Undertale - Snowdin Town [Revision] (Patreon)

Happy almost Christmas folks! I have a lot of cookies to bake today so let's quickly get into this revision's breakdown:

0:00 - For the most part, this track doesn't loop! As is often the case with Undertale (and Zelda) music for me, arrangement ideas just flow in naturally while working. Maybe it's because I'm more familiar with the source material compared to the other games I work on? Anyway, this piece starts off with its characteristic Piano/Xylophone. I used an old MIDI xylophone for this track because it just fit the vibe of the track more. Realistic does not always mean better!

I want to talk for a moment about Transient Shaper plugins! They can be a lifesaver when it comes to making drums and other attack-heavy instruments stand out, but in today's arrangement they helped with the exact opposite. Many Transient Shaper plugins will allow you to reduce your attack as well, so if instruments like a glockenspiel, xylophone, or drums are way too harsh in a mix, reduce their attack by about -10% and they'll theoretically have a nicer, clearer tone.

0:19 - I couldn't get any one flute to sound good for this melody line so I just leaned into it and layered a ton of flutes under a sine lead. That and the toy piano really gives it a "kinda bad recital" vibe that I think fits the area well. 

0:38 - For the repeat of this section I used a solo Trumpet as the lead because, as I mentioned in the Route 216 breakdown, warm brass has an instant Christmas vibe.

1:04 - These chords are so pretty that I decided to bring the entire ensemble in to highlight them. 

1:15 - When I said this track doesn't loop I kinda lied, this next section is basically a retreading of what came before, but this time with that sine lead and a few reverse chords. 

1:34 - Something about a Christmas town made me think of a marching band/parade, so this loop has a bit of a jaunty offbeat instrumentation. 

2:04 - It's barely noticeable, but these last 4 violin shorts are reversed. I just thought it sounded cool!

2:13 - Another instrument that just screams holidays/toys is the accordion! This section has a few swelling chords where you can hear it clearly. 

2:32 - I don't know what possessed me to do this next section, but the final Snowdin loop leads right into a breakdown of the shop theme. It's in the same location with mostly the same motif, so I thought why not! The tempo shift just felt right for something with a lazy detuned swing beat. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out! 

That wraps things up! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday/new year, I believe this is my last arrangement of 2023! It's been an incredible music year, and I thank you all sincerely for listening to my work and letting me ramble on in these posts. Best wishes! <3