Final Fantasy Fanfare

I knew this day was coming, and that… I think I’ll consider that growth.

The Final Fantasy Fanfare is an iconic yet simple song of the franchise, and while I could come up with some more artsy things to say about it, the real reason I’m deconstructing this song is all about me — all about commitment.

I collect hobbies like a crazy person. For a time, I believed I was crazy — just had it in check. Now though, when I act more like myself, it feels so right. My standards for myself, of “normal” or “conventional” have so many cultural expectations baked in that I’d convinced myself the “truth” of it all lied outside of sanity.

How many of us live like this?

The point is this. I get inspired easily, but focus poorly. Whatever is burning inside me feels like an unlimited source of creative energy, but it’s just dispersing into a deep void. I feel like I have so much to give but get nowhere.

I want to be a musician, specifically to create music. I think traditional music theory is bad and needs a new paint job (at least). I want to tell stories — difficult personal stories. Video games, role playing games, maybe even writing someday. Recently, I want to take a crack at disproving many interpretations of quantum physics. I know right, WTF? I’m not a scientist, but I don’t really care about all that. I have ideas about how the world could work, and I want to explore them. They nag at me like an obsession.

I can tell myself, “You’ve got to keep your head down and focus!”, and that'll work short term. But it wears out. Always.

It’s not easy to admit this, even to myself, but the most successful creative pursuits of my life are a couple of tabletop role playing games I’ve run. I thought for a long time, this was due to the low barrier of entry for that form of storytelling. It seems “raw” compared to other art forms that require muscle memory, mechanical skill, and technical knowledge.

Maybe that played a role, but I still wasn’t any good when I first started. The truth of it all, the real difference, was that I ran the games every week or two. Ready or not, we played.

Focus. It isn’t about will. It’s about consistency. When you lose focus, you still need to show up and make the best of it.

Twenty-six deconstructions. Every two weeks for an entire year. This is my commitment, and ready or not, I will show up.

These last two weeks lacked focus, so I’ve deconstructed the simplest song I could think of. But hey, I’m here doing it. In the same way not every role playing session is a gem, this transcription isn’t either. I may not have learned anything about music theory this time, but I’m keeping a commitment. I’m showing up.

Thank you for reading~

Notes: These are disorganized and inaccurate, but will be shown here to document my process for anyone interested~