The original version of Professor Rowan's Lab came out along with the 4th generation of Pokémon games - Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Pokémon Diamond was the very first real game I ever bought and played (I'm not counting anything on the LeapFrog) and as such these games hold a very special place in my heart. I love the entire soundtrack to these games and listening to any of it gives me a great amount of nostalgia.

For Christmas 2020, my parents were kind enough to pay for part of a Pro Tools subscription so I could begin to make higher-quality music. That Christmas I also received a melodica as a gift and that winter break I was determined to work on my Trombone skills. The result of all of these factors is this piece. I transcribed the theme and arranged it for a couple of synths, 2 trombones, 2 trumpets, and melodica!

While the creation of this piece was largely a project for fun that I started to familiarize myself with Pro Tools, I think it became a great learning opportunity in several aspects. I learned much about recording layered parts, general audio editing, how to actually play a melodica, and much more. The tuning in several places is not the best, but I have since bought and learned about Melodyne, so in the future that will not be a problem!

Listening back to this piece, there are several points where I am certain that I could do better now. However, I think that makes it that much more valuable to show here because it shows how much I have grown in terms of both music-making and music technology.

Video Art by Omar Montoya - check him out! 

Instagram: @omarmontyajr

Twitter: @omarmontoyayall 

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