Originally given the name of “Ground Theme,” the Super Mario Bros. theme song has been omnipresent in the geeky gaming world. The simple theme song was originally composed by Koji Kondo in 1985, and is one of the most recognizable and catchy theme songs in the world. If you were to go practically anywhere in the world and play “Name That Tune,” people wouldn't need to Shazam your humming. Kondo used a small keyboard when writing the song, making Mario’s Level 1 movements sync with the song’s rhythm. This theme song can also be heard in Nintendogs:Chihuahua and Friends, Tetris DS, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames, as well as all other games in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. franchise.
Computer science student Dan Newbie went viral when he used 48 wine glasses, tap water, two pencils, a pan, two cameras, and seven microphones to perform a snazzy rendition of the song. He alternatingly hit the 48 water-filled wine glasses with pencils, and pounded on a frying pan for the percussion section. To shoot the video, Newbie used a Canon 5D Mk II camera and edited the visual in Final Cut Studio Pro X. The song’s audio was edited in Logic Pro X, and he used Rode NT-1A, Rode NT-G2, and Shure PG81-ZLR microphones. Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and Focusrite Scarlett2i2 audio interfaces were used in the creation of this video.
Newbie is not the first to cover the Super Mario Bros. theme via wine glasses. Rilig Rirlili performed the song on wine glasses filled with water and played it like a glass harp in 2012.
Newbie also hones his eccentric song-covering skills by performing other popular songs on his YouTube channel. He is also a photographer, filmmaker, and music producer.
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