Alex

AQUANISTIC
Nintendo Playing Pianist

I love to play piano, I'm an aficionado of it, meaning I have a deep passion for everything about it. I also like video games (especially Nintendo) so, doesn't it make sense to mix the two? I play a lot of Zelda and Mario songs, but I also learn some classical songs as well.
My career as a pianist
I started playing at the age of eight and I’m still playing today. When my mom played, I admired the beauty and simplicity of its sound. Then began five years of torture: piano lessons. Afterward, I thought I was done, but it was a mere hiatus. After half a year, I experienced a renewed interest in it with a new type of song and started playing again. This time around, I actually enjoyed it. And here I am today, still enjoying the bliss of playing piano.
When I was about three or four years old, I began to appreciate the happiness and beauty found in music played on the piano. I would listen to my mom play and play, and it always brought a smile to my face. I continued liking it all the way until I was eight, when my mom decided to teach me to play. I was apprehensive, because it looked like a very complicated and hard thing to learn. I sat at the seat, with a piano lesson book in front of me and my mom behind me, showing me a diagram on how to hold my fingers on the keyboard. “Pretend as if you are holding bubbles in both hands. Be careful not to pop them!” she read to me. Next, I remember having to learn the names of notes. At first I thought it was pointless. Why name notes A through G? Oh well. I had to learn it.
After awhile, I was able to play simple ups and downs, and later melodies. Oh, how I would whine and cry when I had to practice! I had to practice my song four times each day, and I remember sobbing and sobbing at the piano, not wanting to practice. “Mama! Why do I have to practiiiiiiiiiiiiice?” She would reply that if I didn’t finish my “four times” before school, she would double them up and add them to tomorrow’s. I once had to practice 24 times in a row. “When can I quit this instrument, Mama?” “When you’re 13,” she said. Trust me, this seemed like forever, but when I finally got there, I was ecstatic! “Whoo, no more stupid piano!!”
About half a year after quitting piano, I got a CD in an issue of Nintendo Power that featured orchestral versions of songs from Super Smash Bros. Melee. I listened to it several times and really liked it. Later, I was browsing the Internet and came upon sheet music for video game themes. I printed off the Super Mario Bros. theme. Timidly, I went to the piano, and picked out the notes after not touching the piano for half a year. I was delighted! It sounded just like the game! I ended up learning the whole song! Feeling very accomplished, I began printing off more and more video game pieces and learning them. I even memorized some of them (a thing I had never done before).
At the end of my freshman year in high school, our family went on a cruise for my grandparents’ 50th year anniversary. My mom and dad had learned a duet (my mom playing piano, my dad singing) in honor of her parents. Well, the song was a very simple tune. I could’ve played it at the time if I wanted. Before my mom got to the piano room on the ship, my Uncle Mike sat down and looked at the music. I had always known that he was a great pianist, but I had never heard him play before. He began playing. It was far and away better than the original version! He played with style, added in notes that weren’t there, and made it sound great! I was so impressed. This later inspired me to learn how to improvise.
Later on in my musical career, I was really beginning to master these video game songs. I had discovered an actual website dedicated to Nintendo sheet music, NinSheetMusic.tk at the time (now it is www.NinSheetMusic.net ). I got to know the administrator of the website (who lives in the Netherlands,) as well as some of the other members who live in various countries and states. I got really involved in it, and learned more about the Internet.
Another day while surfing the net, I was searching for a picture that would describe my hobby of playing Mario and Zelda songs on the piano for an avatar, so I searched Google Images using the terms, “mario piano.” After finding a suitable picture, I accidentally clicked to normal Google Search. It came up with a guy nicknamed, The Blindfolded Pianist. I was curious, because the description said that he played Mario songs on the piano. That grabbed my attention, because he was the first other person I discovered who played Nintendo songs on piano as well. I watched his video recording and my jaw dropped. It was Mario as I had never heard it played before. It deeply motivated me to work harder and learn harder songs. I printed off his arrangements and went to work.
Months after working and working at the songs I loved, I was almost equal with the Blindfolded Pianist (later renamed the Video Game Pianist). I had learned some of his hardest songs. However, I felt that one of his songs was not quite complete. My piano teacher, who started teaching me after a year and a half of teaching myself, and I went to work on it. We combined the Blindfolded Pianist’s version with another arrangement from another website, and made it more accurate to its original sound in the game. The idea of changing songs to my liking was very attractive. It made me feel like my Uncle Mike. It was then when I became even more interested in improvisation. Tom and I started working out the basics of improvisation at almost every lesson. I’m still in the process of mastering it.
After making my own arrangement of the Blindfolded Pianist’s song, I decided to write it up on the computer. I was really proud of it, and considered building my own Nintendo sheet music website. Since I had only a basic knowledge of html from a web design class I took several years ago, I downloaded a website template, and edited it to my liking. I finished the layout, but never got to the actual writing of much music. I still plan on pursuing this project, but my life is really busy currently.
In January of this year, I was able to go to a Video Games Live show, which features live video game music as played by orchestra, choir, and the Video Game Pianist. He was one of the main reasons I wanted to go, because of his influence on my piano career. I greatly enjoyed the show, and afterwards I got to meet him. It was great finally being able to meet someone that has indirectly guided me to happiness on the piano.
Going through this life experience of playing piano, I have learned many things about myself and about life. I have learned that you can eventually love anything that you may initially hate. I learned that with hard work and determination, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. I learned that it is always possible to become as good as someone you look up to.
This is where I am now. I now have many goals in mind. Of them, I want to master improvisation on the piano and continue learning a wider variety of songs to expand my repertoire, including non-videogame songs. I don’t know where the future will take me, but I do know which way I want to move.
Below are recordings of a few of the video game songs I have learned. I know much more, but I only record the ones I feel I have masteredSUPER MARIO BROS MEDLEY
ps:Sorry for the ugly ad. I had to use a free converter, because Google doesn't like the format that my camera records in. If you have one that can convert from .MOV to a more desireable format, message me if you wouldn't mind converting it for me. Thanks!!
"INDOORS THEME" FROM LEGEND OF ZELDA
"JOLLY ROGER BAY" FROM SUPER MARIO 64
"ATHLETIC THEME" FROM SUPER MARIO BROS 3
MEDLEY OF OCARINA OF TIME SONGS
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