Anime "Once Upon A Witch's Death" ED 「花咲く道で」produced by Yuki Kajiura sung by Aoi Teshima

I think it might just be me. I've no idea if that post was him just acting dumb or him just treating me dumb.

Clearly I've trouble following george in this thread.
 
I love it. I think Aoi Teshima’s voice is so gentle and fresh and I love how intimate the performance feels. Just like wat11 said, it’s as if she were whispering right in my ear.

Kajiura does go a little heavy on the string in the last quarter of the song, but for the most part I think this was very refreshing and tonally consistent.
 
wat11 said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFmuDZTgwIk

full version.

oh kuga had it lol. there you go. hopes for an instrumental.

it's as if the song ends at 3:00... it's a bit unusual but I like it overall. I don't mind the strings now, I think it pairs nicely with the vocal and Kajiura tried "spring" strings at 2:10 which made me smile. Strings is overdone yes, but the beats/harp etc make the song interesting. and vocal of course is sublime.

I can find myself listen to both versions, but I know the short version is super addictive so I'll put that on repeat more often than the full ver.

Quality work again:tea:!!
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I enjoyed my listening. A beautiful song, and I am not mad at the strings at all.
I will definitely listen to it many more times.

I do feel, though, like the section from 2:59 with its expansion of the instrumental complexity and introduction of steady percussion could have immediately followed the beginning section. The key change section could have been at the backend and ended the song.

That's the only thing I would change. The song required strings for the legato feel and the build, since you couldn't put brass (well, if you were being naughty maybe) or go electric guitar.

Would a flute solo have made sense here? Yes, especially if it was part of the expanded instrumental section I explained above (in place of the massive strings) as part of the development of the motifs from the first gentle section (i.e., there was no modulated section at all).
More like Hikari no Senritsu in that case.
 
I'm a fan. Did I hope for a bit more instrumental dynamics than we got? Yes. But it's complaining on a high level. I guess the win goes to george😅
I need to listen to it a couple more times to form a more nuanced opinion, though, but first impressions are very positive.


wat11 said:
all these years I am grateful both of you are here
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It is evident that both george and grunty have been and are still doing a lot to keep this place alive and lively, so thanks to both of you for that.
 
My take on the full song is that it's maybe a generous 3/5 execution of a 5/5 potential.
1) the key change sucks
2) the structure sucks. I agree with everyone saying that it clearly (and fully) ends around the 3 minute mark while also restarting (in original key, and with the same fade-in of those tingling sounds during the piano no less) - it's most unfortunate that there's so little connective tissue there.
3) the vocals and overall atmosphere are great

I love every verse on its own, together - not so much. I disagree with some of you above saying that the strings are overdone (I find them quite beautiful, and there's some stuff here next to kajiuraisms that does not appear as often in her tracks), or that the arrange is lacking something else (I don't need flute).

I do hope I get used to it (and its structure specifically) and enjoy it more with time.

PS.
I made some shitty quality concepts for a version without the keychange but I can't upload them for some reason... soooo... 2bad. They really are shitty quality though so I'm not really pressed, lol. I've no idea how to pitch the song down 2 semitones and still have it sound decent without using some sketchy or pricey stuff... Even if it were enjoyable quality, it's not like it would suddenly be a 5/5 version. (Maybe a 3.5 though?) XD Soo... yea... whatever. Don't know why mega ain't working for me right now tho...
 
yea the structure is very unusual but it could be possible to stitch it in a different way that may be more appealing. I may take a shot at it... needs to get hands on a good quality file*already did*i dunno what i am thinking, how do i do this lol

The strings is indeed great. The beginning 0:40-1:10, 1:30-2:00, 2:08-2:27 is so good and it sounds so different coming from Kajiura. After that "spring" strings, I was like am I hearing Sugiyama for a split second ?!?

I think "the second song" that starts at 3:05 throws me off with strings. I feel that should have come after a little while, that calm part (or absence of sound - which is somewhat jarring in and of itself) needed more time for us to digest. It's very subjective tho. Otherwise it's a go to song for me 100%.

oh did I mention that I was nitpicking? after some hours listening to it: such a beautiful song.
 
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grunty said:
the key change sucks
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Yeah. It was too sudden in my opinion.
grunty said:
I love every verse on its own, together - not so much.
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Yeah it's a really beautiful melody. Kajiura shows, again, her talent for writing simple but emotive melodies.

The way I would change the arrangement?

  1. Immediately after the second verse (which is a repeat of verse 1 in terms of instrumentation), add a swelling interlude for half a measure with strings and maybe a Spanish guitar mini-solo (leaving space for electric guitar solo in a live version).
  2. Continue with the section from 3:00.
  3. Then do continue with the key change/modulated section in the higher key and end with that softly, just as it started (but stay in the new key).
 
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I can't really imagine what you're saying but we all have our fantasies. XD

I think simple is best. I would be happy if the track didn't have the damn keychange for the 2nd verse and the last chords were sustained until the 3rd verse gets fully going so it doesn't feel like a true ending.

But we got what they released so we have to get used to it or move on. XD

If you can ignore how terrible the pitched down audio is for the 2nd verse, here's my shitty proof of concept mockups that I mentioned yesterday:
Code: 
mega.nz/file/p5YhRYLZ#fFUw-9IcRfJZIz8aE0lJJNCygORLYWJ11CrAuvKuCDQ
"cpm" for pass
ver1 is basically what I said above; removes the keychange and sustains the last chords of 2nd verse; keeps the timing of the 3rd verse as in og.
ver2 is like ver1 but moves the 3rd verse up to where the final chord of 2nd verse strucks; one version keeps the 3rd verse piano, the other mutes it.
ver3 is like ver1 but moves the 3rd verse even closer to the 2nd verse vocal and I think this version ended up being overkill... XD

TBH I like ver2 in both takes (with piano and without) but maybe instead of restarting with the piano I'd do some proper build-up to the 3rd verse with the harp there...
 
Ok, so I've listened to the song a good amount of times now. I still love it in general. The string arrangement is chefs kiss with some really nice cello sections and even violin trills, which as far as I can remember are a rarity in Kajiura arrangements. I also really appreciate the real harp here (I'm 99% sure it's not synth). Also, I actually have no issues with the key change, also because the keys are closely related to each other (full tone up and then down), so I don't find it jarring at all actually. But then again, I've been listening to a lot of classical music in the past with my parents, including to stuff like Wagner where sometimes the key changes every couple of bars...😅

However, I agree with the "false end" and restart issue. Kajiura kind of likes to throw in stuff like that. Maybe tomorrow specifically comes to mind here, but also nocturne sounds like it could've almost ended in several places if I remember it correctly. So I'm kind of used to it and therefore I wasn't too surprised that she pulled a move like that. However, the problem is, that the "false end" sounds too final here. The fact that the following section then starts identically to the beginning of the song doesn't help either, since it really does sound like the song just repeats from the beginning. She could've just played some extra filler notes on the piano there and I think that would've already helped the issue quite a bit. But most importantly, the false end should've been shorter and less drawn out. The way the song is now, it just isn't really connected there.

Otherwise, I really don't have any issues with the song. It's super soothing, relaxing and a treat to the ears.
 
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