Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow - Pallet Town

Channel:

Video Game Pianist

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Published on June 20, 2013 6:01:23 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw-0qvv7Zj8

Game:

Pokémon Red and Blue (1996)

Duration: 1:13

37,930 views

777

I play the Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow - Pallet Town Theme composed by Junichi Masuda.

Let's identify and examine the compositional techniques Junichi Masuda uses in Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow - Pallet Town to successfully enhance the gameplay and visuals! Please refer to the following video http://www.youtube.com/9giCebGY8-s#t=1m29s and sheet music http://www.videogamepianist.com/sheetmusic/pokemon_redbluegreenyellow_pallet_town.pdf

Masuda-san creates an intricate Pallet Town theme to keep the listener engaged when the 16-bar theme repeats. There are three independent voices in the polyphonic texture. Though there is a sweet melody in the top voice, there is also a lyrical and playful melody in the middle voice.

With the technological limitations during the time of the game creation, Masuda-san could only compose with three voices maximum. It seems that Masuda-san overcame these limitations and was very creative when creating Pallet Town.

One creative aspect is the use of duple meter in the right hand and triple meter in the left hand. In other words, the right hand beats go 1234 1234 and the left hand beats go 123 123 12. The combination of these two meters dilutes the verticality of the 4/4 meter. As a result, the music sounds less square, there is less of a difference between strong and weak measures, and the phrase structure is not as definite. The listener enjoys hearing the theme many times because there seems to be something new to listen to.

At measures 7-8, the melody in the top voice is imitated in the middle voice. This imitation serves as a transition to the next phrase where both hands play in 4/4 meter. The left hand imitates the pitches and eighth-note rhythm from the right hand. Then at measure 9 there is a continuation of the eighth-note rhythm in the left hand.

Piano Master Class:

Practice hands separately to feel the different meters. Notice that there is a melody in the middle voice. Think of how one would orchestrate the piece. It could be violin, viola, and cello playing in a high register. Or it could be a woodwind trio. The way one orchestrates the piece in his or her mind will affect how one physically plays the piece.

Technical challenges: independent fingers to phrase three independent voices at once, having a two different touches for playing the same note if the note appears in two voices, such as in the left hand at measure 12, and playing an even legato.

Musical challenges: to create a rich and expressive sound while keeping track of the detailed voice-leading, and to play each line expressively. The piece is equivalent to three different melodies stacked on top of each other. The pianist is to play all three melodies at the same time.

Sheet music: http://www.videogamepianist.com/sheetmusic/pokemon_redbluegreenyellow_pallet_town.pdf
Video Game Pianist official site: http://www.videogamepianist.com

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