Improvement is Inevitable

A Side Blog for Musical Endeavors

[mikauzoran]

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Hi guys! Guess what we’re doing right now! That’s right! Not writing! ^.^

I heard this song, Lemon by Yonezu Kenshi, for the first time over the weekend, and it’s stuck in my head, so I’ve recorded myself singing the chorus for you to laugh at. ^.^ I don’t have any delusions about my ability to sing, so don’t worry. I’m not a bad singer, but I’m never going to be a professional.

This was fun, though, so I hope you enjoy it.

Below is a link to the full, original version of the song on YouTube as well as the lyrics in Japanese and English. I did the translation myself, so it’s kind of rough and literal, but you get the gist, and that’s the important thing.

Thanks for listening!

Lemon by Yonezu Kenshi

あの日の悲しみさえ あの日の苦しみさえ そのすべてを愛してた あなたとともに 胸に残り離れない 苦いレモンの匂い 雨が降り止むまでは帰れない 今でもあなたはわたしの光

Even the sadness of those days, even the suffering of those days

All of that was shared with you whom I loved.

The thing remaining in my heart that won’t leave is the bitter scent of lemons.

I can’t go home until the rain stops.

Even now, you are my light.

(The second line is probably more accurately, “I loved all of it with you”. The line I have above would probably need to read そのすべて は 愛してた あなたとともに in order for my translation to be correct.)

[mikauzoran]

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My inept cover of Lover Dearest by Marianas Trench.

I’m not the best singer, but I hope to improve with practice, and these recordings are a kind of way for me to track my progress.

My range is a little limited, so I dropped some of the high parts down a bit. ^.^;

My “accent” has become less pronounced in recent months, but you can still hear it when I sing “you” and “It’s so easy”. XD

Thanks for listening!

Lyrics under the cut.

Keep reading

[mikauzoran]

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Hi guys! Guess who’s singing again. That’s right. It’s me, Mikau! XD

Again, I have no delusions about my ability to sing. This is just something I want to get better at, so I’m making recordings to track my progress as I practice. I hope you enjoy the recording.

Some parts were a little too low for my range, but I tried. ^.^;

Next, I’m thinking about trying something by Fall Out Boy. They’re my favourite band in English. I’m trying to find something in French and Spanish to sing too. I’m thinking next will be G.I.N.A.S.F.S. or Hum Hallelujah. Maybe I’ll do  Quelqu’un m’a Dit or Dernière Danse or something by Édith Piaf. I don’t know. ^.^; We’ll see.

Today, I’m singing Arigatou by BON’z.

Lyrics (from here) are under the cut. ^.^ The video linked above has the lyrics translated.

Keep reading

[mikauzoran]

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Hi all! This time I’m singing G.I.N.A.S.F.S. by Fall Out Boy.

When I was singing this, I thought, “This is actually pretty comfortably in my range,” but now that I’m listening to it again, it sounds kind of shrill. ^.^;

Oh well. At least I did pretty okay with breath control? Maybe? X’D

Bear with me, Lovelies. It’s a work in progress. I figure that if I keep practicing, it will eventually get better.

Lyrics from here below the cut.

Keep reading

[mikauzoran]

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This is a cover of Hum Hallelujah by Fall Out Boy.

Lyrics from here below the cut.

Keep reading

[mikauzoran]

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So, my brother was watching this vtuber Watame the other day, and she was singing Ready Steady Go by L’Arc en Ciel. 

It made me really nostalgic because, when I was little, that was the opening theme to the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime. That anime really wrecked me because I was really young and naïve at the time, and that was the first show I watched where I learned that the good guys could be killed and then stay dead. It was a formative experience, and I have fond memories of that anime. ^.^

Lyrics from here below the cut.

Keep reading

[mikauzoran]

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I’ve been meaning to sing Ranbu no Melody by SID for a couple months now. ^.^; I finally got around to it. XD

You can find the lyrics and an English translation here.

You can also find the original version here. I love the guitar part! It’s got a lot of energy.

I hope you guys enjoy my cover. ^.^; I had fun doing it, even though I was really tired.

[mikauzoran]

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So, everyone remember the videogame Kingdom Hearts? Like, from when I was a smol child? Here’s me doing a cover of the English opening theme, Simple and Clean.

It dawns on me that I haven’t actually listened to the English version in years, so since I was doing this from memory, it might not be accurate? XD Also, I can’t actually sing well, so… At least I had fun doing it.

I did the Japanese version, Hikari, too. You can find that here.

[mikauzoran]

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So, I did a cover of Utada Hikaru’s Hikari, the version used as the Japanese opening theme for the videogame Kingdom Hearts.

It was fun, but I’m not a very good singer, so it’s not perfect. ^.^; It was enjoyable, though. At least I’ve got spirit. XD

I did the English version, Simple and Clean, too. You can find that here. 

[mikaumusik]

Who Doesn’t Like Free Opera?

Yes. Legitimately free opera. You don’t have to sign up for anything. You don’t have to download anything. You just click the button to watch the opera, and then you watch the opera! It’s like magic!

During the pandemic, the Met Opera in New York is streaming a different opera every night. These are pre-recorded performances that were done live. Each opera is available from 7:30 PM Eastern time in the United States until 6:30 PM Eastern time the following day. You can watch at any time during that twenty-three-hour window.

Tonight (04/06/2020) is Verdi’s Aida, and there are a lot of great shows coming up. See the links below.

Watch Here: https://www.metopera.org/

Weekly Schedule: https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/

[mikaumusik]

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Johann Strauss II - The Blue Danube Waltz op. 314

I have been working on this all January and for the past two weeks, and it’s still flawed. -.-; Oh well. It is a lot better than when I started. Progress!

Please ignore the bad audio quality. -.-; I’m recording on my phone, and my phone is pretty much right next to the keys, so it sounds like I’m banging on them. Also, my bench is squeaking, and I need to cut my nails because I can hear them clicking on the keys. Ugh. But the notes. I got a vast majority of the notes right and played at a relatively steady pace. Progress.

Next, I’m moving on to the first movement of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Again, it’s a simplified version, and just the main theme, but, you know what? I’m playing the piano, and it sounds like actual music. So there. :P ^.^

[mikaumusik]

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I didn’t practice much throughout the month of February, but I’ve been practicing consistently since March twelfth. I did Kakariko Village on the piano as a kind of refresher warm up.

I couldn’t remember how it went, so I had to pick it out by ear again. For seriously the twentieth time in my life.

[mikaumusik]

February Doesn’t Count

So, I was doing well on my One Hundred Days of Practice marathon until February. ^.^; I accompanied a friend to a wedding out of town where I didn’t have access to a piano, so that was four days I missed, and then the rest of February was hit or miss. I practiced less than a dozen times the whole month. -.-; I apologize publicly to my keyboard.

I’m starting over. My new start date is Thursday, 03/12/2020. Today is the seventh day in a row that I’ve practiced. Yay! Well done, me!

Starting over again was a little rough, but after seven straight days of practice, I’m starting to sound mediocre again. Huzzah for mediocrity! ^o^

[sad-flute-noises]

friend: so you play piano

me: yeah

friend: can you play flight of the-

me: we don’t do that here

friend: what about für elis-

me: NO. WE DON’T DO THAT HERE

friend: ... what

me: may i interest with something that perhaps is not over played?

friend: uh how about canon in-

me: GOD DAMMIT

[mikaumusik]

This.

[sad-flute-noises]

[mikaumusik]

Lately, I need this reminder. ^.^;

[the-flutey-tutey-dragon]

Reading Sheet Music

What every 4th grade music teacher taught when teaching recorder: Remember Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and FACE! They’re the line and space notes!

What we actually do: I know where C is on the staff! *starts counting lines and spaces, and ledger lines if necessary, until reaching note in question*

[mikaumusik]

I learned “Every Good Boy Does Fine”, and I don’t believe anyone actually uses it. FACE is slightly more useful, but, really, in practice people just find a note that they know and count up or down from there. That’s how real life works.

[mikaumusik]

Confession: Someone Skipped Practice (It Was Me)

I’ve been in such a funk since Friday, so I didn’t practice Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Friday I was going to practice before going to bed, but I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to bed at, like, nine o’clock. Saturday I was running around doing errands and forcing myself to socialize. Sunday my hands were cold, and I didn’t feel like it.

I practiced today, though. I just did scales, played some songs from my practice workbook from memory in different keys (think the complexity of the theme from Ode to Joy and When the Saints Go Marching In), and then practiced the theme from The Blue Danube Waltz. It’s actually sounding a lot better, a lot more fluid.