Concern Paraphrase on Dearly Beloved = Rachmaninov (Concerto No. 2) beginning + Chopin Etude (Op. 25 No. 12) + Liszt (repeating notes section) + Horowitz-style ending. It sounds pretty difficult but it’s actually not too bad. This took me 1 week from learning to recording. The first 2 days it sounded like garbage. But on the 3rd day, it clicked. Then just a couple more days to clean up. If you need help on a specific section, please leave your comment below and I’ll do my best to help. I’ve got some tips that should make this easier to learn. Good thing is, once you learn the first 2 pages, Chopin’s Op. 25 No. 12 will be a walk in the park.
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.
