Guren no Yumiya, from Attack on Titan, music by Revo (Linked Horizon), piano arranged by Animenz, played by Richard Yang on Yamaha N1X with Garritan CFX VST.
This is the most iconic first OP of Attack on Titan. Animenz placed this on his Top 10 Most Difficult playlist. I personally don’t believe this piece should make the list. Notes-wise, this is not too much more involved than Shinzou wo Sasageyo. The part that makes it quite difficult is the speed. This is extremely fast-paced and requires lots of stamina to get through. To play this well, especially at this tempo, is learning where and how you can release tension even when you have non-stop actions.
This piece does demonstrate the importance of buying the official sheet from Animenz’s store. I initially started off with a transcribed version and thought I’d never be able to play the piece; it was impossible! After getting the official sheet, finally, everything is now playable.
As with all of my performances, I have my own interpretation, so the tempo, dynamics, etc may feel quite different from the original recording. Simply put, I play the way I like it.
