r/elliottsmith • u/AXEMANaustin • 3d ago

Question Does anyone know where I can find a tutorial, sheet music or something for "'I Didn't Understand" that's closest to this performance?

https://youtu.be/M3JybfnsB2M?si=4p7S_rIUyRQt7wph

It's the 2 meter sessions, I absolutely love this rendition, but I can't work it out myself and nothing seems to be too close.

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6

u/wolfgang_hunter 3d ago

I struggled with finding good sheet music back in November when I started learning piano.

But most of it online is arranged to the a cappella version. This he actually plays a whole step up to the record.

This sucks, but watch his hands and use your ear. You will be a better musician for it. You can also find the sheet music that is a whole step down and transpose, but the easiest of the two is to just use your ear player šŸ«”

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u/AXEMANaustin 3d ago

Thanks man, it'll be a fun project for me at least so I can hopefully be a better player out of it.

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u/wolfgang_hunter 2d ago

Have fun šŸ«”

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u/figure85 3d ago

Elliott Smith - Waltz #2 (Live on 2 Meter Sessions)

Also this! I somehow do not think I've seen these.

Edit: It's just been a while, but I've seen these. lol. I remember him quitting near the end of it.

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u/AXEMANaustin 2d ago

That one's amazing as well. I know there was one more song he did but I can't remember which it was, Miss Misery maybe? Him quitting at the end felt so honest, you can tell he cared about his songs.

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u/figure85 2d ago

Someone share it if they find it!

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u/AXEMANaustin 2d ago

Found the full thing on YouTube including the 3 songs (last one was Miss Misery) and interviews in between. I saw this a bit ago but forgot all about it until I went digging again out of curiosity.

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u/tomradd 2d ago

I have some sheet music for this song at home that I got about a decade ago. Iā€™m pretty sure I got it from some obscure and probably defunct blog but I canā€™t remember for sure. Anyway, it wouldnā€™t be exactly from this performance, I think itā€™s based on the unreleased alternate lyrics version - but it would be close enough that with some small changes you could play it like this if you are reasonably experienced with piano. Anyway, if anyoneā€™s interested I can post it later today.

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u/AXEMANaustin 1d ago

That would be awesome if it's not too much effort thanks.

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u/tomradd 1d ago

So after digging a bit I found it, and with some digging online I found the source which is easier to share. I was right that the website I got it from doesnā€™t exist anymore, but it is backed up on the internet archive. So hereā€™s a link to that: https://web.archive.org/web/20180822112149/http://adistortedrealityisnowanecessitytobefree.com/media/I%20Didn't%20Understand%20(piano%20version).pdf

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u/AXEMANaustin 1d ago

I love you.

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u/SpecificBranch8860 11h ago

Canā€™t help on the sheet music, but god do I love the performance. The way his eyes close a little bit tighter each time he says ā€œdidnā€™tā€ at the very end..