You may have noticed we have multiple types of arrangement, but what are they, and what qualifies as what? Let's go through them and break them down.
Full Instrument
These are hand crafted, typically transcribed arrangements, that are intended to capture all the main instruments of a song. They may or may not include drums, and may not always include every single element of a song.
Requirements:
- Must include every major instrument
- Must have every instrument on its own track if in MIDI
- Must be made by a human, preferably from scratch
Game Rip
Game rips are conversions of a game's sequenced music, typically to the format of MIDI. They're generally accurate, and will include every aspect of every song from the game, assuming the whole game's music is in a sequenced format.
But they don't come without their drawbacks. Game rips of some older consoles can have strange BPMs, typically because of the non standard timing of the system itself. This might require intricate manual correction depending on your use with the MIDI. Sometimes note length and repeated notes may not be how you expect them. Generally, N64 and later don't have most of these issues.
Piano (Solo)
This type applies to arrangements that are intended to be played by one human on one piano. The highest priority with these arrangements is to be technically playable, even if not easily. This often comes at the cost of sacrificing elements of a song; you can't always have both. The reach generally doesn't surpass 1 octave + 1 full step (ex: C3 to D4), and there's other factors accounting for playablility factored in too.
Requirements:
- Must be technically playable by one human on one piano
- Reach for any hand must not surpass 1 octave + 2 full steps
- Each hand must have its own track if in MIDI
- There should be no overlapping notes between the 2 hands (same note at the same time)
Piano (Duet)
This is also for arrangements intended to be played on one piano, but instead by two humans. Many of the requirements above apply, but on a per person level. This is typically for arrangements of songs that really need their extra parts to shine on piano. We do not host arrangements intended for two people on two pianos, and have no plans to do so.
Requirements:
- Must be technically playable by two humans on one piano
- Reach for any hand must not surpass 1 octave + 2 full steps
- Each hand must have its own track if in MIDI
- There should be no overlapping notes between all 4 hands (same note at the same time)
That's all the arrangement types we host for now! We may expand into more in the future, but I think this covers quite a lot of ground for the time being. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below, or join our discord, link in the footer!