Free Electone sheet music and registrations for SMT III: Nocturne Title Loop 2.
Let’s see … I believe it was the third quarter of 1993.
Still reeling from the shock of Singaporean BMT and cultural bullies, I took to sulking every weekend at Kinokuniya Shaw House. (Branch’s long gone, btw). One day, while … browsing-without-buying for hours, I came across a strategy guide for a JRPG I’d never heard of. One look at the contents and I was mesmerised.
Yeah, mesmerised. Very simply, that guide was like a lexicon of world mythology. I’ve never seen so many mythological characters assembled within one game.
That game was Shin Megami Tensei I for the SNES, which I eventually bought on Christmas Eve 1993. To be honest, my limited Japanese reading abilities back then dulled my playing experience of it; I didn’t complete the game till much later.
Despite that, I still fell in love with the unique apocalyptic and philosophical angle of the franchise, as well as the plethora of “demons” you can “befriend” in it. Needless to say, I bought every sequel in the years to follow too. These included the Majin Tensei and Persona offshoots.
Jump forth to 2005 i.e. the PlayStation 2 era, I bought SMT III: Nocturne Maniax together with my PS2, and spent two months obsessing over it. The unforgettable story and characters aside, what I really loved about this episode was the music. I still have most of the tracks in my phone.
In addition, the soundtrack familiarised me with Shoji Meguro and his signature styles. In July this year, when I read that SMT III would be re-released, I immediately decided I MUST have a go at arranging one of the tracks for the Yamaha Electone.
After much fanboy fussing, I decided Title Loop 2 would be the “one.” While my favourite is still the first Kagutsuchi fight track, this one felt to be the most possible to arrange. The one most suitable for my Electone.
Yamaha Electone Sheet Music and ELS-02C Registration Data for SMT III: Nocturne Title Loop 2
Warning! The registration and Finale PrintMusic files are zip files! You might need to disable your virus/malware protection before downloading.
As I have disabled the function, do not right-click to save as. On PCs, simply click on the links and the file should auto download in a separate window.
Electone Sheet Music Free Download
Electone Registration Data for Stagea ELS-02C
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Arrangement Notes
- This is largely the same as the original PS2 track, with the addition of some “fiendish” elements. 🙂
- I couldn’t completely reproduce Master Meguro’s stunning opening. It’s probably possible given enough experimentation with effects on the ELS-02C’s Sweep Pad sounds. But for the moment, what I have is the best I can do.
- The Distortion Guitar sounds need to be played with punches here and there, to mimic their style and because of touch effects. Hit it too soft and the overdrive goes away.
- “Theoretically,” there ought to be a volume-down right before Section B, i.e., the Piano section. However, I have largely programmed the volume drop into the registrations. In other words, be very careful with the expression pedal at that point, or you’d end up with a too-soft midriff.
- I took this opportunity to experiment with the Chorus and Variation effects in the Rhythm Pattern Program. Sadly, though, I couldn’t entirely create the kind of sweeping Analog effect I was looking for. This is one area with a lot of opportunities so I’d encourage all Yamaha Electone players to give it a go with their arrangements.
- One of the wild ideas I had was to create demonic sounds for the final stanza. You know, the “let’s-take-a-hike-ARE-YOU-READY?!?” growls that the SMT III: Nocturne soundtrack is famous for? I GOT NOWHERE, ahem; the SFX vocal effects in the ELS-02C are all rather unsuitable. Still, I remain convinced that it’s kinda possible given enough experimentation. Again, I encourage all players to have their own go at this. (Pitch down the sound, add in distortion/flanger/reverb, etc)
- As per what I wrote in my score, hold the final note as long as your inner demon tells you to!!! Use Aftertouch to create pitch distortion too! (And hopefully, you summon some LvL 90++ demon while doing it)
Full List of Downloadable Electone Sheet Music and Stagea ELS-02C Registration Data. ( English / 中文 / 日本語 )
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