Seven Songs for Seventh Saga

My first contact with the game 7th Saga was a cold winter day. I think I was about 14 years old and was sick home from school. I borrowed it from a friend that said that this was a hard game that would keep me busy. His words were true. Too true, in matter of fact. Die, level up, try again, continue, die, level up, try again were the steps I remember. I think I got to the 5th rune or something… then I gave up. I got well from the sickness and tried easier games and forgot about The 7th Saga. A few years later, I found it again and thought I would give it another try, but failed to finish the game even this time.

One thing I do remember is the very cool melodies from the game that really got to me. Norihiko Yamanuki wrote the music and as far as I know, 7th Saga is the only game hes written music for. The question pops up in my head from time to time: Why did he stop? I think many of the tracks have a classical touch and very interesting harmonies.

Like many VGM fans, Im very fond of music from RPGs like Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Lufia and the list goes on… but for making a project as this, I wanted to choose something that hasnt been covered as much.

As I currently work as a substitute cello teacher, I wanted to create a video that could inspire you as a cellist or just a music lover as well by being able to follow the progression of the piece both visually and audibly. Its a video that you can watch over and over again and choose freely what part you want to focus on as a listener or a fellow cellist.

Ive done a few prototypes of this kind of video before. “Sky” was made a little less than 2 years ago and posted on my YouTube channel:http://youtu.be/YRHBPz5X9Iw
The idea of adding sheet music synced to the BPM (beats per minute) came up and I made the first video with an arrangement for three cellos of some tunes fromSecret of Mana. I didnt get as much response as I hoped, but I was still satisfied with the result and the core purpose of it: http://youtu.be/XbJI_hSvDlo

My goal with this project:
To inspire other musicians to play more video game music
A tribute to the music of 7th Saga written by Norihiko Yamanuki
A play along video solution
Keep studying the musical possibilities with music written for three cellos

Its been a great journey to work on this project and I hope to do a similar project in the future! Big thanks to the OC ReMix crew for being supportive with helping out with art, homepage, and everything necessary to make it happen! (All the names thats been involved.)

– Sebastian Freij