The Music of The Legend of Zelda
Strong Songs
A Whole Tone Scale and an Augmented Chord
A whole tone scale and an augmented chord have one big thing in common, and that is a sharp five. If i play this on piano, just nice and kind of slowly, it starts pretty chromatically, if anything, on the way down. Feels kind of like a five chord that's leading somewhere, but definitely hasn't resolved. Another famous elda melody also uses some unusual harmonic and melodic tricks to get this very strong musical identity.
Few video game series have a musical tradition as rich as The Legend of Zelda.
From Zelda's Lullabye to Epona's Song to the Great Fairy Fountain and Dragon Roost Island, Kirk unravels some of his favorite Zelda music and explores how Nintendo's composers keep weaving them back together into beautiful new patterns.
Written by: Main themes by Koji Kondo, with additional compositions by Kenta Nagata (Wind Waker), Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Hajime Wakai (Breath of the Wild)
Featuring music from: The Legend of Zelda (1986), A Link to the Past (1991), Ocarina of Time (1998), Wind Waker (2002), Skyward Sword (2011), A Link Between Worlds (2013), and Breath of the Wild (2017)
ALSO FEATURED/DISCUSSED:
- Themes from Star Wars, Superman, and Jurassic Park by John Williams
- The Super Mario Bros. theme by Koji Kondo, and the episode of Strong Songs discussing it
- Kirk's weekly video game podcast Triple Click, which he makes along with Jason Schreier and Maddy Myers
OUTRO SOLOIST: Charles McNeal
Charles McNeal is a killin' Oakland-based sax player who plays all over the bay area. He's also a master jazz transcriber, and has chronicled tons of great solos. You can find him playing out in a variety of bands and settings; the best way to keep up with his music is to subscribe to his YouTube channel or follow him on Instagram @charlesonsax2.
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