Stepping for Piano

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  • Checked_Out
    FFR Veteran
    • Dec 2010
    • 15

    #1

    Stepping for Piano

    Blah blah, introduction and greetings.

    A while back, I made a 4key chart to a Chopin Nocturne (No. 2 in Eb, Op. 9), and spent a long, hard time on DDReam trying to sync each beat to the score and another really long, hard time trying to layer it in a way that wasn't boring. It was my first real attempt at a chart beyond just writing for myself and my friends, so I had high hopes for it. I sat on it for a long time before I dared put it on the cruel 'playtest my simfile' thread, but I did eventually do so. I was kind of disappointed with the results (y'know, people not really liking that much and all), and I made a few corrections after playtesting it for a month.

    So here I am almost a year later (I think, I'm bad with dates), with this file still sitting in my hands. It could never go on to the real engine because I used a quality mp3 file with Vladimir Ashkenazy as the soloist, which means permissions would never, ever happen (Decca is a biyatch). I don't think community packs would accept it either, because a) it's not 6key for piano and b) it's not by someone with a good name on this site.

    I love piano, and I've been studying it for about 10 years now. I want to be that guy, the one who writes the really good piano charts. I realize this is a fantasy, but hey, I can dream. So, take a look at my old file if you want (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g982y3bgqq3hx7i/JZSN6OArco).

    My next project is going to be Rachmaninoff's transcription of Kriesler's Liebeslied, because I love the song. I've read all the stepping material Patashu put out, as well as the more recent one stargroup1000 did, so I'm no idiot. (Amateurish, definitely; idiotic, maybe not.)

    tl;dr take a look at the old file, give some input as to why I should/shouldn't continue writing stepfiles, try to be nice 'n stuff

    Cheers, Checked_Out
  • cedolad
    moonchild~
    FFR Simfile Author
    • Jan 2007
    • 6879

    #2
    Re: Stepping for Piano

    Just keep stepping because you enjoy it. If people play your file, awesome. If they don't, fuck 'em.

    Comment

    • Jonlovesddr
      h
      • Sep 2008
      • 1631

      #3
      Re: Stepping for Piano

      you should step friday by rebecca black

      Comment

      • ilikexd
        FFR Simfile Author
        • Apr 2006
        • 3208

        #4
        Re: Stepping for Piano

        use subbeats - there are many places where it's obvious the piano is, for example, 16th notes but they are off by only 1/192nd because it's a live performance and it's stepped as 192nds. use subbeats to keep the notation obvious. being crowded with 192/96th makes it harder to follow and "feel" the song while playing.

        better song choice - although this might be one of your favorite piano pieces, this is unfortunately one of the worst possible song choices for making a fun file: it's very long, slow, and uneventful. the only interesting parts are the few short 64th trills and the very fast runningman at the end which are incongruously difficult with the rest of the file; in other words, those who are capable of executing these hard patterns will be bored with the entire rest of the file, to be honest.

        otherwise, the steps were done well in that they were accurate, consistently layered, and, for the most part, perfectly synced (i only noticed a few that were off). the only thing i didn't understand was the minihold usage.

        try to apply your abilities to a faster, more eventful song capable of producing a more interesting chart.

        Comment

        • Checked_Out
          FFR Veteran
          • Dec 2010
          • 15

          #5
          Re: Stepping for Piano

          Originally posted by Jonlovesddr
          you should step friday by rebecca black
          No.

          Originally posted by cedolad
          Just keep stepping because you enjoy it. If people play your file, awesome. If they don't, fuck 'em.
          I think I will definitely keep writing for myself, because it's an interesting project to continue. I would love to hear what I did wrong with my old file, though. Consensus was that it was too long and
          Originally posted by 00Razor00
          varying up the pattern concepts in the chart still doesn't make up for how boring of a simfile this is. quit out half way through before falling asleep.
          I could cut out part of it, but I'm not sure how much that would help. Eh, ça m'est égal.

          Comment

          • Checked_Out
            FFR Veteran
            • Dec 2010
            • 15

            #6
            Re: Stepping for Piano

            Originally posted by ilikexd
            use subbeats - there are many places where it's obvious the piano is, for example, 16th notes but they are off by only 1/192nd because it's a live performance and it's stepped as 192nds. use subbeats to keep the notation obvious. being crowded with 192/96th makes it harder to follow and "feel" the song while playing.

            better song choice - although this might be one of your favorite piano pieces, this is unfortunately one of the worst possible song choices for making a fun file: it's very long, slow, and uneventful. the only interesting parts are the few short 64th trills and the very fast runningman at the end which are incongruously difficult with the rest of the file; in other words, those who are capable of executing these hard patterns will be bored with the entire rest of the file, to be honest.

            otherwise, the steps were done well in that they were accurate, consistently layered, and, for the most part, perfectly synced (i only noticed a few that were off). the only thing i didn't understand was the minihold usage.

            try to apply your abilities to a faster, more eventful song capable of producing a more interesting chart.
            Thank you for your input! I've never used sub-beats before, so I'll need to brush up on those before I remake the file. Again, thank you!

            Comment

            • cedolad
              moonchild~
              FFR Simfile Author
              • Jan 2007
              • 6879

              #7
              Re: Stepping for Piano

              being honest, your old file has nothing wrong with it. It just wasn't as fun. Nothing that you could've done stepwise would have helped, it was just song choice.

              Comment

              • redsea
                seek ye first the kingdom
                • Mar 2013
                • 181

                #8
                Re: Stepping for Piano

                If you are going to step piano charts you should look into the more popular romantic repertoire. Rachmaninov should def be on here ! I am glad someone finally decided to take this on. Prelude op 23 n 5 would be cool. Also some more etudes by Liszt, rach, and Chopin should be looked into. I am a fellow pianist so I was really glad to see this thread! Good luck!

                Comment

                • Jonlovesddr
                  h
                  • Sep 2008
                  • 1631

                  #9
                  Re: Stepping for Piano

                  If you step a Liszt song I'll love you forever

                  Comment

                  • Checked_Out
                    FFR Veteran
                    • Dec 2010
                    • 15

                    #10
                    Re: Stepping for Piano

                    Originally posted by redsea
                    If you are going to step piano charts you should look into the more popular romantic repertoire. Rachmaninov should def be on here ! I am glad someone finally decided to take this on. Prelude op 23 n 5 would be cool. Also some more etudes by Liszt, rach, and Chopin should be looked into. I am a fellow pianist so I was really glad to see this thread! Good luck!
                    I agree completely. Liebeslied is my priority now, and I know there are two Chopin etudes on here already (Op. 10 no. 9) and the Black Key etude. I could do Ocean, or a chart for Revolutionary that's actually playable.

                    That Rach prelude would be a fun one. Maybe I'll do all 24. :P
                    Last edited by Checked_Out; 06-30-2013, 09:05 PM. Reason: found the opus number

                    Comment

                    • cedolad
                      moonchild~
                      FFR Simfile Author
                      • Jan 2007
                      • 6879

                      #11
                      Re: Stepping for Piano

                      should step this then

                      Comment

                      • Checked_Out
                        FFR Veteran
                        • Dec 2010
                        • 15

                        #12
                        Re: Stepping for Piano

                        Originally posted by cedolad
                        should step this then

                        dat Cziffra. His hands are orgasmic. His Grand Galop on youtube is face-melting.

                        Comment

                        • MarioNintendo
                          Expect delays.
                          FFR Simfile Author
                          FFR Music Producer
                          • Mar 2008
                          • 4177

                          #13
                          Re: Stepping for Piano

                          I try to specialize myself in piano charts on FFR (lots of my songs are piano anyway (try them out!!! <333)), however, I think song choice matters most when it comes to solo piano then real layering. Two years ago, I tried stepping Liszt's Liebestraume No. 3 to the best of my abilities. The sad truth is that because the slow parts clashed so much with the faster parts, the song was just a mess that appealed to no one (ilikexd nailed it in his post when he said: "in other words, those who are capable of executing these hard patterns will be bored with the entire rest of the file, to be honest."). Ragtime or video game music seem to be the styles of piano that work best every time, since they're faster and more energetic.

                          But that's marionintendo's opinion...
                          Last edited by MarioNintendo; 06-30-2013, 09:12 PM.

                          Comment

                          • cedolad
                            moonchild~
                            FFR Simfile Author
                            • Jan 2007
                            • 6879

                            #14
                            Re: Stepping for Piano

                            Originally posted by Checked_Out
                            dat Cziffra. His hands are orgasmic. His Grand Galop on youtube is face-melting.
                            His everything is face-melting.

                            Comment

                            • Checked_Out
                              FFR Veteran
                              • Dec 2010
                              • 15

                              #15
                              Re: Stepping for Piano

                              You know, writing files that are consistently energetic and fun throughout is great for the music DDR was invented for: dance music. That's great and stuff, and I suppose that's what people want out of their simfiles. The Nocturne is very simple, admittedly, but I don't think that the alternately intense/simple stepping style is inherently bad! Especially if that's the intention of the piece itself.

                              Comment

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