Zenzenzense - Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name) OP 【前前前世 - 君の名は OP】

As you may have noticed, I've unlisted the first upload and rerecorded the cover with more audio ~quality~ (but less visual quality). In fact if you close your eyes, just imagine a Steinway in a conservatory hall. ;)
Playing on the digital is rough because I start sweating 5 seconds in and my fingers lose traction on the smooth plastic keys. It actually requires more takes than recording on a grand piano because executing all mechanics perfectly is harder on the digital. But for now, I have decided to record ~official~ covers on the digital. That means I also will need more practice on this piano, not the grand.
What do you think of the audio? Am I too much of a noob to play well on a faux piano?? Leave your comments below!
Until next time. 🌼🌼🌼
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About the song:
The sheets started out as a transcription of Animenz's 2018 live performance in London. I had tried to stay faithful to it, and that was the version I debuted at my own concert in 2018. Then, I began transforming parts of the piece to suit my ideas.
One example is in the last chorus, I decided to derive the harmony from pure triads, to convey the feeling of completion and contentment at the end of a journey. Another example is the jazz lick leading to a secondary dominant chord. This chord mimics a deep bell toll, almost like saying "time is up", which has a significant meaning with respect to the movie... I've tried my best to use musical elements to allude to elements and devices in the movie, from the iconic comet to the stillness in the twilight air.
Although the tempo is q = 190 (up to 210 at the end), I believe the song has a more fitting mood when played at a faster pace.
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Original description:
A lot has happened. With real life issues going on and the lack of 8+ rated seasonal shows on MAL, I haven't watched much anime, if at all, for a long time. However, I found time and decided to watch some completed shows from the past 2 years, including Steins;Gate 0. S;G 0 made me nostalgic and left me incomplete yet complete, satisfied yet wanting more. It motivated me to do something about my inactivity online.
I truly wanted to record. But, not only is my USB audio box nowhere to be found, the grand piano's Mark III digital system uses FLOPPY(! ! !) disks. However, S;G 0 motivated me not to give up, even if I had to use the digital keyboard. Ever since I received Animenz's mic, I felt stubborn wanting to make official recordings using an acoustic instrument, rather than a digital one. The digital piano appeared to sacrifice nuance, expression, and ease of performance...
Whatever the case, I pushed forward this time. I've been inactive for far too long. And if I had stayed that way, I might've never found my way back to my "true" worldline.
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Sheets Music: coming soon
The unlisted version: • Zen Zen Zen Se - Your ...
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Transcribed and rearranged by Chris Luan (2018)
Improvised by Animenz (2018)
Original Composer: Yojiro Noda
Original Artist: RADWIMPS
Kimi no Na Wa OP (Your Name OP)
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[@KiraAnimeonPiano]

The audio quality is definitely better on this one, awesome playing like always !

[@ChrisLuan]

(*.*)b

[@Dstro]

Actually underrated, good thing I'm here before you become popular YEET.

[@ChrisLuan]

Y E E T

[@quynhhoang2983]

Yeet

[@justsomeguy5502]

Love the move at 1:58

[@ChrisLuan]

:3

[@remixowlz]

Dude you're killin it! That sounds amazing!! 😁😁😁 I don't get it why aren't you getting as much recognition as others?!

[@maxwellzen4309]

Lowkey just bc he doesn't upload often (which is understandable, judging from descriptions he clearly isn't "full-time") so KZbin barely ever recommends his videos, if you look at Theishter he uploads like every month or some insane shit like that so he's generally one of the very first piano-anime-KZbinrs that people encounter (or at least he was the first one I encountered)

[@ChrisLuan]

Thanks, I deeply appreciate your comment. Pretty much what Maxwell Zen said below. I don't do the things that compel the KZbin Algorithm to boost me. I wish I could upload more often but pieces that truly move and inspire me to arrange are few. The arrangements that are in the pipeline for upload are difficult to execute already. The difficulty is multiplied many times by the nature of a digital piano. If I had more time (and maybe talent lol), maybe these difficulties would be more trivial. For example, I struggle with reining in my tempo on the digital piano since the relative lack of weight and short travel of the keys produces a very ephemeral physical feeling compared to a grand piano's fully weighted keys. I'm fortunate and honestly spoiled by having a grand piano: I 100% prefer playing on the Yamaha DC3 (as I imagine most people would) so I hardly practice on a digital piano - which is something less pleasant but nonetheless necessary in hindsight.

[@ChronicalV]

Yea I agree playing playing on digital my whole life has been quite frustrating due to how slippery plastic keys are, and how light they are. If only I could get a real piano, but I have no room for it

[@ChrisLuan]

You get it. For many reasons, the keys don't make it easy for you to take time on each press and that just leads to more hardship.

[@decatessara5029]

Very nice

[@ChrisLuan]

8 ]

[@YehPianoCovers]

BIG dif in audio! Nice job man and totally agree with recording on digital having it's own difficulties HAHA

[@ChrisLuan]

tell me about it hahahahaaaaaa...

[@HangPianoCovers]

man the audio is great

[@ChrisLuan]

I was happy to have transcribed the beta version in time for my concert in May of last year!! It's come a long way since then.

[@muhamadrifqy]

Love it😂

[@ChrisLuan]

=3=

[@fiercelynfoxie8499]

Awesome 💕

[@ChrisLuan]

TY

[@ahmedmalad1605]

The Audio Quality !! wow , But i have a question , why did you decide to make recording with D pianos official knowing that you do well with grand piano ?

[@ChrisLuan]

Well, for the time being, recording acoustic isn't doable and recording digital is more convenient at the expense of exponential difficulty in performing.

[@orfrisbee2121]

One of the most talented pianists on youtube

[@Roescoe]

And arranger/ improviser.

[@ChrisLuan]

UwU

[@ChrisLuan]

OwO

[@Roescoe]

Chris Chan Luan Man So Kawaii

[@barelycat5438]

Very nize

[@ChrisLuan]

:3

[@mengjit2693]

sorry if this question is a bit lengthy... I'm a student currently and in some amateur on the piano. I got really interested in piano arrangements but I found yours to be the most interesting one. Though I'm trying out how to arrange slowly, I still do not get the hang of it on the arrangement on the left hand to give a piece its "colour". I hope that you are able to answer or guide me on how to do so...

[@ChrisLuan]

Look to some Baroque and Romantic music that feature polyphony!

[@LouisR56]

The sound quality is clearly better man! That was a good decision. And for the rest of my thoughts, I let you refer to my comment on the first video ;)

[@ChrisLuan]

;) Yep, referred and noted. Will continue, tyty for the feedback

[@AnimePianoAngel]

Sounds epic! The audio has improved a lot. I know digital piano can be harder to play as the touch is very different from acoustic piano. Maybe you could use it as an advantage? Maybe record the midi files of your playing or add orchestra/string parts on your next arrangement?

[@ChrisLuan]

Well, the biggest advantage is that recording is almost hassle free...=3

[@phambatung4607]

Splendid! You did well on playing a DIGITAL piano. But isn't that you are doing a diservice for you?(lol unbelievable) Do you have any advice on learning Jazz and classical music? I can't buy a book and can't afford a teacher because there aren't any. Thanks in advance!

[@ChrisLuan]

Ya it doesn't feel very nice and I can't hear the sort of sound i'm making while playing. I have to wait until the track is imported and rendered in software. I think getting a teacher is best for classical music but if cost is really an issue, you should just listen as much as possible to your classical repertoire and try your best to emulate what you hear. I don't have much experience learning jazz but maybe KZbin videos and other websites have articles on jazz.

[@tonyl.5323]

Audio is great but you're speeding up an uncomfortable amount that isn't rubato anymore.

[@ChrisLuan]

The whole song isn't meant to be rubato, just a small portion after the big bang before the song starts walking, then jogging, then running, and finally sprinting back to pace. But yes, I know the song is on the fast side even compared to the original. I intended it this way from both the listener's and performer's perspective. I wanted to convey a rush in the song, just as there was a rush in the original movie! I intended the arrangement to be a distillation of emotions that fueled the characters' motives.

[@tonyl.5323]

The tempo just feels unnatural and the "rush" just seems like a huge bump in the tempo which doesn't convey the rush in the movie properly.

[@ChrisLuan]

Ah I can certainly understand your point of view too, but I'm still going to have to say respectfully this is where we differ: some songs are better suited at a faster tempo. I know the original song; it's slower than the arrangement. But, I prefer adding on a rush to enhance the song. For example, this applies to Animenz's Bios which is much better at q = 115 than at q = 100. Another example is that Martha Argerich's Rachmaninoff 3rd interpretation is among the best for me, even though it's unconventionally faster. That's just my preference. Although it may seem like I prefer a fast tempo for songs (and perhaps music in general) based on all my uploads on this channel and even live performances, that's simply not true. Other songs are suited for a slower tempo - for instance, the reprise and ending of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano concerto 2nd movement and when I play this part, I slow down to prolong and dramatize the mood. Please don't take it that I'm downplaying your critique. I know myself that even sometimes I have a tendency of not controlling my tempo, which was often the case when I was taking classical music lessons and may still occasionally be the case with pop music. My bewildering, inconsistent tempo could be a symptom of my habit of not ever learning or practicing with a metronome. I can probably address the symptom to improve the consistency in tempo but as of recent years, I've had other priorities ranked above a truly "technical" performance. Unfortunately, this is also one reason why I haven't been very active recently. I hope you understand and that despite our differences in opinion, I will still be able to earn your support. I really appreciate when I can have a "real" talk that requires me to reflect and explore my own self and artistry. And actually, I wish commenters would leave more critique on my art and maybe even different opinions on topics outside of art...

[@tonyl.5323]

Alright fair point, coming from another classical pianist player. However, your opinion on some songs being suited better at a faster tempo is still only an opinion. If Animenz wrote Bios at q=100, he clearly thought that his arrangement of the song sounded better at 100 rather than 115. Your interpretation shouldn't be stated as "better" just because you think it sounds better at a faster tempo. Take a look at Rachmanioff's Op. 3 no. 1, when say Andrei Gavrilov plays it, he believes the climax should be dragged out. However, looking at Rachmaninoff playing his own piece, he actually rushes the section. So who's right? Rachmaninoff as it is his piece in which the way he played is what he felt the song should sound like. There's nothing wrong with Andrei Gavrilov's take on the piece but he shouldn't (which he doesn't) say his interpretation/opinion is better.

[@calatis1834]

Lmao when you have no more reply to someone who actually understands music 😂

[@sveltopiatti4221]

Hello Chris, when you start uploading new videos?

[@ChrisLuan]

I'm not sure, but I want to get back into it. I wish I had more time and opportunity...

[@sveltopiatti4221]

@@ChrisLuanThank you for your reply. I will wait for your return. Buona fortuna ;-)

[@Daniel33276]

Any chance of a synthesia?

[@ChrisLuan]

Currently, I don't have plans on making Synthesia videos., sorry. :3

[@abdullahhassan3490]

What is the name of this digitial piano?

[@ChrisLuan]

Yamaha P-255

[@ChrisLuan]

Yamaha P-255

[@georgecai8370]

1st

[@ChrisLuan]

0th o3o