Super Mario Bros. theme played on ancient Chinese musical instrument is spot-on

[Shawn Knight]

The soundtrack to Nintendo’s 1985 smash-hit Super Mario Bros. is one of the most iconic in all of pop culture, easily recognizable by those both young and old. We’ve seen the familiar tune played on all sorts of instruments through the years but a recent performance on an ancient Chinese musical instrument is one of the most acoustically-accurate we’ve heard to date.

The instrument is called a sheng and is being played by Li-Jin Lee of the Taiwan Philharmonic. It’s a mouth-blown free reed instrument that consists of a series of vertical pipes. It’s one of the oldest known Chinese instruments with depictions dating back to 1100 BCE. Talk about taking retro to a whole new extreme.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/55834-super-mario-bros-theme-played-on-ancient-chinese-musical-instrument-is-spot-on.html

 

[AnilD]

 

[rvnwlfdroid]

See above comment...

 

[Trillionsin]

no

See above comment...

no

sorry to be so negative... but no

 

[SNGX1275]

Yeah, I don't like to be too negative on this type of thing either. But, it wasn't that acoustically good outside of the coins. The dude on the violin that floated around FB was better.

 

[Guest]

I would like to see if you could do better

 

[Tekkaraiden]

Although far from perfect it was pretty impressive for an instrument that's 3000 years old.

 

[SNGX1275]

I would like to see if you could do better

Because I have nothing else better to do right now I will reply.

Doing better has absolutely nothing to do with my reply. My reply was in response to @Trillionsin 's post that this maybe wasn't the greatest thing ever.

Hell, I even gave an example of something that was better.

I am in no way, or was I ever, implying I would be better at covering that. I was just agreeing with that this example is not what the headline and article hyped it to be.

Now, if you want to further pursue your argument, come out from your Guest cloak and put some form of accountability behind your posts.

 

[captaincranky]

I would like to see if you could do better

Roger Ebert never made a movie, but that didn't stop him from critiquing them. In fact, he was very well respected in that field. But, bear in mind, you, "guest", do not approach his articulation in even the most remote sense.

So, the moral of the story is, more than likely, you can't do any better either. But as long as the captcha isn't beyond your abilities, you're good to go with not having any musical talent, yet still running your mouth.

And they say I'm not nice to guests... Who the hell started that ugly rumor?

 

[misor]

To agree or disagree with the article author or commenters is always welcome. as a person suffering from partial hearing loss, I "declare" with certainty that mp3 music has the same audible quality as flac music ...in my own ears.
one cannot impose something on others as hearing (or liking) varies from one person to another.

 

[Saintnsinner]

To agree or disagree with the article author or commenters is always welcome. as a person suffering from partial hearing loss, I "declare" with certainty that mp3 music has the same audible quality as flac music ...in my own ears.
one cannot impose something on others as hearing (or liking) varies from one person to another.

True ,kind of like you when you hear a song that reminds you of someone but when you play it for them they think you're nuts.

 

[LNCPapa]

True ,kind of like you when you hear a song that reminds you of someone but when you play it for them they think you're nuts.

Sounds like there's a story behind this comment...

 

[Trillionsin]

I would like to see if you could do better

Because I have nothing else better to do right now I will reply.

Doing better has absolutely nothing to do with my reply. My reply was in response to @Trillionsin 's post that this maybe wasn't the greatest thing ever.

Hell, I even gave an example of something that was better.

I am in no way, or was I ever, implying I would be better at covering that. I was just agreeing with that this example is not what the headline and article hyped it to be.

Now, if you want to further pursue your argument, come out from your Guest cloak and put some form of accountability behind your posts.

I've seen so many of these Mario theme song remakes. Thanks for bringing out the real point, that the Guest somehow managed to miss....

The violin one was pretty good, really enjoyed that, and was initially more impressed. I probably could do better on my own media of choice, which is what this is all about, playing the theme in various types of instruments. As far as I see it anyways... maybe I'm missing the point, but probably not.

 

[Trillionsin]

I would like to see if you could do better

Give me a xylophone, proper sheet music with the theme on it, and a couple weeks of practice and I WILL!

 

[Trillionsin]

Oh wait, someone's already done that too!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtzpGKadgew

 

[lmike6453]

It can be played on a guitar well in case any guitarists out there didn't know. It was one of the first things I ever learned on a guitar and sounds great to me

 

[captaincranky]

Danger, incoming culture bomb............

Here's a piece of music that everyone is at least a little familiar with, J.S.Bach's, "Toccata & Fugue in D minor".

For those of you less cultured ancients, (or guests), it's the theme from, "Rollerball".

I thought it would be interesting to watch a young, very attractive Asian woman, play it on the violin. (Did you get the hook here? I substituted an Asian woman for an Asian instrument. Then substituted the pipe organ with a violin ).

This rendition doesn't have quite the absolute power of a composition written for performance on the pipe organ. But, it's quite spirited nonetheless.

To that end, I challenge any of our "esteemed guests", to ring with a video of he or she performing on a pipe organ, so we may judge it.

Let me say this, I think as music goes, this is way better than the Super Mario theme. But what the heck do I know, I'm not a gamer.......

 

[9Nails]

In a way, the sound of that instrument reminds me of a harmonica. But I enjoyed her version! Whether it's tesla coils, floppy drives, ring tones, or musical instruments, that tune makes me smile.

 

[matrix86]

I think everyone is missing the point here. It's not about "whoa, look at this person playing Mario, it's so good." It's just a video showing off a 3,000 year old instrument, and the performer just happens to choose the Mario theme song. Anyone realize how advanced this was 3,000 years ago? No, because you're too busy bickering about something so trivial.

 

[captaincranky]

I think everyone is missing the point here..

I did not miss the point. I simply don't care whatever the point was.

I like J.S.Bach's organ fugues and Asian women, I don't play video games, and hence am unfamiliar with their themes.

But I do very much enjoy, being rude to rude guests.

I enjoy "ancient instruments" as well. That's why I'm constantly buying 12 string guitars, and continually singing protest songs.

That should explain my two contributions.

 

[Mr WW]

Right to the point Matrix!
And moreover how amazing an ancient old analog device sounds like the digital 8-bit sound synth of the nes.

 

[thelatestmodel]

Meh, that was OK. Certainly impressive, but very much lacking in the accuracy department. Sounded nothing like the original. And I mean that both in terms of the actual sound, and her timing.

 

[captaincranky]

Right to the point Matrix!
And moreover how amazing an ancient old analog device sounds like the digital 8-bit sound synth of the nes.

Right, and that's so amazing because it was recorded on ANALOG equipment, and we're all playing it back on ANALOG equipment.

So then, it must be because, A/D > D/A conversion, never took place. Am I right, or am I right?

Actually, it's most likely that the synth was programmed to sound like the nes, not the other way around.