Sheet Music Guy !

The most popular item on this website so far has been Jay Chou’s single off his self-directed movie, Secret. Most youTube views, most downloads, and also, the most number of related requests.

To be honest I had heard the song a few times and thought it’d be fun to play, but I had no idea how big a deal this movie seemed to be. Is it really that popular? Am I really that ignorant? I figured it was time to see what the fuss was all about.

Today, after finishing up some editing on my next video (jay chou mashup! Feng vs Ge Qian!) I got myself a copy of the movie and the soundtrack. It’s a pretty decent movie, although I regret not seeing it with a girl. Not bad for a directorial debut.

Now I finally know what all these requests have been about! Finally, I can answer some of your questions about them:

1) I can’t do the Piano Battle because it is Impossible.

Have you seen that thing?!  It’s freakin impossible!  Even watching Jay do that one-handed left hand thing scared me.  I get hand cramps just from playing Guitar Hero; attempting something like this would hospitalize me.  Also, for the site, I’d rather stick to easy/medium material that most people can play, and play well, instead of posting something I can barely hit the notes to, let alone perform.  Sorry guys.

2) Time Travel sequence

I’ve gotten a handful of requests for this one, and it looks like something I can do.  The soundtrack comes with two versions:  One version sounds fairly mechanical, like it was sight read, and the other sounds like it was performed by Jay.  I’ll probably do something in the middle, but leaning towards the easier side.  I can see the video for this being pretty fun….look out for it in the future.

3) I am two hands short of the Piano Duet

There’s been one or two requests for the Piano Duet, which i think refers to the scene where Jay and the girl are both playing the same piano at the same time.  Awww.  Anyways, there’s only one of me, so pulling this off would be a bit challenging.  Maybe when I meet SheetMusicGal.  One day.  *sigh*.

4) There’s other good stuff on here y’know

Listening to the soundtrack (and the movie), there are two instrumentals that really stick out, which I think would be really fun to try.  One of them starts when Jay is playing with the girl as a ‘ghost’, and then segueways into a nice instrumental sequence.  I don’t remember where the other one’s from…but it’s nice too, ok.  Anyways, keep an eye out for these ones too.

Thanks everybody, for all the support!

I’ve been steadily getting song requests now, which is both cool and flattering. Thanks! =)

Unfortunately, I can’t get to every request that is put through since doing all this takes quite a bit of time. This means I will need to be somewhat unfair and pick only the songs I think are best suited to put up on the site. Sorry guys. =(

If you’re wondering which songs get chosen and which don’t, I choose them with the following criteria:

1) Awesomeness
This one’s pretty easy. If the song is awesome, I will probably like it. If I like it, I will want to figure out how to play it, and by that point a good chunk of the work has been done already, and it’ll probably make it up here. This is obviously the most subjective criteria, since my idea of Awesomeness is probably slightly different from yours. Awesome!

2) Popularity
I want this work I’m doing to benefit as many people possible. To do this, I will tend to go for songs and artists that are extremely popular.

3) Longevity
If I choose an older song, I’ll try to pick something that still has a certain level of popularity despite it’s age. For newer songs, I’ll try to pick ones that seem like they’ll have a longer shelf-life. In essence, if a track has a “classic” air about it, I’ll lean towards choosing it. Putting out sheet music for a song with longevity will probably stay valuable longer. Michael Wong’s Tong Hua is a good example. Awesomeness and Longevity tend to overlap =)

4) New-ness
If a song is new, popular (and hopefully awesome), I’ll try to get on it as fast as I can, so I can help out the people who are still looking for it while it’s still “cool”.

Hopefully this helps give you some insight into the songs I choose and why!

Also note that the entire process of figuring out a song, arranging it, performing it, and sheet-music-ing it does take some time, so if you don’t hear anything for a while, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m ignoring you!  Subscribe to the feed, check back once in a while, or better yet, leave your email!

Thanks!

I take requests too!!

To make a Request, just add a comment to this post!!

Please make sure to include the following:
-Name of the song and artist, in English and any other applicable languages
-A link to the song in question

You can also send requests directly to me at sheetmusicguyatgmaildotcom !!

Again, PayPal donations would be greatly appreciated to keep the site up and running!