Why I Spent Months Learning Music That Was Never Meant for Human Hands

A Piece From Another World

Some music feels as though it comes from somewhere else.

This piece comes from the world ofCytusandDeemo, rhythm games developed by Rayark. Its composer, ICE, writes music that is energetic, intricate and remarkably difficult. Although I spend most of my time with classical repertoire, I have always admired music that creates such momentum outside the concert hall.

What drew me in was that sense of constant motion. It feels less like a piano piece and more like an idea racing forward.

Building a Score That Never Existed

The first challenge arrived before I played a note.

As far as I know, no official piano transcription exists. Instead, there are multiple arrangements online, each making different choices. I compared several versions and gradually assembled a score that felt faithful to the original while remaining playable.

Even then, “playable” was debatable.

The opening is demanding enough, but the second half becomes especially difficult. A strong left-hand melody returns while the right hand launches into chromatic runs, rapid semiquavers and conflicting subdivisions. At times, the two hands seem to belong to different pieces.

Where the Adaptation Begins

Some passages simply do not translate naturally from an electronic track to a physical instrument.

Rapid semiquavers combined with triplet figures work perfectly in a sequenced environment. At near-original speed, they become far less practical. I simplified a few passages, occasionally reducing triplets to duplets, not to make them easier but to preserve the overall character.

That process became one of the most rewarding parts of the project.

Each change raised the same question: where is the line between fidelity and practicality? More than once, I wondered whether I was finding my own limits or the limits of human hands.

Making Electronic Music Breathe

The other major change was musical rather than technical.

The original thrives on precision. I became interested in what would happen if it were treated more like a live performance. I introduced small amounts of rubato, allowing certain phrases to linger and others to push forward before relaxing again.

Whether that was the right choice is for listeners to decide. But it felt honest.

An Honest Snapshot

This recording is not fully polished.

With more time, I could refine many passages. But eventually I decided the journey mattered more than perfection. Sometimes music is less about reaching a destination than discovering where the road leads.

Here is my current version, recorded in my London piano studio.