ReMix:Final Fantasy VII "Open Your Mind" 3:39

A beautiful, flowing, impressionistic solo piano arrangement of FF7 from Bluelighter (Guillaume Saumande):

"Here is a piano arrangement of "If You Open Your Heart" in FF7. I really like the original track, at the same time relaxing, simple and with rich harmonies.

I have not found arrangement of this on the net, so I've tried to make mine.

The original piece navigates between four keys, with a repetition. I have kept this structure but with more development and some piano effects.

My main influences for this are Asian music and some Debussy's works. I wanted it to be relaxing and exotic.

Enjoy. :)

Original:

• 0'00 Pt1: F#
• 0'08 Pt2: F
• 0'42 Pt3: Ab
• 0'53 Pt4: E
• 1'05 Pt5: E
• 1'22: repeated

Arrangement:

• Part 1: 0'00 (Original Pt.1): A bass announces the melodic line of part 2 of the source
• Part 2 (Original Pt.2):
  • a) 0'24: Melody in high pitch, near to the source
  • b) 0'50 (Original Pt.2): The left hand plays the same melody in background, like in the first part
• Part 3 (Original Pt.3):
  • a) 1'11: Melody in high pitch, near to the source
  • b) 1'27: Similar to part 2b, but in other tonality
• Part 4:
  • a) 1'50 (Original Pt.4): Similar to part 3a, but in other tonality
  • b) 2'07 (Original Pt.5)
• Part 5:
  • a) 2'22 (Original Pt.1)
  • b) 2'33 (Original Pt.2)
• Part 6: 2'43 (Original Pt.3)
• Part 7: 2'58 (Original Pt.4 & Original Pt.2)
  • a) Melody of Original Pt.2 on the harmony of Original Pt.4
  • b) Some ornaments in Asian style
  • c) 3'19 (Original Pt.5)

Of course, what we so often refer to as your "heart" is actually *in* your "mind," which is basically a construct of your brain. Yet "Open Your Brain" just doesn't have quite the same ring to it... at any rate, Guillaume has been very successfully & productively exploring solo piano arrangements, and this is one of his most elegant to date - meditative, reflective, and quite beautiful. Rexy evaluated:

"I've seen this source get a comparison to Debussy's work before Guillaume sent this in, so it was no surprise to see an inspirational link for this arrangement as well. It makes sense - this source's key ideas include a recurring arpeggio, simplistic leads, and the occasional polyrhythm.

Guillaume not only ran with these ideas but stuck to his approach in developing each segment individually and finding ways to develop them further. I especially approve of letting the left hand get a chance at providing the lead and using the right to emphasize the source's accompaniment, as well as that brilliant idea at 2:58 where he let the melody of his Part 2 section ride on top of the backing for 4. The timbre and execution match with previous works, and the master is among his cleanest, thanks to the impressionist approach. With all boxes checked, I consider this track a bold move that paid off. And while there are still some unexplored FF7 sources wanting a mixpost or album representation here, consider this one a step in that direction!"

Not much else to say; lovely work that takes a cooperative source even further in the direction it suggests, with a clean, emotive peformance/rendering. Pretty!