Anime Music on Piano – A Must-Add to Your Playlist
Hey fellow weebs!
We’re all indisputable fans of anime here, and understandably so, given how magnificent its animation and storytelling is – there’s always a little something for everyone out there. But let’s not forget that one of the greatest highlights of anime is its music. I’m just but another insignificant fan in the cosmos that is anime, but I dare say that anime soundtracks are true musical masterpieces.
If you think about it, a scene is only as good as its music allows it to be. What is an action scene without music that gets your adrenaline pumping, and what is angst without sombre acoustics playing in the background?
If you think about it, a scene is only as good as its music allows it to be. What is an action scene without music that gets your adrenaline pumping, and what is angst without sombre acoustics playing in the background?
Fortunately, anime fans have more than done justice to anime songs. As a musician myself, I’m a fervent follower of musicians out there who put out their own instrumental covers and renditions of anime music.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard of them (though you most probably would have if you play the piano and watch anime), but two of my all-time favourite cover pianists on YouTube are Animenz and Theishter.
Both of them do original arrangements and are disgustingly talented. That being said, they do have quite distinct styles. In my opinion, Theishter tends to reimagine the songs in his own style more and focuses greatly on emotional quality; I’ve actually gotten literal goosebumps on countless occasions just listening to his music. He also posts much more regularly, so that’s a good thing for fans out there who want to hear his arrangements of recently-broadcasted anime.
Another thing to note is that Theishter has recently started a Patreon page where you can pay your preferred amount of money every month for various “rewards” as listed below.
Before this initiative, his fans have also transcribed his pieces into music sheets, so these very nicely remain free in his sheet music archive located on his website. YouTube is definitely becoming a marketplace for competition so it definitely would mean the world to them (and me!) if you show him some support.
On the other hand, Animenz tends to stay true to the song’s original instrumentals, a truly amazing feat as he manages to make acoustic piano music sound like a fully-instrumented band track.
What this also means is that his arrangements are notoriously difficult to master (sadly speaking from personal experience), so prepare yourself before you attempt his works. In case you’re a pianist yourself, Animenz uploads all of his sheets online for free in the description boxes of his videos (because peasants like us probably will take 23847 years to learn them anyway), so all you need is to create a free SheetHost account to access the PDFDs. Also, Animenz has also held a few concerts here in Singapore before, so it would be nice to subscribe to his social media and keep yourself updated on his future gigs!
In general, both of them arrange very challenging scores, but the sense of satisfaction you get when you nail their arpeggios and left-hand jumps is unparalleled. Personally, I’ve been learning “Unravel Acoustic” from Tokyo Ghoul and “Kataware Doki” from Kimi no na wa and I’m finally about 90% there for both pieces after months.
If you’re not yet convinced of their prowess, here is a short list of some of my favourite anime covers by them that I highly recommend:
Animenz
1. Unravel from Tokyo Ghoul
Absolutely stunning. He stays true to the crazy guitar riffs in the original song by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, and this is unsurprisingly his most viewed video. Eargasmic to listen to but as for playing it yourself, try at your own risk.
2. Brave Shine from Fate/stay night
Very emotional (you can look at his motivations for arranging this in his description box) I’ve not personally watched this show but am tempted to simply because of how compelling his playing is.
3. Pokemon Medley
Super nostalgic, with familiar tunes ranging from the cycling theme, to gym battle music, to the Pallet Town theme. The feels are overwhelming, although there is unfortunately no sheet music because he improvised the entire medley like the legend he is.
Theishter
1. Sparkle from Kimi no na wa
If you absolutely loved this movie like I did and all its OSTs, you’re in luck because he played all the main tracks on his channel, although Sparkle is definitely one of his most timeless arrangements.
2. Again from Your Lie in April
This is slightly meta considering the anime is about playing music, but that’s what makes this piece all the more beautiful and emotional. Just a warning though, I printed this out to try but the left-hand arpeggios are crazy, so be prepared to spend a lot of time coordinating this.
Very emotional (you can look at his motivations for arranging this in his description box) I’ve not personally watched this show but am tempted to simply because of how compelling his playing is.
3. Pokemon Medley
Super nostalgic, with familiar tunes ranging from the cycling theme, to gym battle music, to the Pallet Town theme. The feels are overwhelming, although there is unfortunately no sheet music because he improvised the entire medley like the legend he is.
Theishter
1. Sparkle from Kimi no na wa
If you absolutely loved this movie like I did and all its OSTs, you’re in luck because he played all the main tracks on his channel, although Sparkle is definitely one of his most timeless arrangements.
2. Again from Your Lie in April
This is slightly meta considering the anime is about playing music, but that’s what makes this piece all the more beautiful and emotional. Just a warning though, I printed this out to try but the left-hand arpeggios are crazy, so be prepared to spend a lot of time coordinating this.
3. Katharsis from Tokyo Ghoul:re
Honestly, the only redeeming factor about the final season of Tokyo Ghoul:re. The only sad thing is that he didn’t transcribe the full piece, so enjoy the two minutes of bliss while you can and/or continue spamming the repeat button.
Here are some more honourable mentions of other covers that also include other pianists:
1. Jiyuu no Tsubusa from Attack on Titan
If you thought Animenz and Theishter were legendary on their own, watch them play a duet together. This is easily the most epic thing I’ve ever heard.
2. Namae wo yobu yo from Bungou Stray Dogs
I really love the song, and the left hand arpeggios really add to its vibes. It’s a very dense and full-sounding arrangement that I’m also currently learning myself. Tip: practise your D flat and E flat major arpeggios before you attempt the chorus.
Honestly, the only redeeming factor about the final season of Tokyo Ghoul:re. The only sad thing is that he didn’t transcribe the full piece, so enjoy the two minutes of bliss while you can and/or continue spamming the repeat button.
Here are some more honourable mentions of other covers that also include other pianists:
1. Jiyuu no Tsubusa from Attack on Titan
If you thought Animenz and Theishter were legendary on their own, watch them play a duet together. This is easily the most epic thing I’ve ever heard.
2. Namae wo yobu yo from Bungou Stray Dogs
I really love the song, and the left hand arpeggios really add to its vibes. It’s a very dense and full-sounding arrangement that I’m also currently learning myself. Tip: practise your D flat and E flat major arpeggios before you attempt the chorus.
The Legend of Zelda is my favourite Nintendo franchise besides Pokemon and this medley truly goes beyond doing it justice. Some may say it’s unnecessarily embellished, but that’s exactly what I love about it.
4. Kyouran Hey Kids from Noragami Aragoto
The original song is iconic enough that it sounds good on every medium, the piano being one of them. The chorus truly captures the energy of the original song for me and this is, for a lack of a better word, lit.
If you’ve read till here, I just want to thank you for tolerating my extremely self-indulgent post. On a more serious note though, I also want to make a humble appeal to you to show your support for these amazingly talented musicians who have put all their effort into playing and providing the scores for us. I can vouch for them as someone who’s done music since I was 7; it is not easy at all to arrange and put a bunch of notes on a page for FREE so it would mean all the world to them if we just expressed our support, even in the most minute of ways (like a comment or like or subscribe).
Music is never redundant so let’s play our part in keeping it alive, be it as a musician or listener!
Written by Gin
No Comment to " Anime Music on Piano – A Must-Add to Your Playlist "