Wizardry Variants Daphne

The song is titled “Wizardry Variants Daphne,” which means the game title itself serves as the title of the track.

This is the main BGM that plays on the title screen.

It seems that all the music for “Wizardry Variants Daphne” was composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto. The track “Wizardry Variants Daphne,” which plays on the title screen, has a very slow tempo, almost as if it is expressing the depths of the abyss.

Naturally, a song evoking the depths of the abyss is in a minor key. I arranged this for solo guitar, but since the original tempo of 70 makes the difficulty even higher, I performed it at a tempo of 74 in the video.

When expressing it with just a single guitar, I think it would be fine to bump up the tempo a little bit more. The original tempo of 70 is likely an arrangement designed around having various instrument parts.

Expressing the utmost delicacy of “Wizardry Variants Daphne” with just a guitar requires a considerable amount of refinement.

While the performance in the YouTube video is still far from perfect, I practiced intensely and re-recorded it over and over again. (Even so, it still ended up like this… 😅)

＃ウィザードリィヴァリアンツダフネ　＃ソシャゲRPG

Tips for Playing

Be mindful of open string sustain

Even from the very first measure, it might be a bit tricky. You take the root note on the 4th open string, but surprisingly, the melody comes in on the 5th string. The difficult part here is playing it so that the sustain of the open string doesn’t get cut off.

By fretting the 7th and 8th frets of the 5th string in advance, it becomes much easier to play without accidentally touching the 4th string. In other words, even before the performance begins, you fret the 6th fret of the 2nd string and the 7th and 8th frets of the 5th string beforehand.

In this arrangement, it is necessary to keep the open string sounds from cutting out throughout the entire piece, which means you have to refine your fretting technique.

Evenness of tone

Since the tempo is slow at 74, you need to pay close attention to the evenness of your tone. During recording, keeping the mindset of keeping every note even helped my performance gradually come together.

Depending on the section, playing slightly ahead or behind the beat can add expression and atmosphere. However, without maintaining an evenness of tone, you cannot achieve a good performance.

In my case, I play the end of the A section with a slightly relaxed feeling, but at the end of the A-prime section, I play with a bit of a forward push. When moving into the B section, which is the most emotional part, I aim for a powerful and tight performance.

By keeping the tone even across all of these, the entire piece comes together with a polished impression.

For Evenness of Tone

I think practicing with a metronome is essential. Since it’s a slow tempo, even if you put the click on the off-beat (the upbeat), it shouldn’t be all that difficult.

It’s best to practice with both the downbeat and the upbeat, but if you don’t have any plans to record, practicing exclusively with the upbeat click is also fine. (However, if you’re going to record while listening to a metronome, you’ll be using the downbeat.)

Available on kokomu and mymusic5.

 

YouTube Video

 

Wizardry Variants Daphne Tabs