Final Fantasy VII Orchestrated - Tifa's Theme

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This arrangement was an idea that's been gestating in my head for awhile. Being that Tifa is just as popular, if not more so than Aerith, it is disappointing to see that her theme is given much less love from Square-Enix and everyone else online. Admittedly, Aerith's theme is much more dynamic and emotional, and her story arc is much more significant to the game, which I understand. A shame that causes it to overshadow how good Tifa's theme music also is. It was certainly good enough for Nobuo Uematsu to reuse a phrase for Final Fantasy VIII's Eyes on Me. Here's my attempt to spread some love in Tifa's direction.

The melody exudes calm serenity, representative of Tifa's caring and compassion for Cloud and others. It is for the most part a five-note motif that repeats itself with numerous transpositions and variations. To me this is like Tifa wordlessly expressing her pining for Cloud, wanting to share her feelings, which she is unable to due to her shy personality. If FFVII were ever adapted to a musical (haha), I could totally imagining Tifa break out into song, Les Miz-style, about her state of mind. In my arrangement, I felt that I could keep it just as serene, without really trying to make it epic or anything. I spent most of my time obsessing over the articulations of each individual instrument, most notably the solo flute. Even though I used a full orchestral palette, I wanted to maintain an intimate sound. Lots of crescendos and decrescendos, no note would sustain long at constant volume. I imagined the conductor, as well as the musicians, would constantly hold their breath, keeping the audience in suspense, as they took their time crafting this emotional aural performance for us to enjoy. I listened to a ton of Square's Distant Worlds recordings for reference. One thing I learned from orchestral recordings was that instruments not currently in the foreground would be mixed to an extremely low volume or entirely out of existence. This keeps the piece from becoming muddy, which is a problem I still struggle with in my arrangements.

Lastly I added a climactic bridge to punctuate the piece, because though Tifa is shy, she is incredibly strong willed and determined. It’s interesting how Square gave Tifa and Aerith physical designs that contrast with their personalities. On the surface level, Tifa may look like just eye candy because she just stands around looking pretty and talks less, but once you spend more time with her from Disc 2 onwards, you see a lot more depth in her character than before. My favorite part of the song is the augmented fifth chord in the 2nd bar, and playing it out with grandeur is heaven to my ears.

For those curious, the portrait of Tifa is a detailed paint-over I made of a screenshot capture from Advent Children. It took almost as long as the music itself, as I am extremely out of practice.

Arrangement by Jeremiah Sun

Original Track by Nobuo Uematsu
You can buy FFVII on Steam and PSN