Vinland Saga - Dagger [Piano]

This is my piano transcription/arrangement for the soundtrack "Dagger" from Vinland Saga. I have been immersed in transcribing the Vinland Saga soundtrack for the last 3,5 months now and I have to say it's been an awesome journey. I feel really blessed and privileged for having the opportunity to spend that much time with the soundtrack.
At first I didn't know if I even could transcribe any of the pieces. I started all of this as an experiment and it has worked out really well (imo). I have improved my transcribing skills a ton (not with sheet music though 😔). I chose Vinland Saga because I love this anime, manga and soundtrack; plus there were not that many videos done yet, which I thought was a shame. Also in my opinion Vinland Saga has some of the best (if not the best, dare I say) piano-solo soundtracks there is in anime. Might be a hot take, but it's also part of the reason why I chose Vinland Saga for this experiment and devoted so much time to it. In the future I hope to move to more orchestral pieces and arrange them for piano-solo as I have been shying away from these kinds of pieces for the most part so far.
Anyway, Dagger is the most used soundtrack in Vinland Saga I think. For the piano-solo pieces it's definitely the case. I found it used in Ep1, Ep2, Ep5, Ep6, Ep10, Ep14, Ep15 (x2), Ep22 and Ep23. It's a really diverse track which makes it usable for a lot scenes. It's used in a lot of the key scenes of the first season. In this track we also find the same technique Yutaka Yamada uses in the other piano pieces of Vinland Saga - some crazy runs with a lot of pedal over multiple measures. The ones in the deep registers I always find really hard to transcribe. On top of that I find some of them really difficult and couldn't play them at my current skill level.
I have not much more to say. I love Vinland Saga, this has been awesome. I am excited for a season 2 if it ever comes out.
For my next upload I will be back with a live cover. I haven't 100% decided on the piece yet, but I am excited to spend more time playing again.
As always I hope you enjoy the music! ✌️
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Piece/曲:   Dagger / 短剣
Anime/アニメ: Vinland Saga / ヴィンランド・サガ
Composer/作曲家: Yutaka Yamada / やまだ 豊
Arrangement/アレンジ:   Cali Melodies
Sheet Music/楽譜:   drive.google.c... ; sheet.host/she...
#VinlandSaga #piano #YutakaYamada
Thumbnail artwork taken from Ep9.
Background images taken from OP1 and Ep24.
Find me on:
🐬 Follow me on Twitter: / calimelodies 🐬
📺 Find me on MAL: myanimelist.ne... 📺
☕️ Consider giving me a tip: ko-fi.com/cali... ☕️
I made a Vinland Saga Piano playlist of my transcriptions: • Vinland Saga Piano
If you want to watch more of my videos: • Cali Piano Music

[@yeilh]

Yutaka Yamada's piano pieces always seem like a conversation between the left and the right hand. It's so fun to listen to his songs, especially Glassy Sky

[@Levi-nx7pc]

if anyone here likes cloud rap izaya tiji sampled glassy sky and made a beautiful song 💯

[@PianoSoulAnimeCovers]

Man, this is too good. It's literally identical to the original, your work and dedication is incredible. Also, I'm rewatching Vinland Saga, it's such a beautiful show.

[@HaydenPianoCovers]

i think rewatching is almost better than the first time... im on episode 12 of my rewatch and its incredible

[@CaliMelodies]

Thanks! And agreed, the show is really amazing. I have pretty much rewatched it throughout the course of the last months, some episodes multiple times. Once I start up an episode I get captivated by it.

[@HaydenPianoCovers]

@@CaliMelodies yeah they're all a work of art. i forgot how good episode 10 was, with Askeladd and Thorfinn in the roman ruins. that ost hit hard

[@CaliMelodies]

@@HaydenPianoCovers i only realized this too after rewatching this episode. truly an amazing and really intimate/honest scene. if i had to pick more favorite episodes i think ep6 and ep19 are real gems.

[@HaydenPianoCovers]

@@CaliMelodies yep. episode 6 is amazing goosebumps. I loved 10 after rewatching it, i dont remember off the top of my head what happened in 19 but im sure its spectacular. i also loved the episode with the girls village, i think it was around 14?

[@erdalkargu1664]

''There is no one who it's okay to hurt.''

[@goku0warrior]

whom*

[@WEBTEAM1000]

When the old priest asked God for a sign, and this music turned on, I fucking sobbed. I don't know if it was the sheer desperation, or Canute's eyes that made me just break down into tears. There's just something raw about that scene, and this music is like the cherry on top.

[@mavijaredvalera4194]

You don't have enemies. No one in this world deserve to get hurt

[@seanhyink1200]

My jaw dropped when I saw your google drive link to your transcriptions. I cannot believe you're uploading them for free!!! I am going to devote myself to learning your transcription of Dagger--I can't thank you enough. I've been looking for this sheet music for weeks now. You are doing God's work.

[@tronoankirayoshikage7331]

Yeah! God bless you!

[@arpangupta69420]

This soundtrack never fails to bring a tear to my eye. You've done it due justice 👏

[@kanishk2345]

When a character's backstory is being shown and this plays, capturing the pain and suffering yet beauty of their life that they cherished Goosebumps.. nice work

[@JulianF]

Literally been waiting years for people to upload these. Appreciate the uploads, man! Doing God’s work! 🙏🏾

[@dorfinn2196]

Lmao u said what I literally thought. Almost word for word lol

[@patchakii7519]

Same brother same

[@Cugine7]

is this a midi file available for this?

[@CaliMelodies]

No, I have not published the midi file for this.

[@wheezyricky1140]

How can someone listen to this without crying

[@enzo8076]

How well things turn out when you put together people who really love Vinland Saga and are really passionate about their work, this song is incredible, the whole soundtrack is incredible, and those seven high notes I will remember forever. I can't wait for season two to arrive with one of the best character developments out there.

[@tronoankirayoshikage7331]

What's the timestamp for the seven high notes?

[@enzo8076]

@@tronoankirayoshikage7331 1:31

[@Levi-nx7pc]

have u watched season 2?

[@enzo8076]

@@Levi-nx7pc Yeah it was beautiful, I was already up to date to the manga tho so I knew everything that was going to happen, but they did it perfectly.

[@caidenchris2206]

When you fight the final boss but your more like the final boss then anyone else.

[@CaliMelodies]

SHEET MUSIC IS NOW AVAILABLE: (links in the description) Update 2023-Jun-04: I just uploaded the sheet music for the rest of my season 1 Vinland Saga covers, now all of these covers have (free) sheet music available! As I have mentioned before I hired someone more proficient in sheet music to transcribe these covers. And in my opnion hey did a really good job as the sheet music turned out great and is quite faithful to these covers! If you come across some difficult or unclear section in the sheet music you can refer to the video. If any of you decide to learn the pieces and cover it, please share the result with me through a comment or otherwise. I would really enjoy to see some covers! This has been a really fun and fullfilling project for me as I am really passionate about Vinland Saga and its music. I am already planning to cover the season 2 piano tracks in a similar manner. If you want to show your appreciation and support me further please consider to give me a tip (do not feel pressured though): ko-fi.com/calimelodies - Cali

[@user-un2hf9ve2j]

lol what a coincidence, randomly checked if sheets were added after watching some Vinland Saga season 2 and there you go, sheets added 8 hours ago!

[@coleholliday6015]

Coincidence here as well, took a shot in the dark to see if anyone was playing this then I was like alright please lord let there be a link to the sheet music. Doin gods work out here! 🙌🏽

[@funnytimes2152]

For some reason the sheet website doesn't work for me, can't make an account and twitter nor Facebook works to log in with. Any way you could send them directly or upload to a different source? Thanks a lot!

[@CaliMelodies]

@@funnytimes2152 Hey, I might search for a better place to distribute them (for free ofc) in the long run, maybe google drive or the like. If you want a fast solution you can contact me on Discord (GinkoDE#6052) or give me your email.

[@justinkmckenna]

Just learned Utopia using your sheet music. Excited to dive into this one. Thanks for doing this!

[@hansfriedemann4194]

One of my favorite tracks, thank you very much :) Cannot wait to hear what Yutaka Yamada has in store for us in season 2 (hopefully) :)

[@karnakua8054]

Yamada is Goated ngl. Even did Great Pretender's Soundtrack, which was absolutely brilliant

[@hansfriedemann4194]

@@karnakua8054 Oh rlly, I gotta check that out then :) Thank you very much! I loved his work for the live-action Kingdom (2019) movie.

[@dontask9000]

I really hope he puts the same level of emotion and beauty into seasons OST

[@hylianblade8278]

He's confirmed to be in season 2

[@user-un2hf9ve2j]

Man I had lost all hope since I had thought that those beautiful piano osts will never be transcribed, but I was wrong. Thank you for your work, some heroes don't wear capes :)

[@kuramasaru9612]

This rendition is criminally underrated, every note hits my soul

[@unclebens1521]

Man this is so hard to get the feeling on this piece imo You're interpretation and understanding of the music is absolutely beautiful I got tears ty for that

[@martinihenry9792]

Wow, it's very commendable that you decide to publicly share your hard work for free as well. It's amazing your dedication and I hope that since then you've progressed even more in your transcription techniques to become a pro

[@CaliMelodies]

Thank you so much for your kind comment 😊

[@yush4673]

TY FOR THE SHEET MUSIC BROTHA

[@giacomoimpro]

After 3 months, after the publication of this video, I am really greatfull for your work and for let me learn this masterpiece, it would have take one year maybe to do it without a sheet or a video, thank you, really.

[@CaliMelodies]

Glad to know the video helped you!

[@marcodamico6330]

Dude its rlly amazing that you shared all your sheets, thx so much ur so cool

[@dorfinn2196]

Vinland is one of my favorites so what you’ve been uploading is everything to me appreciate it :)

[@Kira-sp8bj]

Cannot express my gratitude for what you’ve done with your videos. Seriously love these

[@alvaromoure8339]

I’ve been waiting years for someone capable to play these pieces. Thanks a lot!!!!!!

[@jacopomastinu1241]

My god, i ve been waiting for this since i saw the anime for the first time. I love it. Just... Thank you❤️

[@HaydenPianoCovers]

Im so excited to see this... all your past arrangements have been so good

[@BrickTop1]

Thank god somebody took the work with this so I can finally play it. Thank you!

[@UmiIsGone]

I would agree that Vinland has the best piano solo pieces in anime. Also great arrangement!

[@OPPOsym_squad]

That’s the most precise version of this song. Man, this is so cool 😮‍💨

[@rodrigobarrera3868]

Hello Cali!!! Nice to meet you!! Brillant and soothing playing in the piano!!! I enjoy your performance. You are a professional, congratulations!!! Keep it up. All the best for you. Cheers from Argentina.

[@thylakoto]

So much respect for providing the sheets for free. Thank you!!

[@thorfinnthegoatmc]

Peak content

[@lifenote1943]

thanks dude I don't have to play it by ear now xD

[@mishroom8097]

you are actually the best💗

[@DHsPianoLand]

wow! I recently found about this OST and now I find your works. Absolutely amazing!

[@diegoponce5423]

What an amazing arrangement, thank you for all the pdfs!

[@MadPianoLife]

I need to know if you have the sheet music for this. This is absolutely incredible. Dagger is by far my favorite song to loop while studying. 100% agreed as well. Vinland Saga, particularly Yutaka Yamada, produced the best solo piano soundtracks in all of anime.

[@CaliMelodies]

As of now I don't have them. I plan on trying to do sheet music for some of the Vinland Saga pieces. I'm not that experienced with making sheet music yet. I will probably start with Utopia. Might take some time, but I want to do at least 1 of them before the end of the year.

[@HaydenPianoCovers]

@@CaliMelodies will be GREATLY looking forward to those sheets. Vinland saga was my first anime and these pieces were the first from anime I ever wanted to learn on piano, and your transcriptions are an incredible help

[@erucarde2632]

@@CaliMelodies please, I would pay for this...

[@oscarolrx]

excellent! the video is just not on the same moment as your music is. one second different. but truly amazing

[@brandongotsole]

Ahead of the road next! U killed everything else!

[@CaliMelodies]

I actually really like that track. If I ever get into doing orchestral covers "Ahead of the Road" is high on the list. I don't know if I could the track justice with a piano-solo arrangement.

[@x2kyle]

I’m learning this song I’ve been waiting for someone to drop this so I could learn it

[@planetary-rendez-vous]

KZbin finally recommended this to me. Thank you and as fellow pianist I am also looking to transcribe something but I suck so much at that. This isn't easy to transcribe with many rythms and notes.

[@kuuderepiano2988]

This sounds very peaceful

[@younesss5404]

I wish I have a piano to play all these beautiful pieces .

[@Thomasrpiano]

Wow, I wasn't expecting it to hit that hard. Very well done!!

[@angelsttx]

My favourite ost

[@basedindividual7748]

It’s the same as the original it actually even better

[@b.n2350]

ty so much

[@CHASER3K]

beautiful

[@NickKouls]

That was wonderful..!

[@sai-gammarell]

Someone must do it. Not a "hero", not a "god", just "someone".

[@frankwest510]

isnt this the piece played when Thorkell was telling Thorfinn about his father (Thors) and about true warrior?

[@thorfinnthegoatmc]

Yutaka Yamada is so underrated composer

[@Waldo8226]

This is amazing 👍👍👍your work is excellent!

[@CaliMelodies]

Thanks!

[@jellibeans4440]

*crying while playing piano*

[@nAp349]

such a great cover, I wish my singing covers could match your playing covers.

[@dishwasher9851]

Anywhere I can find sheets 😅

[@kamaliza26]

Im 100% willing to pay for them

[@PhilosophyFables]

Hey just had a quick question, would you mind if I used this, as well as some of your other arrangements as background music in some of my videos? I would give you credit in the description of course and link your channel, I just really like the Vinland Saga music and don't wanna use the original cause I'm worried about it getting copyrighted if my channel ever gets monetized. Anyways thanks in advance, love the videos!

[@CaliMelodies]

Go ahead, as long as you give credit it's fine by me.

[@PhilosophyFables]

You the man@@CaliMelodies

[@themak0445]

best part 1:54

[@charlindao]

mt lindo

[@juniorbarbosa6394]

Sim!

[@mrpk646]

Would be interested in hearing a piano transcription of guts theme o_o

[@CaliMelodies]

I have actually not read any of the berserk manga nor watched any of the anime adaptions (have heard bad things about the anime adaptions). I'm still saving the manga for later. Is at least the music good in the anime?

[@funnytimes2152]

With programs like these, (midi)? Is someone playing and it gets 'uploaded' digitally or do you put the notes in manually in the program? Like 01:50 part seems so hard but I guess it is doable. Good stuff either way :)

[@CaliMelodies]

If a music instrument has a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) you can connect it to your pc and record your playing to your digital audio workstation (DAW). There you can edit the notes in very specific ways (unlike with audio recordings). I played small sections and edited them afterwards, bit by bit until I reached a result which is pretty close to the original. If you want to know more about midi recordings I suggest to google about it. Basically you need a DAW and a virtual instrument (VST) to play it back in your DAW (otherwise you won't hear anything). Optionally a recording device will help a lot to not have to input every single note by hand with your mouse.

[@funnytimes2152]

@@CaliMelodies Ah cool thanks for the explanation! Good job with the song, I'll definitely give it a try once I get a tad better :)

[@josephcumiskey2414]

Please make sheet music for these. i would pay for all the sheet music for these arrangments

[@francella6972]

So good!! Can you check out Alone by Yutaka Yamada? It's from Tokyo Ghoul. Would love to see your arrangement!

[@knickknack6444]

this is so good can you please put it on musescore or have a downloadable midi file

[@xviigg]

Can you link the piano sheet for this please? I cant find it anywhere

[@CaliMelodies]

Sheet music is available (link in description).

[@ichizawaaa]

This is a fantastic arrangement man, this is a weird request but would you be able to provide the MIDI for this? reason is I occasionally like playing virtual piano which is just piano on a computer keyboard, and you can convert MIDI files to keyboard keys and play them, truthfully I can't actually play piano but I've been waiting for someone to transcribe this since it was released in the original soundtrack

[@CaliMelodies]

I accepted your friend request on discord.

[@s_4589]

Man... incredible it sounds just like the original. You're super skilled honestly great work. I know you don't have sheet musics but any chance you could share the MIDI file if you have one?

[@CaliMelodies]

Thanks! about the midi: i feel a bit uncomfortable giving away the raw data of my work. depends for what purpose you want the midi. if you have discord feel free to add me, GinkoDE#6052

[@s_4589]

@@CaliMelodies Hey no stress man that's completely understandable. Clearly you've worked countless hours and just giving it away like that wouldn't be right lmao. I've sent you a friend request!

[@ingerable007]

@@CaliMelodies did you though about using some kind of converter ? Maybe Musescore can convert your midi files to sheet music ?

[@CaliMelodies]

@@ingerable007 yes i tried this. technically you can convert midi to sheet music with a software like musescore (and others). the resulting sheet music usually turns out to be a huge mess and still requires _a lot_ of manual editing to reach a point where it's recognizable as proper sheet music. nevertheless this way of doing it can be a good starting point.

[@funnytimes2152]

So is the part at around 1:47 played by a human? Might be a dumb question but I'm guessing you can just input notes with a computer or something :p. I'm sure it's doable just looks very hard. Fantastic job anyhow :)

[@CaliMelodies]

The whole piece has a highly improvisational character I'd say. So I believe the composer played it himself. It is definitely doable, but I of course only input the notes on my computer.

[@funnytimes2152]

@@CaliMelodies Huh that is interesting. Not sure if I'll ever reach a level where I can play this... Anyhow, again, awesome work. I'm gonna start learning the "Utopia" track which seems a lot easier. Thanks for making these!

[@CaliMelodies]

@@funnytimes2152 I have sheets for Utopia now. I have not published them yet, but will do so within the next week.

[@funnytimes2152]

@@CaliMelodies Woah that is awesome! Thank you so much :)

[@khmkay]

how am I supposed to learn that..

[@CaliMelodies]

I'd suggest practicing really slowly at first, especially for the difficult parts. You could also try to simplify some of the harder sections by yourself. It is definitely do-able, you can also check out @MadPianoLife's interpretation of the piece in his Vinland Saga sub special here on youtube.

[@carpathianhermit7228]

1:50 I'm just sweating ok stfu

[@angeloushenderson9383]

1:42

[@angeloushenderson9383]

1:22

[@giacomoimpro]

Do you have the sheet?

[@abduIla]

is there anyways we can get the MIDI for this ?

[@marc-antoinedemers562]

Do you have a patreon ? I would love to pay to have access to your vinland saga piano midi files!

[@CaliMelodies]

Since the midi requests are increasing I'm thinking about getting a patreon and/or a ko-fi page. I'm really happy to read that you value my work so much that you even consider paying for the midi and supporting me in this way. I honestly really appreciate it. I have not set up a patreon or the like as of now, so it will be quicker to talk it over on discord (GinkoDE#6052). Feel free to add me or tell me if you prefer another way. (I'm going to bed now and work tomorrow, so will probably be available in about 18 hours from now).

[@markovmusic5992]

@@CaliMelodies I just sent you a friend request on Discord (Xylas). I have a question about this, too

[@frostymittens7231]

I’m so excited to find this!!!! Does anyone know the English name of this song : open.spotify.com/track/2JbaiQidZS5Q6LlyPxBNhq?si=GT3ztNh3TOOMBP9KjcJHhw - I’m trying to find it everywhere. I’m going to keep looking though, would love to play it on the piano!

[@CaliMelodies]

if the link worked correctly for me, then the English name for the piece you are searching for is "Small Village" (Japanese title is 小村 (しょうそん). I also transcribed and made this kind of video for Small Village. There is also uploads of the original here on youtube.

[@frostymittens7231]

@@CaliMelodies thank you so much!

[@alvaromoure8339]

Where can I find the piano sheets?

[@SageHester]

Is there somewhere I can find the sheet music for this?

[@CaliMelodies]

I will get all the Vinland Saga pieces transcribed this year. Next piece will be transcribed in the coming week(s). So at the moment there are no sheets, but there will be soon.

[@SageHester]

@@CaliMelodies I love to hear that, after a dive into your channel I can see you're doing absolutely amazing work! Seriously, these are such beautiful pieces and you are doing them a grand justice. Thank you so much!

[@suudhxux7x7s9]

do u got the midi too bro?

[@farthashira2614]

Do you have any sheet music for this?

[@CaliMelodies]

Not at the moment. I am planning to hire someone to do them for me (probably after October this year; won't be possible for me before then).

[@farthashira2614]

Alright, thank you though. This transcription is beautiful.

[@pianobard5478]

@@CaliMelodies PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO LET US KNOW WHEN THE SHEET MUSIC IS MADE. IM DYING FOR IT. THANK YOU

[@bhushangawde32]

Every time I hear this music, at 1:32 I feel something which I can't even explain in words. Its sad yet happy...hopelessness, yet hopefullness at the same time... if that makes any sense..❤‍🩹

[@josephcumiskey2414]

IS there any sheetmusic for this, i would pay for this sheet music