Stella By Moor

Yoko Kanno/Seatbelts  

See me play this on youtube

See me play this on bilibili

Last summer, I finally had the time to watch Cowboy Bebop, an anime series that I’ve been saving up for a long time. Although I cannot say that I’ve fully understood every detail, Watanabe may have withheld from laying everything out on the table, instead urging the audience to use their own imagination to fill in the blanks, adding to the artistic value of this piece. Although the story is told in a relaxed tone, a deep loneliness and entanglement with one’s “past” lies at the core. If I watched this anime a few years ago, I might have thought it quite bizarre; now I can appreciate its artistic expressions and emotional rendering, as well as accept the inevitable parting at the end; this anime is indeed one of the best in its industry. 

It goes without saying that the music played a great role in Cowboy Bebop’s success. Though the OST created by Yoko Kanno may not be striking at the first instance, as the music develops along with the story, its charm expands by folds, luring the audience into its sweet bait. Among them, my favourite is Stella By Moor, a music box tune which debuted in Episode 8 "Waltz for Venus". This tune is also featured in Episode 10, Ganymede's Elegy (in the form of the vocal song “The Singing Sea”); at Jet's reunion with his ex-lover Alisa, their lingering tension is expressed in a few short shots, leaving endless repercussions. Back then, I failed to understand why such a gentle, reliable, and all-encompassing man like Jet would be flung by a woman without bidding goodbye, but then I thought, everyone’s life goals are different; maybe she was looking for a life under her own control that is full of adventure, despite with high instability. Her decision can only be attributed to disparity between their expectations of their future lives. 

The creation of this little tune’s sheet music went quite smoothly. This time I tried to put all the notes in the treble clef as I wanted the score to look clean; hopefully you won’t find it awkward. Since it’s jazz, the rhythm is quite ad lib, so I didn't play it exactly according to the music box version, adding some of my own understanding instead. You’re welcome to play your version of it.

去年夏天终于得空看了想看许久的《星际牛仔》。虽然有许多剧情看得一知半解，但渡边或许就是不想表达得太满，而想留一些白给观众发挥想象，自行填补，增添些艺术性。故事虽然披着轻松的基调，内核却是深切的孤独，以及与【过去】的牵绊。若是早几年看这部动画，我可能看得更云里雾里；现在我能欣赏它的艺术表达与情绪渲染，也能理解最终必然分道扬镳的结局；这部动画确实是业内的佼佼者。 

当然，这部动画之所以如此成功，它的音乐也占了许多功劳。我认为菅野洋子创造的OST是越来越耐听的；可能起初并不惊艳，但随着故事发展，韵味越来越足，使观众一不小心深陷其中。其中，我个人印象最深的是第八集《华尔兹为金星》初次登场的八音盒曲Stella By Moor，恬淡如背景的溪声，细听却直击人心弱处，留下幽幽的惆怅。这首曲的原调也在第十集《木卫三的挽歌》中出现（以人声歌曲The Singing Sea的形式）；Jet与旧情人Alisa重逢，那段动画以短短几个分镜表达他们二人间留存的张力，令人回味无穷。我当时非常不理解，为什么像Jet这样温柔靠谱，万事全包的好男人都会遭到女人的不告而别，但随后一想，每个人的人生目标都不一样，或许她追寻的是刺激，能自己掌控却不稳定的生活，也只能归因于理念不同吧。 

这首小曲扒谱还算顺利，这次尝试将音符全都谱在高音部，想把谱面做得干净一些，希望大家不要感到别扭。由于是爵士，节奏可稍微随意些，我也就不完全按照八音盒版本来弹，加了一些自己的理解。欢迎大家翻弹。