Free Electone sheet music and registrations for 不羈的風 (Bat Gei Dik Fung). Leslie Cheung’s Cantopop cover of the Kōji Kikkawa hit, La Vie En Rose.
“Gor Gor” Leslie Cheung is the first Cantopop idol I was aware of as a kid. This happened around 1983.
Oh, I was familiar with other Cantopop singers before him. For example, Lisa Wang and Francis Yip. But it wasn’t until 1983, or a year later, that I began to associate Hong Kong singers with the pop genre. Of all the big names back then, Leslie was also the artist whom I was most attracted by.
He was just so good-looking and suave, and cool. His voice and articulation were silkier than dark chocolate. Sheer enchantment with the right songs.
Yeah. But strange thing, though. As much as I love his style, I’m not particularly fond of his songs, that is, outside of不羈的風 (Bat Gei Dik Fung), 無心睡眠 (Mo Sum Sui Mian), and the title song from A Chinese Ghost Story ’87. Down the road, I also thought of Leslie more as an actor rather than a singer. This, I suppose, isn’t anything that unusual given his best movies are practically must-studies for any fan of Hong Kong cinema. He was one-third of the legendary trio in A Better Tomorrow, after all.
Moving on, April 1st 2003 came and I was at work when my mother called with news that Leslie has committed suicide. Like her, I thought it was a horribly tasteless joke, another lame HK paparazzi attempt to “boil water,” or spin a story. And then I realised it was no joke. Seems like, few knew the singer as we thought we all did.
That date is now close to 20 years ago. Without surprise, however, Gor Gor continues to be beloved in the Cantonese-speaking world. Come every April the 1st, paid Cantonese TV channels will screen his best movies. One of his most famous J-Pop covers, the title song for Once a Thief, was recently used as an outro for a trailer for a new TVB special. (Sang by the lovely Chantel Yiu)
Personally, I think Leslie will remain with us for a long time, both musically and culturally. He’ll, of course, always be missed too.
Yamaha Electone Sheet Music and ELS-02C Registration Data for Bat Gei Dik Fung (不羈的風)
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 probably the easiest arrangement I’ve made to date. I give it an Electone Grade 8, at most.
- I mostly followed the sequence of Leslie’s 1985 recording too. The only major changes are an extension of the Distortion Guitar bridge and the removal of a stanza.
- I relied a lot on the natural delay and echo of the Stagea’s Pad/Synth sounds to achieve that dreamy, “windy” sensation that the song is reliant on. Correspondingly, this means many notes need to be played very slightly earlier, or at least very accurately, to avoid an out-of-tempo feel.
- I don’t think I’ve ever arranged a simpler bassline! It’s almost embarrassing! But all I needed was a standard 8-quaver rock bassline, which the ELS-02C’s A.B.C. can well take care of. On this, the only thing to note is not to transit too early between bars. This could cause the A.I. to do funky licks.
- Coming to the rhythmic accompaniments, I’ve programmed some basic guitar riffs into the user patterns. Please read my subsequent section on accompaniment programming with the Electone ELS-02C.
- Some of my registration memories, Number 3 for example, has a trumpet sound. I’ve set this with high reverb and an ER effect to “push” it away from the lead sounds, so as to create an ethereal sensation. It also comes with higher aftertouch than the sounds it’s paired with. In other words, the trumpet will sound like a separate, embellishing instrument, if you apply A.T. the right way.
- Lastly, Bat Gei Dik Fung was Leslie Cheung’s 1985 cover of a J-Pop hit. The original is La Vie En Rose by Kōji Kikkawa (吉川晃司), which was arranged in Synth-pop style. If you’re interested, Leslie previously also covered another Kikkawa hit named Monica. The Cantonese version goes by the same name.
Programming Rhythm Accompaniment on the Electone ELS-02C
Let me end with a rant of sorts.
If you’ve ever tinkered with the Rhythm Pattern Program (RPP) of the Stagea, you’d know that it’s capable of many tricks and refinements as far as drums are concerned.
In super stark contrast, however, there are barely any programming capabilities for rhythmic accompaniment. The only things you can fiddle with are “Chord 1” and “Chord 2,” and you can do nothing more than sequence simple vampings. Even when paired with Yamaha’s Mega sounds, only a minimal level of playing variation is achieved with these chords.
After which, there is no way, at all, to program Basses, Pad, and Phrases. No way to do your own accompanying trumpets, brass, synth arpeggios, etc. You HAVE to find a way to play these yourself. Or use something pre-recorded with the MDR.
It’s an awful tragedy to me. Not because I expect the Stagea to play what I ought to be performing, but because it limits my options when arranging. Worse, such accompaniment programming capabilities are actually available on older, way cheaper Yamaha keyboards. Long available.
Now, I have something juicy to share. I’ve found a way to do programming elsewhere, then transfer the patterns into the Stagea. I’ll probably be trying this in some arrangements down the road.
It’s a painful process, though. One that is nowhere near perfect. In some ways, it also feels so odd to use a cheaper instrument to program the expensive Electone Stagea. (What’s the logic here?!)
If we ever get an ELS-03, a third-generation Stagea, I hope Yamaha give some thought to this area.
Full List of Downloadable Electone Sheet Music and Stagea ELS-02C Registration Data. ( English / 中文 / 日本語 )
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, Leslie Cheung’s Jade Solid Gold Award-winning dance hit from 1985.){kind=link}