Aerith's Theme - Final Fantasy VII (NEW)

Aerith's Theme (Final Fantasy VII) - The Bear's Den

Sneak Peek from the Recording Session #1

First video coming soon! Stay tuned guys!

Behind the Scenes with JC #1: Aerith's Theme - Final Fantasy VII

sheet music/tabs: https://www.kabukibear.com/tab/20 

So, here it is guys. The first of the new behind-the-scenes videos that will be an ongoing exclusive series here on Patreon. These videos will tie in with future Youtube uploads featuring the amazing guitarist I've teamed up with, JC Valladeres, with this first one being a sneak-peek at the direction we're going for Patreon exclusive extra content.

This first one is a sight read and commentary/tips on Aerith's Theme from Final Fantasy VII, which the rehearsed solo version of will go up later today. The actual recordings of the rehearsed individual pieces will be available here and on Youtube, just like my regular videos have been, and will focus more on his hands and guitar, in higher quality, but these, which are almost like mini master classes, are exclusive to those of you who help support what I'm trying to do here over on Patreon.

For those of you who are currently supporters, this is just an extra thank you for your support, which is made available thanks to the amazing generosity of JC. Stay tuned later today for the official recording of this piece and keep up your practicing!

Stay well, and happy strumming.
Kabuki

A quick update on the new updates!

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping up with their music!

This is just a quick follow up post from the previous one I posted on Youtube and here a few days ago. If you missed it, be sure to take a look to hear about the new direction my music is moving right now. If you'd like to give me any suggestions or comments, you can message me on here in the chat, or on our private discord. I'm very excited about this next step, so be sure to check out the behind-the-scenes sightreading video for the new series of videos.

Remember, the actual videos for the channel are going to feature a closer view of the guitar so you'll really be able to see and follow along how these pieces are played, along with better sound quality. The behind-the-scenes videos will feature JC's thoughts on the piece as he goes through them, and I think they're incredibly valuable for anyone looking to learn the piece themselves. I'll also be seeing about getting the higher recordings available in a section on the website; for now you should be able to access them in their individual posts for the few pieces I was able to get professionally recorded before moving now in this new direction.

Those higher quality recordings are currently "Peaceful Days," from Chrono Trigger and "Melody of Aqua" from Sailing to the World, both from my favorite Yasunori Mitsuda. The next piece, and the first that will be from these new videos is planned to be Aerith's Theme from Final Fantasy VII. It's a classic, and one that I felt people would enjoy playing, as it's a bit easier, in my opinion, than many of the versions currently available in the various arrangement books out there, while still being interesting to play and listen to.

After that, I believe we're thinking about EDITED: (A SURPRISE THAT FITS IN WITH THIS TIME OF YEAR). Remember, playing music and growing as a musician is a life-long and constantly evolving process, and I listen to all comments and suggestions from my fans! This was started for you guys, all those decades ago, and it's my conviction to continue doing this for you guys as long as I can.

Look forward to that new video in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I'll continue arranging new pieces for you all to learn! I'm always taking suggestions, and I'd love to hear what you'd like see arranged next. Going this direction has opened up a lot of doors for me from a musical standpoint. I'm super excited guys, and I hope you are too!

Much love. Stay well, and happy strumming.
Kabuki

Valley Where the Wind is Born from Xenogears

Another one from my Xenogears project, it's relaxed and chill. Don't have a whole lot to say about it really, haha. XD

Valley Where the Wind is Born (Xenogears) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

Beneath the Hollow Moon from Bravely Default

Beneath the Hollow Moon (Bravely Default) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

So here was a recent commission for a game I had heard about, but never got a chance to listen to the OST for, and it's quite good! The request asked me to combine the original piece with the vocal version, which has a guitar solo in the middle of it, and it fit very nicely. I think you will find it falls under the fingers very comfortably.

Sometimes I hold off on uploading finished arrangements until I can get a video of it, but there are times when it can take a while, and I don't want that to stop new arrangements from coming out. So, although I will try to get a video to go along with each new arrangement, if it's taking a bit of time I will try and forgo it and get the new arrangement up for you all to play, and come back to the video later when I can.

Anyway, hope you like the new arrangement! I'm going to be taking some time to listen to some more of the pieces from this game, as there's already another one I'd like to tackle that's very unique. Happy strumming!

PS. This is the first one I've tried to upload that includes all the different guitarpro versions with it, so let me know if you have any issues downloading them. Thanks!

"Astro" from Astro Bot

Astro (Astro Bot) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

Let's get funky!

Deadlock (Main Theme)

Main Theme (Deadlock) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

So, what the hell is this?

Well, some people suggested I arrange things from newer games from time to time. Currently, I'm working on some, but they're fairly substantial and complex. They are taking a while, so I thought "Well, is there something newer that I can arrange fairly quickly-ish?" And I looked around at some newer games and Deadlock caught my eye.

The main theme is a bit bizarre, but it was short, and I thought I could probably knock it out and give you guys something to work on while I'm finishing up the other ones.

Is it easy? No. Is it soothing? No. But is it fun to play? Also no! Haha, just a joke...maybe.

Solfeggietto for Solo Guitar

Solfeggietto (Classical) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

Going back to my classical roots for this one, this is a very famous keyboard piece written by one of Bach's sons. You can see me perform this on the piano in a video somewhere on my channel, but I've always wanted to perform it as a solo guitar piece.

Looking around at other versions of this for classical guitar, I found them unsatisfying. The classical guitar has a more limited range than, say, an electric guitar or piano. Given the original piece was written for keyboard, where range is no concern at all, many of the versions for classical guitar I found of this piece were forced to repeat patterns, because the melody would quickly go out of range.

I didn't like this. While I knew it was a necessary evil, the way it was done seemed clunky and too obvious to the listener. I felt you could accomplish this a little more subtly, by moving the repeats midphrase, essentially hiding them from the listener so the melodic line sounds like it continues to go up up up, when in fact you're jumping around a bit.

It's a bit of sonic trickery, but I think it is much more satisfying, as it stays true to the original piece without resorting to phrases that repeat verbatim.

Because the piece is very fast and technical, you'll notice I took the time to write in my suggested right-hand fingering. This is just a suggestion and is just how I play it, so feel free to use whatever fingers you want to pluck the strings. This is just the way I do it so my fingers don't get tangled up!

So, then what's the deal with the psychedelic video?

Well, if I'm not recording a video, I need to put SOMETHING there, and, as usual, I like to use AI to come up with something interesting to look at. But what to come up with, for a piece like this? It has no definite story or image it's intending to evoke. Many times, in these situations, I like to simply put the title into the AI and see how it interprets it. Sometimes it comes up with some very bizarre takes on a title! But "solfeggietto" doesn't mean much to an AI, and the images it was generating, while interesting, meant nothing in the scope of the piece.

So, what to do?

Then, I thought, what if I let the AI interpret the piece itself? And it described it as:

"A vibrant landscape made entirely of light, where paths of glowing strings crisscross through the air in sharp, precise patterns. These strings are connected to shining orbs, representing different notes of a melody, and as each one is plucked by unseen hands, it sends a ripple of color across the sky. The scene is dynamic and fast-moving, with brilliant flashes of color and energy following the rhythm of the music, creating a visual symphony of light and motion."

What a vivid and interesting interpretation! So, I then used another AI to generate a static image based on that description, and then yet ANOTHER one to animate said image. It couldn't really emulate the animation as described, but it still made something interesting regardless. I had to do a bit of video editing as the animation it generated was only a few seconds long, but yeah, that's the story behind the visuals in the video, in case you were curious!

Anyway! It's now 2:30AM and I am going to bed! Be well, and happy strumming!

Rainy Day Guitar Arranging Stream

My Village is Number One! from Xenogears

My Village is Number One! (Xenogears) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

Another piece from my quest to arrange all of Xenogears as one enormous solo, here is the bouncy track heard in Lahan Village.

As far as this track, it came to my attention that many of you are actually PHENOMENAL guitarists. You sneakys, acting all modest! So! With that in mind, here's a piece that's a little more challenging than my usual arrangements. It really combines all parts of the original, from the bouncy bassline to the syncopated melodies. At some points you are going to need to juggle three melodic lines at once! All while Mitsuda is switching time signatures on you left and right! cue maniacal laughter 

This is not one I think many of you will immediately be able to play right off the bat, due to the rhythmic complexity, but it's good to challenge yourself once in a while! Be sure to listen to this track while following along with the sheets to get a feel for the rhythms and how everything fits together. Practice it slowly, and you're sure to get it! Be well, and happy strumming!

Bonds of Sea and Flame from Xenogears

Who loves you? I do! Have another upload! And a live recording at that, aren't you lucky? You get to watch my double chin jiggle as I work my way through this cool Mitsuda piece.

Bonds of Sea and Flame (Xenogears) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)

Fonsa Myma (Night) from Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Okay, I'm sure you've all had enough non-vgm stuff, so here was a request from Xenoblade. It's a really nice piece and I managed to get basically the entire original to fit as a solo. I was working on this during my twitch stream yesterday, so some of you got to watch the process! I'm trying to stream here and there, because I know arranging is something many of you are interested in, so be sure to follow me on Twitch so you can catch the next one!

Fonsa Myma - Night (Xenoblade Chronicles 2) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)
(11) Kabukibear - Twitch

RANDOM TRANSCRIBING STREAM

Come say hi, if you're bored!

(10) Kabukibear - Twitch

Boy With A Coin by Iron and Wine

So, this is a tune by an artist I've always liked. It's been sitting unfinished on a hard drive for, like, 15 years? I found it going through some old files and finished it up. It's a very cool song, and it's got this fun to play riff going through the whole thing. Be sure to check out the artist "Iron and Wine," if you're interested, they have a very chill, lowkey acoustic sound that some of you might dig.

Boy With A Coin (Popular) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)