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VGM "Standards" List


XPRTNovice
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Hey guys,

So this might be weird, but you know how jazz music has "standards" that everyone kind of knows the chords and melody to?  I'd like something like that for VGM as well. Some of the great staples of this awesome category of music. I went to MAG last year and found that I was scrambling in my brain when someone asked me to call a tune to jam on, and then having to look stuff up on my phone. It killed the vibe sometimes. 

What, in a jam scenario, do you think should be included? Here are some of my favorites to play in a group:

- Song of Storms (Ocarina of Time)

- My Village is #1 (Xenogears)

- Millennial Fair (CT)

- Super Mario 64 world theme

- Mario Bros theme

 

 

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Following this thread.

This is more or less a list of "If there was a VG Realbook, it would need these tracks in it."

And since I'm making one of those, this could be useful for that.

Butter Building (Kirby Series)
Lost Woods (Ocarina of Time)
Overworld (Every Super Mario Bros.)
Ending (Super Mario Bros 3)
Chocobo Theme (Final Fantasy)
Slider (Super Mario 64)
Tetris A and B Themes
The Moon (Ducktales)
Fourside (Earthbound)

And I'll stop there for right now.
 

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A vg realbook is an interesting thought experiment... but here's my imaginary set list / jam list...

Zelda - Great Fairy's theme (how could you open with anything else?)
Metroid (NES) - Brinstar (letting them know you're the OG)
Mega Man - Snakeman (push that opening energy)
CT - Millenial Fair (feels good mane)
CT - Secret of the Forest (take a breath, learn some forest secrets)
Zelda - Song of Storms (everyone's drunk on forest secrets, touch them inappropriately with zelda)
Earthbound - Onett (there's the sunshine again)
Sonic - Green Hill Zone (crowd pleaser)
Sonic 2 - Chemical Plant (because you've got the chops, and ice cap is too short)
Super Metroid - Lower Brinstar (darkness brooding again)
Super Metroid - Lower Norfair (rock. and. roll.)
Yoshi's Island - Underground (we're safe now, extended jam time)
Mario 64 - Dire Dire Docks (rising back to the surface with some melody)
Super Mario Word - Overworld (because NES 1-1 is too cliched at this point)
DK - Stickerbush Symphony (a cheer goes up from the crowd)
CT - Corridors of Time (of course)
Zelda - Darkworld (the crowd wonders when the show will end, but they don't mind because zelda)
Kirby's Adventure - Butter Buildings (seriously when is this going to stop, ooooh shiny!)
DK - Aquatic Ambiance (crowd forgets their evening plans and decides to follow you anywhere)
Final Fantasy - Prelude (misc FF suite so you don't get shanked after leaving the stage)
Final Fantasy III - Altar Room
Final Fantasy IX - You're Not Alone
Final Fantasy any - Chocobo
Final Fantasy VI - The Decisive Battle
Final Fantasy VI - Terra (bring them to their knees with your sweet overdriven nectar of life, walk off the stage)
CT - 600 AD (encore, let the tears flow)

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10 hours ago, Patrick Burns said:

A vg realbook is an interesting thought experiment... but here's my imaginary set list / jam list...

3

You know what? That's actually a really great idea. I'd like to see something like that done to some degree.

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23 minutes ago, TheChargingRhino said:

What is a Realbook, anyway? 

Decades ago jazz musicians began circulating a 'book'... a sort of underground compendium of the chords/melodies/lyrics to lots of jazz standards. It was organically assembled and shared over time, with no single definitive version sold by anyone. (I guess it was an inevitable product of the invention of the photocopier.) Today, though, publishing companies have gotten on board, done the legwork to get publishing licenses, and offered "Real books" for sale...

Personally, I think the internet makes a lot of the impetus for a Real Book obsolete, but it's a nice thought... I mean, I'd be happy to see a VG Real Book (OCRealbook?!) on my bookshelf, but I'd probably rarely open it, ha! ...or would I?

But honestly, unless one of a few people just did the huge task of making it by themselves, I just see lots of potential for song selection and notation arguments.

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The whole thing about the video game realbook is that it's a collection of lead sheets, not piano sheet music or some other thing like that.  Just melody and chords. Great for a jam situation.

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Which, I do happen to be working on, and am happy that there is this conveniently located thread of suggestions to include that I need to get working on.

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1 hour ago, JohnStacy said:

The whole thing about the video game realbook is that it's a collection of lead sheets, not piano sheet music or some other thing like that.  Just melody and chords. Great for a jam situation.

...

Which, I do happen to be working on, and am happy that there is this conveniently located thread of suggestions to include that I need to get working on.

Nice! Checks out... (with an extra turnaround)

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4 hours ago, TheChargingRhino said:

You mean like a sheet-book or something? We have those already....

A realbook is an illegally published book full of sheet music. It has a counterpart, there are also fakebooks, which are legally published "realbooks." At least that's what I was taught. It's like that Greenland/Iceland scenario.

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Backwards, the fakebook is the illegal one, the realbook is the legal one.

The realbook was actually illegal up to its 5th edition, and most fakebooks were illegal because they didn't get a license.  Now there are legal versions of both, the Realbook being specific to Hal Leonard Publishing, and fakebooks being the term by literally anybody else who chooses to use one.

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  • 2 years later...

We've been trying to accomplish this over at VGLeadSheets.com.  We currently have over 300 lead sheets that have been getting a lot of usage in the Jam Clinic at MAGFest.  Every sheet is peer-reviewed and goes through a review process so that the number of mistakes in the final product are minimal.

https://www.vgleadsheets.com

Edited by Jer
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