Music in an old arcade video game

Anything that doesn't fit into other topics goes here!
Omg that sounds familiar. ( although I don't understand the words )

Du ar den ende ? you are the end or endless ?

End as in fabulous or something like that ? The funny part, if I am right, when I translate this in dutch, you are the end makes sense, but it sounds weird in english.

In Dutch: Jij bent het einde


Could be my brain playing a trick with me about try to remember, it probably is. :)

For now I am in world of hurt
Why did I wanna cover this ? :P

Tried a few things and watched a synthesia vid about the song.
Then found a MIDI file, but it does not seem to be 3/4 or 6/8 but 4/4 at 140 BPM.

I am right now at 90 bpm in LMMS and tried both 3/4 and 6/8. The last one seems to make more sense.
I do not have a problem getting the main notes on grid.
But the arpeggio ? part I can't get on the grid yet. (In the midi file those notes look off grid too)

The closet I got, but no cigar, was by totally ignoring the grid, set lmms to 1/192 and move note by ear, and listen if I was getting closer.

Recorded my self while tapping on my midi controller, and a bpm of 90 must be close.

Then I tried to fit in the in between notes,and there the trouble starts.

The first vid has only what I call the main notes, the ones I can get easily on the grid.
( Its also like the video game )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsg5zfZ6xeg

But the next vid is how it really should be played:
Notice the in between notes, I cant get on the grid. :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-g4MnNiB3s

Having fun and will do some more googling to find out if I need to ignore the grid for that arpeggio like part, or that I am not doing it right yet. ( bpm) :)
I had another look at the midi file, and I think its right. (I am for now only after note spacing and staying on the grid)

Some midi files you import work 100%, this one works for 95%

Although it plays fine, LMMS stays at default 4/4 and 140 bpm, and this is not right.
When I change it to 3/4 all notes are on the grid.

So now I have a good starting point.

Set lmms to 6/8 around 80 bpm and Quantization to 1/24 and note length 1/24.

This gives a grid exactly fitting the starting point of all notes .
Gps wrote:
Sun Jan 27, 2019 9:14 pm
When I change it to 3/4 all notes are on the grid.
Yes! thats the way to use it!
Set lmms to 6/8 around 80 bpm and Quantization to 1/24 and note length 1/24.
Sounds perfectly fitting for clasical music
Its very interesting to see how the melody is formed in this piece of music.
I thought I was hearing the arpeggio going up and down, but its not that simple. :)

Found were the the 1 2 3 sound come from. I think we can call it the bassline. Most left track in the synthesia vid.
In lmms piano roll way of thinking it, the top notes do not follow strictly the 1 2 3 of the bassline.
First part is 4 times the same part for the top notes.
The bassline then has started with the second 123.

I am for now only using one piano roll part for all notes with zynaddsubFX and a banjo preset.

To really do it right in LMMS this piece is a huge challenge. I had already noticed its not played at a constant speed.
There are some small pauses.

I can see this becoming beyond complicated in LMMS, but it should be possible.
Or I am just gonna ignore that, :P

Note velocity wise this piece is probably already enough of a challenge to get it to sound right.
I have already been messing with it, if all notes are the same volume ( velocity ) it does not sound right.
The one count needs to be louder, the midi file confirms this. The one in one two three is louder.
Gps wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:46 pm
I thought I was hearing the arpeggio going up and down, but its not that simple. :)
Since the piece is a classical < 1600 something, i would expect the 'arpeggio' to be Alberti-played -eg the left-hand bass-chords played sequentially :
Low High Mid High (LHMH)
That is sooo common in classical music, and gives the music a 'light' fluent feel. You also have this in classical guitar pieces where the artist plays this continuous 'finger-picking-bass' to accompaniment his lead-melody
Interesting.

I think this piece how ever is high mid low, for the arpeggio part over and over again.

Were the lower two notes are closer together.

What I have now:
Its not entirely right yet from bar 4 and on, but this basically is the part repeated throughout the whole track,
Its not right yet because I was attempting to find the melody by ear.
Not just blindly copying every note from the synthesa vid.

Image

E minor, but I still want to have a look at a piece of sheet music. I remember allot of sharps.
And see how it sounds with the notes you gave me.

Tried to add drums, to find out I can forget about a boom clap boom clap, under this. :P

Will have to be boom boom clap, or boom clap clap ;)

I am totally lost on how to do percussion in 3/4
Interesting experience. :)
Its a start.

Needs more work though, The arpeggio part although in scale is not 100% right yet.

https://soundcloud.com/user586365033/spanish-romance

I could not resist on adding drums, and am for now happy with them. 123 123 123 :P
After allot of watching the synthesia vid and the midi file, I started to notice there is a difference between them.

The lowest notes in the piano roll picture I posted. The midi file does what the picture shows.
The synthesia vid however uses much longer notes for that part.

My version in lmms, now also has these longer notes, to me it sounds better.
Some of the notes around C4 now follow the top notes a bit in certain parts.

Noticed the midi file, repeats first part then a third part which is a bit of a variation, but not much.

I now have the first part kinda finished.
Happy how it starts. ( first it started too much as a bang )
The trick was to start the highest arpeggio note, a bit after the bass note, which starts exactly at the beginning of the track.

Moved first note of the arpeggio, 6 steps of 1/192 , to the right.

This gives the effect we hear in the original. Like it starts slowly

Now I think I found a challenge.
I need to come up with a second and third part, which are a slight variation. :P

How hard can it be ? ( top gear fans will get this )
This is were I am at now ( ZynAddSubFx ) :

https://soundcloud.com/user586365033/spanish-romance
Gps wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:27 pm
This is were I am at now ( ZynAddSubFx ) :
Well done! There are a few notes where i expected a different note, but this piece has properly almost 101 variations, in how to be played