SPOILERS FOR ARCANE SEASON 2 ACT 2 BELOW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Original Song:
這樣很好 (Isha's Song)
Performed by: Eason Chan
Arcane Season 2 Soundtrack
[ Ссылка ]
Piano Arrangement by Justin Wai
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Arcane has delivered one of my favourite 'plot driven' stories in a very long time, given my monkey brain usually prefers character driven dramas and/or SoL shows. Pretty much every aspect of the show is executed nearly flawlessly, from the plot, to the gorgeous visual style, and of course, the music. Season 2 brings a wide variety of insert songs that complement each of their respective scenes very well. An Eason Chan power ballad was not on my bingo card for one of them, but what an amazing choice it was to close out Act 2.
We start with a soft piano intro which plays a motif that persists throughout the first verse, resulting in three independent voices. Keeping the balance between them was important - ensuring that the melody in the middle voice stays on top, while the countermelody supports it from above. Soft chords back these two melodies up, but only sparsely.
The pre-chorus establishes the pulse a bit more firmly, with an eighth-note drone in the LH to imitate the percussion and strings. It feels more driven and continues to build the energy of the song, as it slowly dawns on the audience about what's going to happen. However, it still stays relatively calm until the big crescendo in the ascending line on top of the Fm chord.
Then we move on to the first big climactic chorus. The original has some belted, extremely long held notes, but on the piano I don't have the luxury of such a prolonged sustain. So the solution is first to 'imagine' the notes extending out, and then support them with the left hand accompaniment. While there sounds like there's a lot going on, the main idea is just to keep playing more notes in the chord and never let the sound die. I also cheat a bit by adding some pad layers in the background...
To give these choruses the big impact they deserve, it was also extremely important to preserve the very wide dynamic contrast between the quiet verses and the big chorus. This is reflected not only by just playing louder, but also by the arrangement itself - the quiet verses have a lot less notes to give the melody more space to breathe. The final verse is simultaneously comforting and haunting, which perfectly captures the chilling atmosphere as Isha pulls the final trigger.
Thank you for reading this week's arranger's commentary! We will never forget you Isha for capturing our hearts in just six short episodes 😭😭
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Piano 🎹: Yamaha CP88
Mic🎙️: Zoom H6 Black
Camera 📷: iPhone 13
tags
#piano #cover #anime #animeost #instrumental #movie #音楽 #鋼琴 #アニメ #オープニングテーマ #arcane #leagueoflegends #arcaneseason2 #easonchan #netflix #netflixseries #riotgames #emotionalsong
