Pokémon Diamond & Pearl - Surfing (Patreon)

Hi everyone! 

It's been a while since I covered a Pokémon track that leans more on the chill side. Don't get me wrong - this track has a lot of drama, but it's fun to take a break from the frenetic battle themes every now and then.

I had a lot of fun creating the layers of this piece, so for this breakdown I wanted to highlight each instrument as it's introduced, and maybe explain my reasoning as to why I chose to include it.

Intro (00:00 - 00:06)

• Electric Bass - I wanted the bass for this arrangement to have a warm, rounded tone so I immediately was drawn to a Violin Bass. I absolutely love this thing. It has a really smooth, "acoustic" sound that has this sort of punchiness to it. It really helped blend into all the plucks and bell-tones of this piece.
• Warm Pad - This synth pad gives the arrangement a lot of body. As a slower piece with so many short notes, having a solid foundation like this can help you avoid making the mix feel too empty. This pad in particular has a sort of "swirling" effect, maybe indicative of water?
• Sine Bell - The main instrument outlining the arpeggiation is a simple Sine Wave bell. Very relaxing and low-maintenance! 
• Synth Bells - Two different synth bells help outline some of the brighter parts and trace melody lines. They are heavily filtered to avoid any harsh higher frequencies, and they are slightly bitcrushed to give the tone an almost icy vibe.
• Glockenspiel - A glockenspiel outlines the very brightest sections to audibly cut through the warmer bell tones.
• Marimba - The marimba mirrors the bass part, adding some more roundness and brightness to that melody line. It helps bridge the gap between the bass and the bells.
• Rhodes E. Piano - Another bright, rounded instrument, the Rhodes gives the piece some character by playing some jazzy chords and improvisations. 
• Ride Cymbal - This cymbal grounds the piece in its waltz-y rhythm, and provides a bit of brightness in the highest frequencies.

Section A (00:06 - 00:32)

• Bright Pad - This instrument accompanies the warm pad from before. A filter sweep occasionally allows the brightest frequencies of the synth to appear, giving the instrument a sort of slow pulsing effect.
•  Traditional Synth Plucks - Now in a more involved section, some medium bright (vaguely) square wave plucks mirror the sine bell. This improves audibility and overall loudness.
• Bubble Synth - To lean into the water-like theme of this track, one more synth outlines the bell part. A sort of rapidly modulating instrument that sounds like bubbles!
• Piano - Similarly to the Rhodes, a piano plays 7th chords and has the occasional improvisation.
• Strings - A string section very gently accompanies the main melody. 
• Solo Violin - A lead violin takes the reigns of the melody. Being bright, expressive and slightly isolated helps it lock in the calmness of this piece. Also there are a lot of water levels with violin I think.
• Solo Strings - Additionally, a solo viola, cello and bass outline some of the chords. 
• Noise Sweep - To ease one section into the next, a simple noise sweep acts as a sort of digital suspended cymbal.

Section B (00:32 - 00:55)

• Solo Horn - Like the original, the next melody is played primarily by a horn. Always good for something calm and smooth!
• Bassoon - A bassoon copies the horn part for a fuller sound. 
• Accordion - An accordion also plays the lead melody line. This instrument choice was mostly just due to vibes, but it's also a frequent ensemble member of other watery Nintendo songs so I'm not entirely crazy.
• Acoustic Guitar - Calm and slightly cozy, this instrument gives just enough brightness to make the melody comfortably audible.
• Choir - Some subtle voices outline the chords of this section, another mainstay of water levels. Throw in some suspensions to give it extra choir-part-writing-vibes.
• Flute - As the melody reaches higher and becomes more dramatic, a flute comes in to help what might be a strained note for a horn. As more instruments come in, it doesn't hurt to have another part making the melody clearer.
• Harpsichord - Ok, ok I don't just put harpsichord in everything I do (even though I would without hesitation), but I thought it would help brighten up the arpeggiations that are overshadowed by the rest of the ensemble.

Section C (00:55 - 01:21)

• English Horn - Since this is the most dramatic part of the piece, a little extra help to the melody wouldn't hurt. Between English Horn and Oboe, E. Horn seemed to fit the range and vibe of this piece more. 
• Timpani - Nothing helps you transition into a section better!
• Harp - Like the Timpani, some dramatic glissandi indicate that we're moving on to a more involved section.
• Tubular Bells - Tubular Bells!! They make an appearance in most of my pieces, and are such a great way to have a punchy, tonal impact feeling. 
• Tremolo Synth Lead - To help the tremolo violins stand out, a gated synth lead more aggressively indicates that there's some fast bowing going on. 
• Crash Cymbals - A classic instrument to indicate that we've landed into a new section. 
• Tambourine - This outlines beats 2 and 3 to fully establish a waltz feeling.
• Bass Drum - A bass drum helps keep the rhythm in place.

As you can see, I use a lot of instruments in my arrangements! But each one usually contributes to some sort of goal. I hope this was informative or at least vaguely interesting!

If you have any questions about the piece let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading! <3