dramatic, and back again. Larry Oji prognosticates:

"Out of the bevy of source tunes involved, I was particularly impressed by the arrangement of "Princess Zelda's Rescue" into a subtle, melancholy feel. The whole package was well put together and set a good mood. And, as our community is full of overly enthusiastic fans, I expect someone in the ReView thread to note how they cried to this."

Somewhat different style of solo piano arrangement here, more chord-heavy; there are some minor mastering/production issues, but this is still an evocative and deep composition and a mature first submission from Zoola.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Marim
on 2011-07-22 13:32:12
http://reoganworks.blogspot.com/2011/07/song-of-week-40-link-to-piano-by.html I ended up featuring this track on a blog that I write on, so check it out to see my in-depth description/review of it. This was the first track I had ever heard on OCR, and I like it a lot.
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Mtlbro
on 2010-05-02 14:13:42

Is this all in one take? Bc you are very talented especially in finding those "zelda" chords. props

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Crulex
on 2010-02-27 18:37:24

Not bad, but I can't really give it an A+. Would an A- suffice? Just kidding, I love it, which is odd because piano only songs don't normally catch my attention like this one did. My only complaint is that the volume goes up and down a bit too much. A little more consistantcy would have polished off this great ReMix. Not bad for a first mix.

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stkyle
on 2010-02-17 03:35:37

I love this piece, that opening sequence always got me amped to play :) Perfectly executed, I love the waxing and waning of the volume throughout, it really draws you in. Excellent study / relaxation music

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OA
on 2009-12-01 10:43:43

Distinctly moody, and taking it's own time, this mix carefully explores rather than aggressively attacks. It's pretty heavy on the chords, but it gives a distinct feeling of emotional weight to the mix. Combined with the large dynamic spectrum, this ends up being pretty good, despite the lack of musical acrobatics or even much subdivision.

Total rainy day music, or writing your tortured poetry or something. ._\\\

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Ryu2Wolf
on 2009-01-06 22:04:32

Love the piano arrangement but some of the connecting dynamics may need some work. Let's see, I really liked your soft sections but getting there from the louder sections was a little harsh. However, I really enjoyed this music in it entirety. Good ending!

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Serenade
on 2007-05-01 17:58:15

Did Zelda ever listen to this? Anyway, the first time I heard it, it was calm and serene. Now when I hear it, I just appreciate this song more because it's use of the wonderful instrument, the piano. Zoola, thank you for bringing such a beautiful song into my life. Also, when my dad heard it, he asked me "What song is this?" I told him what it was called, what genre it was in (OC ReMix), and who it was by. When he found out it was video game music, he still liked it! Also, this song didn't make me cry but it did create a dramatic video in my head about Link and Zelda's relationship. Thank-you so much Zoola! (EXCELLENT use with the piano.)

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KogeJoe
on 2007-02-01 09:02:39

Overall, this is an -OK- arrangement. You basically throw in a lot of tunes from the game, with, I suppose, a bit of your own creative flare.

What I like is that you definitely keep true to the chords in the original pieces. It takes a great ear for that, and I'm not sure even I could get those down, unless you're like me and you paused the game over and over... or just got a hold of the original SM files... GREAT work in hitting those chords.

What's kind of a let down in this arrangement is that you only choose low, quiet works; nothing too exciting. It doesn't really take advantage of your playing ability, unless... you chose those tunes on purpose to keep to your ability... not that there's anything wrong with that...

Also, I don't like the dynamic articulation in this recording. I felt there was too much emphasis where there shouldn't have been. Too much hamming up... Where you should have been lower, piano, and slow, you were speeding it up a little too much, and playing a little too loud.

Don't get me wrong. This sounds like it could be a great arrangement, but I think it needs a little more work. Don't ham it up. Slow down and try to play pianissimo. The tracks you chose are soft, low, and delicate, and they're easily ruined when you try to show off. Playing them faster/louder doesn't make them sound better.

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lady zelda
on 2006-03-31 23:07:07

You definitely captured the mood of the various themes you presented in this mix with the amazing use of those intricate chords throughout. This is very well put together, with harmony at its best. Keep it up, Zoola.

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Bobwillis
on 2006-03-31 21:53:53

Being able to hear the piano makes this piece so much better :D .

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Liontamer
on 2005-12-12 21:07:42
Thanks, Larry. I'm sorry I had to trouble you with this. Glad everyone enjoys the tune.

Nah, no problem at all. aubrey hooked up the replacement of the Supertux-hosted version very early this afternoon. Hope everyone enjoys.

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zylance
on 2005-12-12 21:02:05

Thanks, Larry. I'm sorry I had to trouble you with this. Glad everyone enjoys the tune.

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Master Harpuia
on 2005-12-12 11:50:41

Great. Your piano playing was fantastic, Zoola! I'm looking forward to more like this. :D

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OmegaDonut
on 2005-12-12 04:13:06

Huh. Cool, then.

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Liontamer
on 2005-12-12 03:32:04
The thing is, OCR doesn't really accept revisions once songs have been posted. The submission guidelines say "one second audio glitch", but the volume boost affecting the entire song is a much bigger change. I don't think the resubmission will go through on this one.

The best thing you can pretty much do in this situation is send the revised version to people who really want it, or just host it somewhere and put the link somewhere in the topic.

Currently in the judging process]Minor fixes that do not alter the arrangement itself (e.g. eliminating clipping, new encoding, fading out a track with an abrupt cutoff) are acceptable.

John didn't change the arrangement or sounds here, he just raised the volume where needed. Since he let us know about that very soon after the mix was posted, we replaced the OCR version. The Supertux version will be replaced as soon as possible as well.

Sources Arranged (6 Songs)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo , 1991, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Ganon's Message"
"Opening Demo"
"Overworld"
"Princess Zelda's Rescue"
"Sanctuary Dungeon"
"Title"

Tags (2)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Piano
Additional:
Arrangement > Solo

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_A_Link_to_the_Past_A_Link_to_the_Piano_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,208,727 bytes
MD5:
268b8d48a1a470af8caaed1d20a40972
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
5:06

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