http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/ A forum for discussion about the SquareSound site, store, and fan-arrangement archive. en Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:35:47 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.squaresound.com/forums/images/bluesaint/misc/rss.jpg http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/ http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/54-college-auditions-today.html Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:39:59 GMT So the first of my college piano auditions are today. I've already met with the composition prof. and interviewed with him. Now just comes the piano audition. Hopefully I can pull a good scholorship. I'll be playing:

Bach - Prelude and Fugue No. 21 in Bb Major (BK. 1)
Mozart - Sonata in A K. 331 1st Mvt.
Chopin - Etude in C minor Op.10 No. 12 [Revolutionary] ]]> The-Real-Link http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/54-college-auditions-today.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/mellosinfonian/53-new-arrangement-chrono-trigger.html Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:16:57 GMT I just uploaded my first woodwind quintet arrangement for Squaresound. It's Wind Scene from Chrono Trigger (the music that plays in the overworld in 600 A.D.). I started this one several months ago, and just got around to finishing it this weekend. Nothing too complex, but it was fun to work on and I'm pleased with how it turned out. ]]> MelloSinfonian http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/mellosinfonian/53-new-arrangement-chrono-trigger.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/52-concerning-my-lack-activity.html Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:41:36 GMT Recently, I haven't been posting much on the board, nor have I made even one new arrangement in the past few months. The reason for this is simply a lack of motivation. I've been concerned mainly with my studies and with classical music, so video game music has been way in the back of my mind, and I haven't bothered to do anything about it. I'm hoping to change that following the end of the Yoko Shimomura arrangement competition, however I'll need to find something to arrange. I'm very much open to suggestions, if anyone has any.

-Nicol ]]> Nicol Armarfi http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/52-concerning-my-lack-activity.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/51-concerning-arrangements.html Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:05:33 GMT Wow....I realized that I haven't done an arrangement in a long time. I just thought I'd let everybody know that I do have a few arrangements in progress, that I plan on finishing soon! Just to give you a sample of what I'm working on:

Valentina's Fugue (A beefed up, fugue version of Valentina's Theme from Mario RPG)


The Sound of the Clock [working title] (A medly of Clocktown themes from Majora's Mask)

Stone Tower Temple String and Woodwind Ensemble. (From Majora's Mask)

Hopefully I will the arrangements done soon. I might try to get some "in progress" MP3s worked up, so keep an eye out for those as well! ]]> The-Real-Link http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/51-concerning-arrangements.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/50-progress-my-uploads.html Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:38:18 GMT I've been uploading my arrangements to the new arrangement system recently. Fourty-four of them are currently online.

I've edited a few of them to cut out significant errors that were present in their original editions. Revised pieces are:

-Bloody Tears (Castlevania II)
-Battle Scene B (Final Fantasy II)
-Max 300 (DDR)
-B4u (DDR)
-Brink of Death (Chrono Cross)
-Floating Castle (Final Fantasy I)
-Eternal Wind (Final Fantasy III)

I will continue editing and uploading the bulk of arrangements I have remaining, although it may take a while. ]]> Nicol Armarfi http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/50-progress-my-uploads.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/49-vacation-stories-1.html Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:45:54 GMT Okay. This one is actually something that happened at the end of my vacation, but I'm going to tell it first because it's so awsome!

While I was gone, I was invited to play on a completely restored 1927 Steinway Baby Grand Piano. It was AMAZING!!! I don't think I have every played a piano like it! I feel very lucky, because only a few people have every been allowed to play on it! I took a video of me playing Zanarkand on it. I'll try to get it uploaded soon. Although I messed up a bit, because I hadn't played a piano in over a week, and I was nervous because I was playing for like three or four master pianists; one of which is considered a virtuoso.

The virtuoso also gave me a lesson in piano playing. It was the most intense lesson of my life! That story will have to come in part 2..... ]]> The-Real-Link http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/49-vacation-stories-1.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/48-dragon-warriorrrrrrrrr.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:55:56 GMT Uploaded five new Dragon Quest arrangements to the archive. The arrangements are all for viola with a piano for accompanyment (with the exception... Uploaded five new Dragon Quest arrangements to the archive.

The arrangements are all for viola with a piano for accompanyment (with the exception of the Menu theme, which is for two violas and piano). They are all also very easy, with the exception of To A Vast World, which contains some difficult passages, but is also for the most part relatively simple. ]]> Nicol Armarfi http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/48-dragon-warriorrrrrrrrr.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/47-subject-my-absence.html Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:30:57 GMT Recently I've not been particularly active with SquareSound in any way, shape or form. The reason for this is simply that I hadn't any reason to do so in the past few months. Furthermore, I had installed Linux again, and through some mundane errors which I made, again, ended up killing my Windows installation, which also helped my disinterest in activity.

Excuses aside, I'm glad to inform you that I will be returning to the fray relatively soon, though I must first reinstall my Windows partition and get everything ready for music making. I've been sketching out a few new arrangements and compositions on paper, so it won't be too long after I've finished fixing everything that you'll see some new material out. ]]> Nicol Armarfi http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/nicol-armarfi/47-subject-my-absence.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/mellosinfonian/46-transferred-arrangements.html Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:52:27 GMT I just completed transferring all of my existing Squaresound arrangements to the forum side of things. In case anyone reading this is out of the... I just completed transferring all of my existing Squaresound arrangements to the forum side of things. In case anyone reading this is out of the loop, Tim's in the process of moving the entire archive to the forums, which makes the whole website more interactive and user-friendly. As such, he's no longer updating arrangements under the Featured Arranger sections. I'm not sure what his plans are for fully integrating this section into the forum, but I know that you won't find any new arrangements from me right here anymore; they'll all be on the forum. However, I still plan to update this blog whenever I add anything on that side.

As of now, I have 18 files containing 17 different arrangements (I have the MIDI and the Sheet Music for my Uematsu Contest entry). ]]> MelloSinfonian http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/mellosinfonian/46-transferred-arrangements.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/mellosinfonian/45-new-arrangement-ffvi.html Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:26:50 GMT Don't know if anyone still reads this, but I enjoy writing in it. Clearly you do read it, if nobody else does! ;)

I just submitted my latest work, a wind ensemble arrangement of Searching for Friends. I plan to print it out and have my community band read through it on Monday. It's fairly simple (aside from the somewhat intricate bass line), but has lots of nice chord progressions. I was inspired to write this a month or two ago, when I was playing Final Fantasy VI on the GBA pretty often. I was leveling up in the Tyranosaur Forest, so naturally I heard this song quite a bit. Hope you all enjoy it! ]]> MelloSinfonian http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/mellosinfonian/45-new-arrangement-ffvi.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/44-my-competition-results.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:53:00 GMT I went to the Piano Guild yesterday, and I got a score of 39 C's and 2 A's. C's are good and A's are bad. A perfect score is 42 C's and 0 A's, so I got pretty close! I'm pretty happy about it. I was able to play pretty well mistake free. I had a few problems on my Liszt piece, and a couple of small mistakes on my Bach Fugue, but other than that it went pretty well.

The funniest thing happened. I played Zanarkand from the FFX Piano Collections, and the judge went nuts! She said that a bunch of her students had been wanting to find a Final Fantasy sheet music book. So I gave her the squaresound address ^_^

My judge was very nice. The only complaint I had was that she said I played my Bach too fast. The speed I played was a combination of the indicated speed, and several pro-recordings. My book was edited by Palmer, so I know the indications are very accurate! I think it may have just been her personal opinion and preference.

Overall it went pretty well. I'm very happy with the results! ]]> The-Real-Link http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/44-my-competition-results.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/43-woo-hoo.html Sat, 30 May 2009 20:14:49 GMT I just bought a copy of the Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections! I can't wait for it to get here!

I'm going to be SOOOOO mad if they don't release the Sheet Music soon!!!!! ]]> The-Real-Link http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/43-woo-hoo.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/joseph-perkins/42-chamber-strings-retirement-party.html Mon, 18 May 2009 22:48:12 GMT Just finished playing at a retirement party for a wonderful teacher who has been working at the school for 50+ years. Wonderful man who teaches... Just finished playing at a retirement party for a wonderful teacher who has been working at the school for 50+ years. Wonderful man who teaches biology. I was approached about this 3 weeks ago and decided chamber strings would be most appropriate (compared to our usual quartet). It included 3 1sts, 3 2nds, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 1 Dbl bass. This is the first time our music program is starting to get recognized in a more important light (not for having a few bad apples). We have played at some venues before but most teachers and staff have never really had the chance to hear us. I pulled some beautiful songs from our library and we played in the background as some sort of lounge music. Some of the more popular ones:

Jupiter (Chorale) -Gustav Holst
There You'll Be -Faith Hill
Only Time- Enya
Ashokan Farewell- PBS Special
And a personal request by a teacher: The Sound of Music

Our library only has 70 songs for orchestra (but keeps growing). Jupiter was fun to conduct as it fit my conducting style well. We got lots of compliments, being referred to as classy and wonderful sounding (finally getting recognized by the principal). This was a unique experience and I hope somebody continues to perform at these events next year, though doubtful. I also hope that given the budget cuts, teachers will fight to keep the program around, though doubtful.

I did get a few good things out of it:

Cheese and Crackers
REALLY GOOD CAKE
and Sparkling Cider (cause they won't allow wine around teachers. Lol) ]]> Joseph Perkins http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/joseph-perkins/42-chamber-strings-retirement-party.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/joseph-perkins/41-lack-focus.html Sun, 17 May 2009 19:57:05 GMT Lately I have been having a real problem sitting down and focusing on an arrangement from start to finish. No matter what song it is, I always feel... Lately I have been having a real problem sitting down and focusing on an arrangement from start to finish. No matter what song it is, I always feel the need to save and exit, then start composing something new. I personally find practicing composing more important right now, but I also feel that I should finish what I started. I have a HUGE list of songs that I was about 1/2 done with. Its so big that its pushing me to try and finish them. Most of them are from Fire Emblem, but there are a few from various games.

I am currently determined to finish my arrangement of Mario and Peach's Theme from Paper Mario. I have this unusual fascination with the sound. Expect it soon! ]]> Joseph Perkins http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/joseph-perkins/41-lack-focus.html http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/40-arrrghhh.html Thu, 14 May 2009 04:29:41 GMT I just spent like two hours arranging a song in FL Studio (Demo Version) saved the MP3....and it cut out the last bar!!!!!!! I had already shut the... I just spent like two hours arranging a song in FL Studio (Demo Version) saved the MP3....and it cut out the last bar!!!!!!! I had already shut the demo down too! GAAAAA!!!!!!!!! *grumble grumble snort grumble* ]]> The-Real-Link http://www.squaresound.com/forums/blogs/the-real-link/40-arrrghhh.html