The 13th Side has an very slow and long first half until it picks up the pace half way through (2:02). Unique to my performance, other than being very fast on the second half, the ending, instead of using the middle pedal to hold the bass C, I just pedaled down all the way to get all of those chords in. It sounds pretty rich to me. Another reason for avoiding the middle pedal is that I have a entry-level baby grand, with the middle pedal pressed down, I get some undesirable sound getting mixed in.
After recording the Final Fantasy XV album, it’s no surprise that Yoko Shimomura is my new favorite game music composer. Both Kingdom Hearts and FFXV music really call to me. In many ways, the Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections were arranged to be much more classical than any other game music I’ve recorded to date. While the whole album is very difficult, it is doable with enough practice. This album took me just over 1 month from learning to recording. One problem I had was that the OST seems a bit on the slow side on almost every piece. So don’t be surprise to find much faster versions of these pieces here (i.e. Hand In Hand, and The Other Promise are MUCH faster than the original).
All of my videos are shot by the iPhone 12 Pro. Although it captures the sound fine without popping, etc, it does not capture dynamics well. Everything sounds pretty loud yet the bass does not sound louder when called for. So try to be forgiving on this poor man’s recordings. Also, it’s unfortunate that nothing I play is perfect, but should be pretty close and enjoyable otherwise.
Click here to go to the master index page for the Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections.