Рет қаралды 16,716
“Music speaks louder than words.”
“Maybe...just maybe, the light can reach even the bottom of a dark ocean.”
“Was I able to live inside someone’s heart?”
These thoughts are the essence of Your Lie in April. While Hikaru Nara is the iconic song, Orange fits the tone and ending of the show the most.
Spoiler
The hospital scene where she falls in a slump. The Ballade with the visual of the surreal blue world in the climax, becoming a faint memory in the cherry blossoms that look so graceful to the audience who are unaware of the truth.
= = = = = About the Arrangement = = = = =
The original song was pensive (my default mood) but inspiring - particularly at the bridge and end. I spammed the song and decided to arrange it. There were already many covers in late 2015. For some reason, the bridge and the ending were easy to arrange --- the notes came naturally. To this day, I’m convinced the song was MADE to be covered on piano, especially since the solo piano beginning eases the arrangement process.
This arrangement is one of the hardest and most emotional songs to execute because of the multiple harmonies (pseudo-polyphony that recalls Bach’s style 1:18, 2:55, 6:06), the embellishments (1:40, 1:50, 3:23), the insane bridge at 4:05 (which at the time of arranging in 2015 and initial preview in 2017 were the first featured cross-hand glissando), and the final flight at the end 6:25 (with the otherworldly jazz-like scales and licks).
Actually, the finale is propelled by dark ideas from a friend of a friend who passed:
“...the same dream as always. Behind the wheel of a car racing down at 160 km/h and losing control as it accelerates. But strangely after more reflection, the initial fear is replaced by a sense of gladness, acceptance, and readiness to meet fate and demise as everything spirals out of control wildly: ‘Ahh, finally. I don't even need to go out of my way to end it anymore.’”
Interestingly, this may be one of the few, if not the only J-pop arrangement, to explicitly call (0:20) for the middle sostenuto pedal on a grand piano which sustains only the notes held down. My left leg was already on the sostenuto pedal before the piece began, and I only shifted it after this bar. Plus, I added a lyrical, improvisatory “acoustic guitar” section at 5:16, as a reprieve from the bridge. And I actually deviate a little from my official sheets, such as at 5:53 when I decided to make the notes explode on a whim after a pause. Lastly, many times at 7:04 I stuck my head inside the grand piano lid to enjoy the rich, warm, and deep harmonies swirling around. In contrast to the billowing tension of the preceding bar, the final G Major 9th chord is the azure other-world that Kousei and Kaori shared in the final scene, but it’s also a more bittersweet version of the imagery of Kousei’s trauma when he wasn’t able to hear the notes “underwater.” With the last G-A-B-D-G-A-D, the view shifts to a clear sky that is crying nonetheless.
= = = = = Meanings = = = = =
It’s said that some of the best music was created from the extremes of the emotional spectrum. Unsurprisingly, YLIA has powerful scenes that even validated my reason for pursuing medical studies, mainly the empathy for Kaori, who lifted Kousei from the abyss. I stopped lessons in the beginning of 11th grade, shortly after I performed Rach 2. I had put piano in the background, no longer with the same insane fervor as before, possibly forever. Then I learned about anime in Feb. 2012, and Animenz and Ishter in Jan. 2013, and met them in April/May 2014. Without anime and anipiano, who knows where I would be. So, thank you, Animenz, Ishter, and you, my listeners.
The arrangement’s ties to the paraphrase also highlights a dire need for self-care and the de-stigmatization of mental health issues in modern society.
= = = = = Audio = = = = =
This time, I decided to record on the grand piano, using the Disklavier system with a MIDI IN/OUT USB line to Reaper on my PC. The problem that still persists is the smaller dynamic range of the resulting MIDI. For example, hitting velocities (“loudness”) bigger than 90 is rare and extremely difficult. I tweaked the velocity curve in the VST but it’s still not enough. Therefore, I’m looking for people who can help solve this problem with me with the software Reaper and my current gear (Disklavier and a MIDI IN/OUT cable).
Note: increase your normal listening volume for this song. I do a 50%-100% increase, so 20 to 30 or 40 on the volume slider.
= = = = = Links = = = = =
Sheet Music: coming soon
Bandcamp: chrisluan.bandcamp.com/releases (Bandcamp network down for me)