This is one of the most underrated pieces of music in gaming. Even being an avid game music collector, I only got into it recently after randomly hearing it on the Kingdom Hearts orchestra album. It blew me completely away and I wondered how it escaped my ears all these years. Hearing you play it on piano gives this piece even more emotion than a 60 piece orchestra. It is quite honestly perfect. This arrangement is the gold standard. Beautiful playing.
I’m always on high alert for the best musicians of this genre, and after only listening to a few of your performances I think you might just be my favorite! You actually get the music! It’s not just a performance for you, but your timing and dynamic is definitely from the heart. You’re very good! ❤
This is really the darkest , most emotional piano piece I've seen you play so far! Now I can see why this would be the hardest types, u really have to get into a zone and that I know the feeling of, but to stay in it that long is another story! Very nice work
Yes! For a long time I've had to listen to a synthesia version and now I can listen to you! The emotion in your performance is perfect in telling the story in the arrangement, and of course your technique is flawless as always.
Thank you Barrett! I'm glad you liked it. One thing I'm happy for is that my dad can tune my piano right before I record. I understand having a hard time finding an acoustic version of some of these pieces because of that issue!
I adore kingdom's heart piano songs, again a perfect reflection of the theme since it always seem to come from another dimension. I just realise how particular this song's arrangement is *HOLD THE TEARS YOU'RE A MEN*
WOW this is so amazing, I want my interpretation of this piece to sound just like yours one day. thank you so much for uploading this beautiful cover :)
OMG!!! You finally did a cover of this!!! This is so gracefully played like always and those resonating notes make my heart palpitate with happiness yet sadness! 😫😫😫😍😍😍 In all, it is passionately played and beautifully evoked in emotion. 😭 Amazing job Kara!
Omg this is SPECTACULAR! I've always wanted to hear this lovely piece being played on the piano and here you fulfilled my wish, thank you for doing so! This piece is so emotional and powerful when I first listened to it as I was playing the game. Would like to make a request! Could you play Xion theme :) hope to hear more from you. Greetings from Malaysia!
Amazing performance Kara :D You totally did justice to this wonderful piece and I'm sure it was well worth the recording struggles. As always, looking forward to the next one
Also I don't know what you did to your audio but for the past few videos it sounds sooooo great, as if you're recording in a studio!! (Maybe you did absolutely nothing new and I'm just hallucinating but hey..) Keep it up 💕
Wow thank you! And I've heard that a lot lately- I don't think I've done anything very different, but the mics I have are fantastic I think, and my dad tunes the piano right before every recording, which I'm sure helps a lot!!
the KH piano collections and Piano collectinos (field and battle - btw this 2nd book is even harder and the pieces are effective), are two of the most well adapted sets of transcriptions SE has put out, Shimomura's music shines in ever single piece, this one from book I is one of the cooler 'concert' works, so glad to see you taking a stab at these. There are a few places where a a little more oomph/panache and drama could be added but this is a minor quibble and not a fault, just couple spots I saw opportunity to make it sparkle even more, but don't worry this is plenty sparkly. :-)
HAHA you're fantastic, thank you for your insight and for a thoughtful comment (and all your thoughtful comments!) I'm always at the fault of not adding enough drama for sure- because I'm an early classical musician at heart and because I'm playing on a "light" sounding Steinway. I may never give you that extra drama you're looking for haha! But I'll certainly work on it XD I need to try some of the others from the collection soon!
1. I learned from several private teachers growing up 2. I've been playing for 22 years :O 3. unfortunately I would be a distracted friend because my brain is on so many others things LOL
Great work! Just found your channel and had to give most pieces a listen (really like the way you play Chopin) This is one of my favorite pieces to play and listen that I revisit often as I feel I can never do it quite justice. The 'different' way you played it at the beginning that some notice did catch me a bit unexpected, but I enjoyed how you made it your piece through your way of playing. Toward the middle and especially in the home stretch I really adored your playing - those are the parts that I still struggle with the most, as, to be honest, my control in the left-hand isn't quite good enough to do it justice. It's gotten better since I put it on RU-vid, but it'll take a while. Thanks to your video, seeing how beautifully you played the home stretch, I think I'll go back and take another crack at going slowly through the left hand parts. Thanks for your rendition of the pieces, really enjoy what you're doing and will keep following your channel - always hoping for new Kingdom Hearts pieces. Have you look at Riku's Theme in the Piano Collections (3rd Mov. Riku - Scherzo e Intermezzo, easily found on RU-vid) or Musique Pour la Tristesse de Xion from the Field and Battle piano collection? I feel you can do the pieces justice with your way of playing, as there aren't enough good renditions on RU-vid. I apologize for the huge amount of text, but wanted to post one comment instead of 4 sprinkled across videos - best of luck with the RU-vid videos and your piano teaching profession :)
you are soooo kind, thank you for your words! Good luck to you as you tackle this one, it's really an incredibly difficult piece to play on the piano. I feel it needs more than just a piano, it needs an orchestra :) I think I've played Rikku's theme but only for fun, it's one I'd love to cover on my channel someday!
You are a perfect piano player + it is a perfect song that comes from a perfect game + perfect piano= Heaven !!! Xion's Theme is another perfect piano song from KH you could play if u wish. I'll be very glad if decide to do it someday ! (btw u're astonishing as always
This is really one of your greatest renderings ;) You played it a bit more slowly than the original version. It will help me to play it in the next months. Ty :)
I'm glad you liked it slower! I've had a few who thought it was too slow- just goes to show you can't please everyone with the tempo you choose hahha. I'm with you though, I enjoyed the slow tempo :) Good luck learning it yourself!!
KARA, epicness follows in the wake of your fingers~ I closed my eyes for this one because I had a feeling it would be epic, and that way I could better focus on the music...well I had to open them once because my volume was too low, and then I accidentally made it too loud, but then I just left it there because it was sooo good haha...but anyways...once more, with eyes this time :p *6 minutes later* Its so awesome T_T it actually really reminds me of some of the FF15 songs you've played, I don't know, maybe it was just how you played it, oh and I love the crazy left hand parts :D ...hey! This is now your longest cover :O ...Kara you are amazing!
Hahaha I feel that if I did a bad recording, you'd still have something good to say about it XD Yeah this one is kind of dramatic like Somnus was, that's what made it kind of difficult to record. I'm so happy you liked it!! :D
Today I walked past a game store and saw the HD ReMix on the shelf. I walked away cos I already beat the games many years back. Tomorrow I'm going back to pick it up!
I really liked the way you played it, so much emotion put into it, even in the beginning where it could've been a bit bland. You're amazing! Looking forward to more Kingdom Hearts videos
That was the rough part- the beginning, because I know it can drag. I suppose I could've taken it a little faster but I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary and so I chose it slower. But I'm so glad you liked it!
ahh this is beautiful! my favorite from the KH piano collections is undoubtely 3rd Mov. Riku - Scherzo e Intermezzo, but it's so complex to play, almost all of the covers on YT are shabby
I'm not a pianist so I don't know exactly how hard it might be to play, but I wish you the best if you decide to give it a try, it is such a beautiful piece and has been my favorite for 8 years or so
Is really hard to play this one because it has a lot a lot of emotional weight... I use to cry everytime I hear the middle section... And your work was great
First time visitor here and gotta say that was amazing! I usually listen to different piano soundtracks at work (KH included) and your performance was awesome! I have no idea how to play the piano but looks like you actually feel the music when you perform! Not sure if you take requests 😃but one of my favorite KH song from piano collections is Scherzo Caprice a theme of Never Land 👍👍 Hope you get a chance to play that one at some point in the future!
Wonderfull cover, professional as always! Can I make a request? Victor’s piano solo from Corpse Bride by Tim Burton. Beautiful piano ballade that you will play flawlesly if you think it’s worth your time:).
You are wonderful! By the way, I heard the music with the speed increased to 1.25, maybe some people like to listen this nice job a little faster! Well done!
Finally!!! we've all been waiting for this for too long xD that was Amazing...brought back so much memories...oh Roxas :( Just one question though...you started very slow then you finished in the natural speed...how is that? xDD thanks a lot! can't wait for the next piece. And I will always keep telling you this...please try to play kingdom hearts...you won't regret it believe me :)
Honestly I didn't notice that I started and finished differently haha! Actually I should have started the same and finished the same since it's the same theme at the beginning and end (I love when pieces do that). If there was a slight tempo change I didn't mean for that to be! But thank you for watching and I'm so happy you liked it!
Beautiful piece. Very well done! Have you ever heard of the Nier game? The piano collections soundtrack has incredible pieces, not sure if that's your style/taste but would be awesome to hear your interpretation of them
I absolutely have heard of that series, because I get a lot of people requesting the music from it! I played a piece from it on a live stream awhile back, so I do have some sheets. Just gotta get around to making a cover!
Jordan Rudess said his teacher grabbed his arm and forced his arm over. I'm playing for 14 years, and still do an under thumb crossover technique. Do I legit have to break that technique to run scales like this?
Hi again ) As suggestion, you could also play 'Danza in re minore' Roberto Cacciapaglia, if you like it. And the GREAT idea - to play the whole ballet 'Nutcracker' one day near Christmass in one video :-) and it wiil be number ONE in yutube!
I feel like if I did the whole nutcracker it could be a big hit- I don't know why I don't do it lol! I just have to buckle down and put the work into it. Thank you for the inspiration! And I'll keep your request in mind :) perhaps you could send me the sheets? :)
I got your sheet music thank you sooo much! I'm sorry for not responding via email but I got behind a little bit there. I will download them and hopefully play it on my next stream!
Hi Jake well you know I finally got on, but I was so restless to play minecraft that I did the event and then got off XD ahhh I can't juggle more than one thing or my brain explodes haha! Hope you're well too!
Kingdom Hearts 2 (2005) - Based on Roxas Theme, The Other Promise is a battle theme and it appeared in the Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts 2 released in Japan in 2006. The Normal Version is very piano heavy but also includes a Flute and strings to back it up. This version that Kara plays is from the 2010 album "Kingdom Hearts Piano Collection" Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix didn't get a release in the west until 2014 with it's HD collection: Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix
Oh sorry, no its a video game. It has fantastic music, same goes for the Final Fantasy video game series, both have strong melody-structured music. Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura, is often considered to be the leading lady in Video game music industry. Same goes for Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, often called "the John Williams of Video Game Music"
I suppose it is a little slower. I listen to a version...and of course now I can't remember the one.... and that's how I chose the tempo I did. I struggled to decide on this one. At first I was playing it much faster but something didnt feel right so I slowed it down significantly. I'm glad you still liked it though!
It is such a nice composition. If you want something harder than Aria of Soul, there is Wood Carving Partita from Castlevania - usually performed on a 4 hand Harpichord.
Job well done but one thing. IMO I think ur performance lacks a consistent tempo. Ur playing was clean but if you didn't add as much rubato as you did it would have been more enjoyable. Anyways good job! :)
Thank you for your insight! Surprisingly I'm usually reserved when it comes to rubato because I am a strong lover of early classical music. I'm surprised the rubato was too much for you haha!
UprisingGrand That was a very well thought out and respectful critique. I, presonally, had never heard of rubato in my life, so I did some research on it and found this really neat video (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YAWCSDbt2rQ.html) that not only explained what it was, but also what it sounds like with and without it, and I thought it was so clear and so amazing to know what it is. I re-listened to the The Other Promise again, using my foot to follow along with the longer beats, and it was, just wow, just amazing, just, man I never thought it could have gotten any better when I actually listened to it, as to before when I just heard it. My eyes were closed and my foot was just tapping away to the slower beat, the more sensual beat, and even though my eyes were closed, I was somehow able to match and know the next beat. I am definitely taking a music theory class at UNC in Greley, Colorado. That was truly a remarkable (this word doesn't do justice to the feeling I felt) feeling that I felt, now I need to re-listen to all of your performances again!!!!
OP doesn't have insight; OP has snobbery. :O One of the things I have always appreciated most about your playing is your unique and tasteful use of rubato. I first noticed it in some of your Chopin pieces, where it immediately struck me as very different and very refreshing. This performance was heartfelt and breathtakingly beautiful. Please don't take this kind of criticism much to heart.
"it's all sooo beautiful! I want to know your profile" I translated just to save you time :) @。 shusaku.M, kara-san wa nihongo ga wakaranai...eigo ga wakaru nara...eigo de tsukutte kure...arigatou gozaimasu :D
