Golden Sun: Karagol Waves (Orchestrated)
21I finished early this week because I was having so much fun! Thanks to nintendomaster2024 for the great suggestion. Some notes:
The first half is pretty much the same as that in the game. I really only added a little bit of extra harmonisation and extra voicings/instruments (no pizzicato in the original, unsurprisingly).
The second half (1:04) starts the repeat in the relative minor, which is proving to be a helpful trick for music which loops very quickly. (I also did this when arranging Ivan's song.) I added an entirely new section at 1:20, also in the relative minor, to add some variety and contrast to the major sections (i.e. everything else).
This is the second track I've done using Logic, which allows for much better handling of many tracks than the crippled Garageband, hence the number of instruments involved - there are full string and brass sections, as well as flutes (my favourite!) and a bassoon. The timpani I added as a bit of an afterthought, and I probably used more pitches than practical for a real orchestral arrangement.
The harmony of the piece is quite interesting: the key is C, but the second bar introduces a major second, giving it that hopeful feel. Near the end of this piece, it modulates briefly into Bb. I have a vague recollection that the sailing theme from the Wind Waker does both of these things too (although in a different key, I think), so maybe this type of harmony is characteristic of brave sailing tunes.
Finally: I arranged this piece mostly 'from the ground up', but quite a lot of it turned out like this other excellent orchestration, which is well worth a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL5QD0__QYE
Comments and feedback welcome as always; I'm well aware this piece isn't perfect!