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GTYNP: Legend of Mana: Pain in the Universe

December 14, 2007 by ronito
Posted in GTYNP

This week's Great Tab You've Never Played comes from Gametab's founder Archard. His arrangement of Legend of Mana's "Pain in the Universe" was done for the Yoko Shimomura project.

Usually I don't play rock arrangements but I've been using this as a good warm up piece. Residing in the higher registers of the guitar this is a good challenge without being overly difficult. Good job archard.

TAB

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

GTYNP: Seiken Densetsu 3 - Innocent Sea

December 8, 2007 by archard
Posted in GTYNP

Seiken Densetsu 3Most people don't know it, but Seiken Densetsu 3 is actually the sequel to Secret of Mana. It was only released in Japan however, and the game is relatively unknown anywhere else. My favorite song from this game (and one of my favorite video game songs in general) is Innocent Sea. Unlike previous GTYNP's, this is not a classical style tab. It's probably geared more toward electric, but can also be played on an acoustic. I love the constant tremolo in the background, and the overall melancholy mood of the song. All three guitars go very well together, and it's very fun to play with a friend or two.

Link to TAB | MIDI

 
 
 
 

GTYNP: Dark Cloud 2: Time of Separation

December 1, 2007 by ronito
Posted in GTYNP

This week's Great Tab You've Never Played comes to us from Dark Cloud 2 in the form of ajrock2000's arrangment of "Time of Separation". which can be found here.

Usually I go for the big complicated pieces, but this piece is short, nice and simple. Very reminiscent of many guitar pieces for beginners. But don't let that turn you off. It's definetly a nice little piece to have in your pocket. Great job ajrock, hope to see a lot more stuff from you in the future.

Everyone keep on contributing. We'll see you at next week's GTYNP.

 
 
 
 
 

GTYNP: Wrecking Crew - Title Theme

November 24, 2007 by archard
Posted in GTYNP

Wrecking CrewThis week's Greatest Tab You've Never Played comes from the 1985 game "Wrecking Crew" for the NES, which I had never even heard of before the tab was submitted. I am a big fan of swing pieces, and this is a great example of one. It was arranged by Kabukibear about 6 months ago, and never received any attention from the community.

Like last week's GTYNP, this piece can stand on its own, even if you've never heard of the game. It's a somewhat difficult piece to play because of the timing. But if you can get it down it's one of the most fun tabs to play on the entire site due to its very cheerful mood and swing feel.

Link to TAB | MIDI

Great Tabs You've Never Played: Secret of Monkey Island Intro

November 17, 2007 by ronito
Posted in GTYNP

It seems that when it comes to videogame tabs so much of it comes to nostalgia. The tabs that are the most popular aren't necessarily the best, they're popular because the game they're from is popular. This leaves a slew of really great guitar tabs out there that remain unplayed because the game they're based on isn't as popular as Final Fantasy or Zelda. So we're starting a weekly article to get some more recognition for these great but often ignored tabs.

This week's GTYNP is Stamen47's fine arrangment of the intro to Secret of Monkey Island available here

College Bands and Video Game Music

November 12, 2007 by archard

In the past few years I have noticed that a lot of college bands have taken up video game music during half time and time outs and other breaks in the action. I had to do a double take the first time I heard The Legend of Zelda's Overworld Theme being playing by the University of Maryland band during a Terps Basketball game. It seems that the generation of kids who are now in college all grew up with video games in their lives. And now they are nostalgically celebrating those wonderful tunes.

Here's a must see video of the University of California Golden Bears band not only playing a medley of video game songs, but acting them out in formation. Thanks to Heromaster118 for posting it in the forum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuRfQlMu2VY

Do you have any examples of college bands playing video game music?

Is Video Game Music Headed in the Wrong Direction?

November 8, 2007 by ronito

It is no great secret that videogames have come a long way in the past few years. No longer are they five minute diversions, but now are vast epics spanning across many hours. Videogame music has changed as well. The simple bleeps, bloops and zings of early videogames have been replaced with huge sweeping orchestral scores. And yet for all that change I can't help but fear that videogame music might be headed in the wrong direction.

The Ultimate Guitar Tab Symbols Guide

November 5, 2007 by archard
Symbol Meaning
h Hammer on. Usually this symbol occurs inbetween two numbers. The First number represents a note that is to be played normally. The note after the "h" should be played simply by "hammering" down on the note with another finger. Since the string is already vibrating from playing the previous note, the hammer on will produce a very strong tone.
p Pull off. This is the opposite of a hammer on. It also usually occurs between two numbers, where the first number represents a note to be played normally, and the second number represents a note mean to be played by "pulling" off with another finger.
v, ~ or, = Vibrato. Vibrato means what it sounds like. It's a vibration effect produced by bending the note back and forth. Sometimes the tab will indicate how many times to vibrate by indicating multiple v's, ~'s or ='s.
s Slide. This symbol usually occurs between two notes. The first note indicates which note to play normally, the second note indicates which note to slide up to.
b, ^ or, () Bend. Bend the note to raise the pitch. Most of the time this symbol is placed between two notes. The first note is the played normally, and the second note is the one which the bent note's pitch should be raised to. Sometimes the second note isn't given.
x String mute or dead note. The string should be "muted" to produce a very suppressed tone. This can be done in a number of ways. The most popular method is probably the palm mute. This is where the edge of the palm of the picking hand is placed at the very base of the strings.
v Down stroke. The strings should be strummed downward, lowest notes first.
^ Up stroke. The strings should be strummed upward, highest notes first.

Duration Symbols

Symbols for duration are unique to guitar tab applications like Guitar Pro and Power Tab. They attempt to introduce rhythm into guitar tabs.

Symbol Meaning
W Whole note. Hold the note for the duration of 1 measure. If the piece is in 4/4, hold the note for 4 beats. If the piece is in 3/4, hold the note for 3 beats. The whole note is the only note whose duration depends on the time signature.
H Half note. Hold the note for 2 beats.
Q Quarter note. Hold the note for 1 beat.
E Eighth note. Hold the note for 1/2 beat. 2 eighth notes take up 1 beat.
S Sixteenth note. Hold the note for 1/4 beat. 4 sixteenth notes take up 1 beat.
T Thirty-secondth note. Hold the note for 1/8 beat. 8 thirty-secondth notes take up 1 beat.
X Sixty-fourth note. Hold the note for 1/16 beat. 16 sixty-fourth notes take up 1 beat.
L Tied note. Hold the preceding note for the indicated duration of the preceding note, plus the indicated duration of the tied note (L). For example, if the preceding note is a quarter note and the tied note is an eighth note, play the note for a quarter beat plus an eighth beat.
. Doted note. A dot adds half of the dotted note's duration to that note. For example, a dotted half note means to play a half note plus a quarter note, or 3 beats.
|-n-| n-tuplets. In general, a tuplet is a consecutive group of the same notes whose total value is equal to the next highest note value of the notes that make up the tuplet. "n" is a variable that indicates the number of notes in the tuplet that make up that duration. For example, a triplet is 3 consecutive notes of the same value whose total value is equal to the next highest note value of the notes that make up the triplet. Say the triplet is made up of 3 eighth notes. This would indicate that the 3 eighth note's total duration makes up 1 quarter note.

Final Fantasy 7: Voices of the Lifestream

October 13, 2007 by archard
Posted in Reviews

If you're a fan of OC ReMix, then you probably know all about this album. If not, then you should probably check out their site. OC ReMix is a community of video game music fans who arrange, interpret, record and mix their favorite video game music in MP3 format. They have almost 1,500 remixes, from a very wide spectrum of games and platforms.

Last month, they released Final Fantasy 7: Voices of the Lifestream, an entire album devoted to the legendary game, which has some of the most memorable video game music ever. As with everything that comes from OC ReMix, the album is completely free. It contains 45 arrangements arranged by over 40 different artists. It covers all genres of music, including rock, jazz, classical, techno and much more. Some tracks even include recorded vocals!

This thing is a masterpiece. It represents the spirit of the game music community, and how far it has come in the past few years in terms of the passion, creativity, devotion and popularity. When I first began listening to this album, I could not get rid of the chills. The nostalgia factor in this album is high, be warned.

Simple Fingerpicking Exercise

October 10, 2007 by archard

If you've been playing guitar for a few months and are curious about fingerpicking, now is your chance to practice a little. Here are some basic fingerpicking exercises for you to try out. Remember, the thumb plays the 3 bass strings (6, 5 and 4) and the index, middle and ring fingers play the treble string (3, 2 and 1). The pinky is seldom used, but can be useful at times. I often rest it on the pickguard and use it as a base to steady my hand.

C Major

e--------------------------------------------------
B-----------1-----------1-----------1-----------1--
G--------0-----------0-----------0-----------0-----
D-----2-----------2-----------2-----------2--------
A--3-----------3-----------3-----------3-----------
E--------------------------------------------------

Now try varying it up a little.

e--------------------------------------------------
B-----------1-----------------1-----------------1--
G--------0-----0-----------0-----0-----------0-----
D-----2-----------2-----2-----------2-----2--------
A--3-----------------3-----------------3-----------
E--------------------------------------------------

e--------------------------------------------------
B-----------1-----------------------1--------------
G--------0-----0-----0-----------0-----0-----0-----
D-----2-----------2-----2-----2-----------2-----2--
A--3-----------------------3-----------------------
E--------------------------------------------------

Now try another chord.

D Major

e-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2--
B--------3-----------3-----------3-----------3-----
G-----2-----------2-----------2-----------2--------
D--0-----------0-----------0-----------0-----------
A--------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------

e-----------2-----------------2-----------------2--
B--------3-----3-----------3-----3-----------3-----
G-----2-----------2-----2-----------2-----2--------
D--0-----------------0-----------------0-----------
A--------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------

e--------------2-----------------------2-----------
B--------3--------3-----3--------3--------3-----3--
G-----2-----2--------2--------2-----2--------2-----
D--0-----------------------0-----------------------
A--------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------

Now let's try combing the two chords.

e-----------------------2-----------------------2--
B-----------1--------3--------------1-----------2--
G--------0--------2--------------0-----0-----0--3--
D-----2--------0--------------2-----------2-----0--
A--3-----------------------3-----------------------
E--------------------------------------------------

e-----------2--------------------------------------
B--------3-----3-----------------1-----------1--1--
G-----2-----------2-----------0-----0-----------0--
D--0-----------------0-----2-----------2--------2--
A-----------------------3-----------------3-----3--
E--------------------------------------------------

That's it for this tutorial. Check back for more later.