» Articles: Duets

I play the piano and, er, attempt the flute. Although I played the clarinet in school back in the day hahah. Nowadays I play with a flutist in particular and because I get bored of songs fast, I keep shoving more into her face. So if anyone's interested in some easy piano + flute/whatever or flute/whatever duets, here's a list of the things we play. I'll be using "flute" and "vocal" line interchangably in my descriptions.

N.B. Flutists oft prefer flats over sharps. We've transposed some of the songs ourselves for this reason, but if you can play it in the original key, it sounds loads better. Also... we play very casually.

I've tried to describe these as someone who is familiar with all notes and fingering but doesn't have years of experience might feel.

Additionally, I recommend Disney songs. Familiar tunes, never came across a difficult one thus far, and piano + vocal/flute works well. Try to find a version where the piano doesn't play the melody too but has its own bits - sounds better IMO.

Things we've tried:

• .hack//sign - Say Goodbye | Pie. Sad kinda song.
• Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto - Namida | Like this song a lot, especially during the episode. 3#. Piano not too hard. Flute rhythm trickier. Only played this thus far as flute though.
• Chrono Trigger - The Place We Knew | Arranged by the talented Reuben Kee (RIP) with original vocals. Original song is "To Far Away Times" which I always remember has a great piano bit at exactly 2:07. Chrono Trigger has an awesome track, and I could rave about this game for far too long. C major, easy to play for both the piano and vocal.
• Heroic Age - Azurite ~ True Grace | Piano easy. Flute try not to sound like you're blasting it with high notes.
• Kawashima Ai - Twelve Seasons | Transposed to Bb+ (originally A+). Solo bits are a bit tougher for piano; duet parts are super easy. Pretty easy for flute.
• Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho - Your Voice | Pie. Grows on you. Pimay's version is missing a cadence at the end; check lindestinel's for it.
• Lunar Silver Star Story - Wind's Nocturne | Transposed to Bb+/G+ (originally A+ with key change to F#+). Not difficult for either.
• Mushiuta - Sayonara | Somehow difficult to put together at the key change? Beginning of song is blah, I only like the chorus. Sounds so-so, so never spent that much time on it.
• Mushiuta - Sayonara (acoustic) | Sperion later released the acoustic version. Easier but longer than first version. Recommended over original ver.
• Princess Mononoke - Mononoke Hime | Eeeaasy.
• Romeo X Juliet - inori ~ You Raise Me Up | Transposed to C+/Db+ (originally B+/C+). Bit trickier to play well but not that hard. Flute doesn't like the half with flats (it was preferred over sharps though). As a pianist? Don't really care. But hate having to read the few double flats.
• Scrapped Princess - Elmeyer no Kanashimi | Pie. Has 2 flute parts. Sad kinda song, real similar to Say Goodbye from .hack//sign.
• Soukyuu no Fafner - Separation [pf] | Fun. Get the rhythms right. Iunno if it's just me, but had some trouble lining up some of the RH/LH notes because of spacing. Eventually drew in lines to help hahah. Might be fast for the flute.
• Bokurano - Uninstall (arr. Tarou) | Artist: Ishikawa Chiaki. Nice version, but strongly recommend listening to the original for dynamics and such.
• Vocaloid - From Y to Y | Only tried this on flute with PianistFriend. Flute: sharps real annoying, but not too hard.
• Vocaloid - Itsuka Egao, Itsumo Egao | Fun on piano. I like this one. Keep in sync!
• Vocaloid - Tsugai Kogarashi | Flute duet. Copied notes from YouTube vid... I insisted on the original key so we could play it with the off-vocal playing the background. Original key = many sharps. Cool song.
• Xenosaga - In This Serenity | Transposed to Eb+. Forgot where it was downloaded from. Short, not hard.

Haven't tried much:

• Chrno Crusade - Sayonara Solitia (ver. HIMEKA)
• Hakuouki - Akane Sora ni Negau
• Hakuouki - Kimi no Kioku | Artist: mao.
• Jyuu-Oh-Sei - Te o Tsunaide | Artist: Younha <- like. Fun. Piano, get used to the rhythm. As none of my friends have heard the original of this song, I'm the only one who can play either part decently. So I haven't tried this with a partner yet...
• Macross 7 - My Soul for You | Looks easy enough.
• Saionkoku Monogatari - Asu e
• Saionkoku Monogatari - Saikou no Kataomoi
• Vocaloid - Heartrate#0822 | Mellow and slow. I like how the piano rings out as the melody holds.
• Vocaloid - Little Traveler | Slow. C+/A+ (3#). Not too hard? Piano, keep pace during solos.
• Wolf's Rain - Gravity | Easy on the piano, lotta sharps for a flute. Melancholic but nice. Especially the vocals (Sakamoto Maaya).
• Xenoblade - Main Theme