Spiríted Away: One Summer's Day (viola cover~)

Join me on Facebook!
  / xclassicalcatx  

Hi everybody! Listen until the very end to hear a clip of a future cover~

Back with a new cover from the incredible composer Joe Hisaishi.

I actually covered this piece a while back when I recorded with my simple USB Blue Snowball microphone, and I've been wanting to re-do it since I started recording with the Rode NT2A...So I'm really happy I had the time to re-cover this beautiful piece.

Spirited Away is one of my favorite films of all time. I remember watching it for the first time and being mesmerized by how amazing the artwork was...and the music was equally incredible. As scarred as I was from Chihiro's parents' transformations into pigs, I've rewatched this film countless times, and each time I find it so much more precious than the last. It's indescribable.

I think the scene where I cried the most was when Chihiro (well, Sen, at this point in the movie) was sobbing in the garden with Haku as she ate the rice balls that he packed for her. The way Miyazaki portrays his characters has such a gentle and surreal touch to it...I can't really put it in words because mere words don't do his artistic magic justice.

I cry every time I watch this film. It's just...beautiful. It means so much to me. I'm at a loss for words on how it makes my heart feel. Especially the ending...I remember spending nights just pondering about why it was like that. Why Miyazaki would make me cry so much. But all in all, I think it's truly masterful, how he can make me cry so much over a film with fictional characters, even though they have such a special place in my heart. I dunno! This piece embodies how I feel about this film. I think I'm gonna go watch it now... :P Agh, I can't get enough of Miyazaki and Hisaishi.

As for my playing, I wanted to keep it simple without a lot of stuff going on, sorta embodying the simple, childlike, pure bond between Chihiro and Haku. Sorry if that's cheesy, LOL.. Also sorry if I look sad in this and a bit awkward...it's hard to be happy when I listen to or play this song LOL...Augh, anyway yeah also that, and it's allergy season for me, so I had to hold in a sneeze throughout some takes ;w ;..

Also!! I've been trying to use more bow, and less of the upper half of the bow. I've noticed some of you have been trying to get me to use more bow...so I'll try my best to improve. Thanks for helping me grow as a musician! I really appreciate all your feedback.

Anyway, enough rambling. :) Thank you very much for listening to me go on a tangent on how much I love this film. It's tied with Howl's Moving Castle on my Studio Ghibli favorites list!

No sheet music; I play by ear!

Thanks again to dinhosaurrx for the piano part, which is transcribed from Kyle Landry's arrangement of Inochi no Namae!

   • 「Spirited Away」 - The Name Of Life (I...  

Kyle's video:
   • Joe Hisaishi - Spirited Away - 千と千尋の神...  

See you in my next cover, guys!~ (also, please stay tuned for an awesome, huge, INCREDIBLE Pokemon Hoenn Medley...with DSCAccount, later this summer!!!) hypeeeeeeeeee ^o^

~Joanna

P.S.: I've had a huge crush on Haku since I was 11.

P.P.S.: If you're going to Anime Expo this year in LA, be sure to stop by the Maid Cafe! I'll be performing my viola there~


✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Joanna's social media
---
Facebook: www.facebook.com/xclassicalcatx
Twitter: www.twitter.com/xclassicalcatx
Instagram: @yj.chingu