How much practice did this require? This guy is amazing and his ability to hold onto all four of those mallets as he banged out these tunes is super impressive. The marimba is a very interesting instrument and is similar to a xylophone for those who are wondering, like myself. But the difference between them is that a xylophone is composed of wooden bars that are tuned to relevant notes, whereas the marimba is the same thing but with resonators that hang below the bars. The resonators enhance and balanced out the sound of the marimba in order to make it sound better.
As you can hear in the clip the music being played seems to linger with each note until he keeps moving. It’s almost like listening to Calypso music in a way with its pleasant, constantly-moving sound and steady beat. You can actually see in your mind the game as it plays out, especially when the character makes his way down into the underworld as the music changes and you get the feeling of imminent danger lurking in all corners. From start to finish this piece is just awesome and the skill level of the musician is absolutely brilliant. I kind of wonder if he knows any other tunes and produce them in roughly the same way.
The marimba seems to have been on the rise in popularity in many areas as of late and is thankfully a very pleasant sound that can accompany almost any tune and give it a nice playful quality that kind of eliminates any harsh or underwhelming tone that might exist. It’s not terribly hard to learn so long as a person is willing and can pay attention. In truth it’s just like anything else in that you learn depending on how much time you put into it. Tuning it and replacing parts would be far harder than learning to actually play, and listening to the instrument to know when it actually needs maintenance would also be beneficial.
Super Mario Bros. is a tune that’s been improved on many times since its creation and nearly every style I’ve heard to this point has been vast improvement. It’s a little too late to go back and change the past at this time but just wondering what might have happened to the game if the music would have been professionally done in this manner is something to think about. The chances that it would have been ahead of its time are a little too easy to claim, plus the fact that the technology at the time to record such music wasn’t archaic but it also wasn’t up to the standard that it is now.
I have to acknowledge the skill of the musician again though, since quite honestly playing the marimba as I said is not impossible, but it does require skill, focus, and some experience. Unless you know which note is which it’s nearly impossible to go just by ear alone and pick out the notes you need for a well-developed track.
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