Song of the Lonely Mountain (Waltz)

I had, in fact, not read more than a fragment of any of Tolkien’s works, nor seen any of Peter Jackson’s movies, when I went to see The Hobbit with friends after the end of last quarter. Although I didn’t learn much more than the importance of staying alive until you can be saved at dawn, it was quite pretty, and I really liked the leitmotif of the dwarves.

Kseniya suggested the credits song to me as a cha-cha, which I thought wasn’t quite clear enough… the percussion provides a better cross-step downbeat. Unfortunately, there isn’t a good instrumental versino of it available, so I’ve had to fiddle around to make the lyrics sound as okay as possible until there is.

• Tempo: 119bpm
• Date of hack: Lucas Garron, December 27, 2012
• Edit: Custom hack, mostly 12[34], 100% blend, but quite a bit of other parts.
• Field-tested: Friday Night Waltz, December 28, 2012

Love Story Meets Love Story (Waltz)

This is a piece the Piano Guys did befor they were the Piano Guys. It’s actually not the version mixed with “Viva La Vida” what went viral, but I still think it’s pretty nice. I’ve had a hack of this since Spring, but I didn’t get around to editing it until last week for Friday Night Waltz (my 4th time DJing!). There are some imperfect beats, but it’s quite danceable.

• Tempo: 142bpm
• Date of hack: Original hack April 17, 2012, shortened on December 24, 2012
• Edit: Pattern Pattern 12[34] - Overlap 100 percent, sped up to 105% tempo
• Field-tested: Friday Night Waltz, December 28, 2012

Breath and Life (Waltz)

In the endless category of awesome trailer music that’s way more fun to dance to in 3/4, this lovely piece from Hugo (by Audiomachine) works out very neatly.

• Tempo: 120bpm
• Date of hack: October 13, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 12[34] - Overlap 100 Percent
• Field-tested: Dancebreak, November 26, 2012

Clocks (Instrumental Waltz)

Coldplay’s Clocks presents a particular challenge, because the beat have the pattern 123-123-12. Taking out the last two beats turns it into a waltz, but makes it hard to turn it into a song with the right tempo for a waltz. But then I realized: You could make it a slip jig! The consistent texture makes it appropriate to repeat the final beat (“123-123-122”). The result is a nice, mellow beat.

• Tempo: 110bpm
• Date of definitive hack: May 23, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 1234567[87]8 applied to tatums, 100% blend, sped up
• Field-tested: Friday Night Waltz, May 27, 2012

Moonlight Sonata - E.S. Posthumus (Waltz)

Certain songs can be covered in so many ways. E.S. Posthumus is known for rousingly epic music, which makes for a rather grand cross-step. Interestingly, the original is actually in triplets, so this is another “back-port” to waltz.

• Tempo: 110 bpm
• Date of original hack: September 17, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 12[34] - Overlap 100 Percent
• Field-tested: Daytime Dancebreak, October 12, 2012

Guardians at the Gate (Waltz)

A while ago I went on an epic waltz-hacking spree. Not that the waltz hacking was particularly epic - jut the results. Audiomachine is another artist who makes a lot of trailer music thingies… like this one. Which Brett listed as an “EPIC Rotary Waltz” at FNW.

• Tempo: 152 bpm
• Date of original hack: September 23, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 12[34] - Overlap 100 Percent, 10% tempo
• Field-tested: Friday Night Waltz, October 12, 2012

Arrietty’s Song (5/4 Waltz)

Richard likes to have anime / video game themed songs at Friday Night Waltz, and last week he was teaching 5/4 waltz. He uses the Trine 2 Theme in 5/4 a lot, but he also plays a lot of music from Miyazaki’s The Secret World of Arrietty. I tried converting Sho’s song because it’s at a better tempo, but Arrietty’s song sounds much smoother in 5/4.

• Tempo: 129 bpm
• Date of original hack: September 27, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 1234[56], manual beats, overlap 100%
• Field-tested: Friday Night Waltz, September 28, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises (Waltz)

Summer blockbuster movies are good for one thing. Well, at least one thing, if Hans Zimmer wrote the score: drum-driven soundtracks. I played 7 hacks at FNW last weekend, and even though I hadn’t tested this one, one was by far the most awesome.

• Tempo: 164 bpm
• Date of original hack: August 29, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 12[34] - Overlap 100 Percent, slowed down to 80% tempo
• Field-tested: Friday Night Waltz, September 7, 2012

Perthshire Amber (Waltz)

Perthshire Amber is a rich instrumental piece by Dougie MacLean, who’s apparently inspired an entire festival in Scotland around that name. Richard asked me about this one last November, and I’ve tried hacking it perhaps half a dozen times. This tempo and cut seems to sit well.

• Tempo: 156 bpm
• Date of definitive hack: August 26, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 12[34] - Overlap 25 Percent; beginning trimmed, bagpipe (?) section removed, slowed down to 90% tempo
• Field-tested: Dancing with Emily, August 26, 2012

Pursuit (Waltz)

After finding out last February that apparently everyone does watch BBC’s modern rendition of Sherlock, and seeing more than my fair share of Tumblr blogs raving about it, I saw all the episodes of Sherlock this summer. It certainly has good music (by David Arnold), and “Pursuit” is one of the more iconic pieces. It’s a pretty good one-step, but that won’t stop me from turning it into a waltz.

• Tempo: 120 bpm
• Date of original hack: July 12, 2012
• Edit: Pattern 12[34], 100% overlap
• Field-tested: Not Yet