My process arranging this track was a bit different. I spent most of my time experimenting with different instrument combinations and phrasings to get a feel of how I would ultimately tackle it. There's a bit of an identity crisis in my version, where you can tell I was flip flopping on whether to go for epic or silly. I thought both approaches worked well, and in service of circus/carnival music, just go for broke and pile it on!
For my research, I listened to circus/carnival music, as well as related game music (Nier:Automata, Final Fantasy VI Kefka and Opera Battle) and noted what I thought were defining characteristics. For percussion, there's the original beat the toby fox used with the kick and snare played really fast. There's also the trademark timpani and cymbal crashes that make everything really lively. For the melodic instruments, there's a ton of brass. I couldn't find any reason to put strings in (except for the violin solo), and pretty much took them out entirely. In addition, the instruments that really give carnival music its "sound" is the mini organ as well as the magnificent accordion. What an awesome versatile instrument it is. I can use it for harmonic chords, and also as a solo instrument with fast articulation, and can play 1/32 notes just fine. Speaking of speed, the only reason I had to slow it down slightly from the original speed is to accommodate the short notes of my VSTs so it wouldn't sound too muddy.
Now to explain my approach. The original track starts with a couple bars of the ostinato and transitions to a chord. I feel that it happens to quickly and needs a bit of a buildup. I stretched out the ostinatos for a few more bars to make it serve as a better intro, but still wasn't satisfied with the result. Eventually I decided to add a new melodic phrase to the A section. I am very proud of the result. It’s layered perfectly on top of the original ostinato and the connecting melody. Especially in the second go around with the solo violin, it’s a bit reminiscent of “Kingdom Trial” from Chrono Trigger. I replaced the beat with the circus timpani/cymbal combo. Darn...you might be disappointed that it has a different feel from the drumset. But guess what, in the repeat, I bring it back! Aww yeah! And it comes after a great buildup with all the happy go lucky instruments having their fill.
For the B and C section, I went with as many instrument/beat combo changes however I see fit. I imagine each of Jevil’s attacks is like a different performer at a circus. Less the super impressive stunt performers like trapeze or balanced plates, but more the center ring of the stage where there’s just so much going on. Tigers jumping through fire rings, elephants running amok, clowns on unicycles, you name it. In Jevil’s own words, it’s chaos, and he can do anything! The music morphs from one texture to another without letting up. Interestingly, I didn’t want to use too much percussion toys, or it would distract from the actual music. I gave the brass a couple of counter melodies to play against the main melody, threatening to crash through to center stage and bring the whole tent down.
Also, drunken trumpets
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Arrangement by Jeremiah Sun
Original Song composed by toby fox
DELTARUNE Chapter 01 is currently free to download on PC and the Nintendo Switch