![legend of zelda majoras mask scarecrow song legend of zelda majoras mask scarecrow song](https://www.gamerguides.com/assets/guides/resize1100x-/89/98822-1425081600.png)
In other words, the piece is composed-intentionally, perhaps-so that we can’t discern the key from the ocarina solo alone. More importantly, note how Kondo continues to use the same pitches in the answer motive, even though other options are available. The tonic is most likely D, but not necessarily even so, there’s no third, so it doesn’t obviously suggest major or minor tonality like “Song of Storms” did. Out of context, this is a harmonically vague phrase. Let’s look at “Epona’s Song.” Here’s the solo ocarina version: Not all of the songs are so simple, though, and things get more interesting when Kondo explores other tonics. As such, this is perhaps the most obvious solution to Kondo’s compositional puzzle. The Dorian mode has the notes of a natural minor scale with a characteristic raised sixth scale degree with its complete D minor triad and B natural, it is the mode most strongly suggested by the available ocarina pitches. The Em chords in the harmony indicate that we’re borrowing from the Dorian mode here.
![legend of zelda majoras mask scarecrow song legend of zelda majoras mask scarecrow song](https://www.unpause.asia/wp-content/uploads/Hyrule-Warriors-Age-of-Calamity-Legend-of-Zelda-Nintendo-Switch-Breath-of-the-Wild.jpg)
Here’s the Kakariko Village Windmill background music, which features the “Song of Storms” melody (click any of these longer transcriptions to view a larger version): (We’ll see D used as a tonic quite often having it available in two octaves is useful compositionally.)
![legend of zelda majoras mask scarecrow song legend of zelda majoras mask scarecrow song](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L3-J7VZ3VgA/maxresdefault.jpg)
Kondo uses the octave Ds to firmly establish the tonic, and the flatted third (F) in the trigger motive sets up the unambiguously minor answer motive. There’s not much harmonic wiggle room here, even without any orchestration. Let’s start with one of the simpler songs, “Song of Storms.” Here’s a transcription of the piece as Link plays it (I’ve put a double bar line between the trigger and answer motives): I’d like to suggest that that the the tonal restriction Kondo mentions influenced how the pieces were written. In other words, these melodies are not only written to be ocarina solos-there are harmonic considerations too. Kondo uses this behavior to his compositional advantage.Īll of the ocarina songs are either filled out with orchestration when triggered, or are heard elsewhere in the game as part of the background music. The upshot is that Kondo is only limited to the five-tone palette for the beginnings of the ocarina songs, since the answer motive does not rely on controller input. Playing this section, which I’ll call the trigger motive, causes the game to complete the rest of the tune automatically with what I’ll call the answer motive. To have Link perform a song, the player presses a button to take out the ocarina and then plays the beginning of the melody-a motive five to eight notes long, depending on the piece-using the five buttons on the controller. Why ostensibly? Because although Kondo laments his compositional limitations, he has more freedom than it might initially seem because of how the in-game ocarina works. All of them are ostensibly based on the pitches D, F, A, and B, and D an octave above. Link learns twelve songs over the course of Ocarina of Time, not counting the improvisatory “Scarecrow’s Song”: six as a child and six as an adult. Five of the controller buttons correspond to different pitches on Link’s ocarina (some Easter egg controls allow the player to get at the notes in between for fun), and he must play various songs to progress through the game.
#LEGEND OF ZELDA MAJORAS MASK SCARECROW SONG SERIES#
Ocarina of Time is the first game in the Zelda series to feature a playable in-game instrument. Then as soon as I was finished with those Ocarina songs, I had to create even more for Majora’s Mask-I got a lot of milage out of just five tones!Ī lot of milage indeed. Since each of those songs, like Zelda’s Lullaby or Epona’s Song, had a particular theme, it was quite challenging, but I think it all felt really natural in the end. Specifically: re, fa, la, and ti (and the higher-scale re). I had to create all of those memorable tunes with only five tones of the classic do-re-mi scale. In a 2005 interview with Nintendo Power, composer Koji Kondo spoke a little about his experience writing music for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Ocarina music in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Introduction