The Prelude - Nobuo Uematsu
Hello, all!
If you've been following me lately, you've probably noticed that I've been posting a lot about Final Fantasy. Today, we will be discussing a very iconic song from the series, The Prelude.
Background
Back in the late 1980s, the company Square was going out of business. They were prepared to make one last game, Final Fantasy. Nobuo Uematsu agreed to work on the project. Though he had been with Square for 2 years up until this point, the previous games he created music for were not very succesfull. Final Fantasy (I) turned out to be a smashing success.
Uematsu went on to compose music for over 30 titles! Many of them were istallments in the Final Fantasy series. There are many icons among his work such as *One-Winged Angel" (FFVII) or recurring themes like Battle on the Big Bridge (FFXII) or the Main Theme.
The Prelude
Probably the most iconic theme is The Prelude. It started off as just the startup song, but with every new installment, it also evolved. It is present in most games. Now it is considered the unofficial theme for Final Fantasy. Uematsu himself was asked if he ever predicted how evocative this short piece would be. He frankly said no. He later admitted that it only took him 30 minutes to compose the modest piece.
Would you like to learn how to play it as well? It is simple, once committed to memory. What's cool about playing this on piano is that you're required to press the sustain pedal all throughout the song. That way all the notes meld together and you get that harp sound, which is what it was originally composed for.
The first run starts on C3 (1 octave below middle C). We will call it the C Major part. All you have to do is repeat C D E G ascending for 4 octaves and end on the 5th C before descending back to where you started. Does that make sense? This is what you would play:
C D E G, C D E G, C D E G, C D E G,** C** , G E D C, G E D C, G E D C, G E D
But then instead of ending on the C you started on, the next run, A minor, begins straight away. And don't let go of that sustain pedal!
This time, you'll be ascending on these notes:
A B C E
Following the previous pattern, you'll stop on the 5th A and then go in descending order ( E C B A). When you get to the starting A again, don't play it and instead start from the C Major part again. It should look like this:
...E C B A, E C B, C D E G, C D E G... and so on.
What's Next?
Now that you get the general pattern, from here on out I will just give what repeats and the transition to the next run.
So you start with C Major, then A minor, back to C Major, A minor again but this time when you descend you **will ** end on that first A you started on then hit C and then we're in F Major.
...E C B A C F G A C...
Repeat the last 4 notes up the appropriate number of octaves but instead of ending on the last note you omit it and decend from the 3rd note, A.
... F G A C, F G A G F, C A G F... and so on
This will be the new pattern.
When you descend back to the first F then it's down to C then B then D and then G major: G A B D. (Remember you descend from the 3rd note!)
When you get back down to G, you'll end the run on the D below and then the next run will start on the G# below that. I'll show you how the next run turns around. Be careful with the G naturals and G sharps
...G# C D# G, G# C D# G G# G D# C G#...and so on
Ending like this:
...G# G D# C, Bb D F A ... and so on
End on the appropriate Bb (B flat) then descend while gradually slowing down and finally ending on Bb again. You may now let go of the sustain pedal!
Seems very confusing but makes sense the more you listen and memorize the small tranisitions. What do you say? Are you up to the challenge?
▶️ 3Speak
Love it!!
Thanks!
This reads like stereo instructions!