Secret Base ~10 years after ver.~ (2016) - AnoHana ED [piano]

#SecretBase #AnoHana #Piano
Abridged. See blog post for full written entry.

Thoughts on Digital
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No, I wish I could record on grand piano still. Thankfully, this song is the easiest out of all my arrangements to play on digital piano. Looking for donations for better digital piano with keys for grown men, not some flimsy xylophone.

History w/AnoHana
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I only watched Bleach from 4-11th grade. Then, I learned about other anime. AnoHana was one of the first 10 shows besides Bleach, so it holds some meaning. I also looped the ED ad infinitum back in high school back then. It captivated me with the interweaving voices of the female protagonists entering at different points, stepping back, and then stepping in together throughout the song. The vocal structure made the ED more sentimental: endearing for most of the show, and then bittersweet after the climax as you get a new perspective of the ED's relation to the show.

History of the Arrangement
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So, I decided to arrange this in 2016 Summer. I wanted to arrange a song that wasn’t stupidly hard like everything else. I really tried to keep the song faithful and consciously stopped myself from inserting too many flashy movements. Luckily, the song itself was interesting enough for me to convince myself I didn’t need to be a tryhard. For examples, the elements I mentioned earlier - the swing feel and the interleaving voices - together with the structure and progression of the song were unique even among anime vocals. It's gone through 6 versions, which has included my struggles to write various fitting ends. I haven't touched the song since Nov. 2019 - so to me, the arrangement reached its imaginable summit back then.

About the Arrangement
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\_(ツ)_/ You'll just have to wait.

P.S. new theme is ugly asf.
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Secret Base ~10 Years After Version~
Arranged by Chris Luan
Composed by ZONE
Performed by Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, Saori Hayami
Sheet Music: coming soon

[keanupiano]

Wth this video should have a million views, by far the greatest arrangement I heard of this song and 5:31 was so damn good

[liebestraum]

Thank you, I think it's the best arrangement of anohana Ost.
Diffucult leaps and decorations are awesome!!
Especially, the jazz arrangement is impressive

[john]

hey man, ive rewatched this prolly a couple hundred times, amazing cover. are you gonna release the sheets though? im wiling to pay for this piece of work aha

[icescremegood]

I'm coming back to your covers regularly and I love it.
My favourite part is at 2:47.
It's like a voice in your head and your own thought.
Your own thought tries to move on and be chill about it but your inner voice keeps thinking about it, trying to convince you otherwise. The inner voice is melancholic genuine/realistic.

The first listens felt underwhelming, but after a few months it just got stronger and louder each time.
It's as if I'm slowly getting a grasp of the emotions put in here.

I hope you're doing well with med school!
I really love your arrangements and the emotions you put in.

Great job!!

[Kirishima]

I remember being impressed by your complex arrangements ... keep it up!

[HayashiStudios]

Found you on Reddit, of all places: was not disappointed. Congrats on a brilliant cover, man...I can tell a TON of work was put into this arrangement. 😮

[RafikelJar]

Damn I missed your videos! this was candy to my ears! Beautiful performance like usual

[llolichannel]

Beautiful beautiful arrangement, the way the notes flow in your arrangements is different from anyone else, glad to have you back!

[annayapiano]

This is beautifully played, great piano sound and it hits right in the feels. Thank you for this.

[MRLegendPiano]

flimsy xylophone
Really nice arrangement as always <3

[timspianostudio]

Woooow man this is incredible! So many emotions came back to me. Beautiful pieces and amazing rendition.

[ChrisLuan]

I will be giving Bandcamp, and maybe Patreon and Spotify Artist a try later. I'll edit this comment to add other details or comments.

Sheet Music: coming soon

Arrangement dedicated to my friends and the community

[MadPianoLife]

I love you man. Sorry for coming here so late.

[HangPianoCovers]

Welcome back owo, nice to see this cover as ur comeback vid

[Sayuriii_]

man ngl youre arrangement are always so excited listen to they always really interesting, really love this one great job !! this was wonderful cant wait for your future videos :)

[LouisR]

OKAY, I can officialy say it was worth the wait. I remember seeing the first posts about this arrangement on your fb page so it's satisfying to see the final result after all this time.
In appearance, the arrangement seems a bit easier than what you did before, mainly because of the slow tempo/ballade feeling, but that would be omitting the work on polyphony which is exemplary. There are too many examples for me to timestamp them all but all these segments when the full keyboard is solicited, playing the bass, the melody, but also all these chords in the mediums, really give to the arrangements its harmonical richness. Also it's a nice thing to see the good old Chris-Luanesque runs are still there, at 5:34.
Imo you really reached a perfect balance between simplicity and complexity (harmonical and technical) here, and I think you made the right decision by taking your time polishing it, it was worth the wait! Now, I'm super curious to hear the next one!

[pianokraken]

It warms my heart watching a performance that has such a long and deep background behind it. It makes the song more 'personal' and truly yours, I can relate to that as well. I particularly enjoyed the jazzy elements that you are so well known for.
This is sorely underrated, pick up the game Ytube-recommend this instead of, uh, pan piano. ~~although I do enjoy the thumnails~~

[CSMPiano]

Finally have time to comment, and first thing I must say is : Welcome back my man! Really miss seeing you in action.
This arrangement really shows your maturity and growth as a musician. Compared to the previous arrangement which has so many details going on at once it borderlines suffocating. This time you know when to pull back and let the music speak for itself, when to add secondary melody line to elevate the mood, the jazzz swing is also interesting to hear. Sometimes It's the simplest of patterns in the right conditions that tell the most touching stories. I really can't wait for more of your work in the future!

[GalaDiya]

Wow, the arrange is really awesome!
I thought the melody of secret base will easily get bored in most of piano arrange but yours is impressed.
And the audio sounds really great as well!
btw, could you tell me which VST you used for this video?

[어그래-gx]

Hmm... your easiest is much more difficult than my hardest..