Most Kingdom Hearts II fans are familiar with the “Sinister Sundown” music. It is one of the few pieces that was not composed by Yoko Shimomura, but instead by Kaoru Wada.
The piece for this article will be in F minor and in a 2/4 time signature. The tempo should be at around 60 beats per minute (BPM); which is considered to be slow.
The Kingdom Hearts II – Sinister Sundown piece mainly uses the piano, but also uses some other instruments including strings and brass; commonly known as a “string ensemble.” The string ensemble in question for this particular Kingdom Hearts II track would consist of two violins, one viola, and one cello.
For Kingdom Hearts II – Sinister Sundown, most of the sounds are in the low register to denote a dark atmosphere. This is commonly known as “the bass clef.” The piano will be predominantly in this low register for most of the piece since it doesn’t stray too far out of it.
For Kingdom Hearts II – Sinister Sundown, the arrangement will be in four parts. The first part is in time signature of 2/4; which means that there are two beats per measure and said measure has a total of four quarter notes. The second part temporarily switches to 4/4 for one bar (measure) then returns back to 2/4. The third part temporarily switches to 4/4 again, but only for two bars this time, then returns back to 2/4. This 3-2 pattern will repeat throughout Kingdom Hearts II – Sinister Sundown. The fourth part is also in time signature of 4/4 and is when Kingdom Hearts II – Sinister Sundown’s main melody is presented. Kingdom Hearts II – Sinister Sundown ends with a Picardy third and in the key of F minor.
