FreedomFighter
Member
This thread will serve as a preface to the huge thread I've been working on, The Legend of Zelda: A Musical Anthology. Keep an eye out for it! I'm not sure if there'll be any interest in this thread or the upcoming thread but I'm posting anyways.
Rule #1: This is not the thread to post your favorite Zelda songs or your favorite overworld themes.
Rule #2: We are analyzing one specific song here, the quality of the composition, the merit of interactive music, the technical wizardry of the sound design, and the various interpretations of the song.
Interactive Music in N64 Games
The N64 had several titles with interactive music. However, the style of interactive music differed across various games. I'll use the three games as examples: Super Mario 64 (1996), Banjo-Kazooie (1998), and Rogue Squadron (1998).
Super Mario 64 featured a beautiful song called "Dire, Dire Docks" which featured an interactive song using what I will call the layering technique. As you progress through the stage, more layers are added to the music. When you begin the stage, you hear an ambient keyboard melody. Once you enter the water, strings are added. And once you reach the cave beyond the lagoon, drums and percussion are added to the piece. The "Cave Dungeon" piece uses the same technique. Koji Kondo uses this technique the most. He began using it in Super Mario World - whenever you hop on Yoshi, a drumbeat would kick in on nearly every stage theme in the game.
Banjo-Kazooie featured a different kind of interactive music. Depending on where you go in a stage, the entire instrument set would change. The melody would stay exactly the same, however it would be played on a different instrument. We'll call this technique dynamic instrumental.
Rogue Squadron featured a third type of interactive music. Depending on where you go in a stage, the entire track will change. This is probably the most common type of interactive music and seems to require the least amount of effort unless you take the time to compose transitions (which another game, Goemon's Great Adventure did when transitioning from in-stage day and night cycles). Let's call this one the dynamic track technique
Hyrule Field Main Theme - Introducing a Fourth Type of Interactive Music.
Back in 1998, I remember being floored by this "Hyrule Field Main Theme". I thought it was a fantastic composition, but once I realized that it was interactive, I could never wrap my head around how this was done. To begin, the song has three "movements":
1). The "adventurous" movement - when Link is walking, running, or riding Epona across Hyrule Field
2). The "battle" movement - when Link fights enemies
3). The "serene" movement - when Link stands still and takes in the sites
The game segues between each movement FLAWLESSLY. This song is a context sensitive interactive piece unlike anything I've heard up to this point. I remember trying to "trick" the game by running, then coming to a complete stop, going into first person view, and waiting for the music to change, then exiting first person view to run across the field and see when the music would switch back. I figured out which notes the music would switch, but I could never figure out how EAD sound team programmed the music to work this way.
It took 13 years, but I finally learned how this was done:
Think about that for a second. No matter how you mix and match these ~20 components, it will segue firmly into the next component, as each component begins and ends with the same chord on the same measure. Genius. Think of each component as one card in a deck of 20. No matter how you shuffle and cut the cards/components, they will segue perfectly from one to another.
Finding Each Component!!
Let's break down each of these components. We will do this for the OST version, remixed version, string orchestra arrangement, full orchestra arrangement. Remember, you can tell the beginning and end of each component easily in-game, as they represent the segue point where the music switches between "movements". So keep in mind that the version you hear here on the OST is just one way you could possibly hear the song. It will sound different in-game almost every time.
OST
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:17
Component #2 - 0:30
Component #3 - 0:42
Component #4 - 0:55
Component #5 - 1:08
Component #6 - 1:21
Component #7 - 1:34
Component #8 - 1:47
Component #9 - 1:59
Component #10 - 2:12
Component #11 - 2:25
Battle movement
Component #12 - 2:38
Component #13 - 2:50
Component #14 - 3:03
Component #15 - 3:16
Component #16 - 3:28
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #17 - 3:42 - (This is essentially the same component as #1, but with slight differences)
Serene movement
Component #18 - 3:54
Component #19 - 4:08
Component #20 - 4:22
Component #21 - 4:36
Back to Adventurous movement - (the song loops)
Component #3 - 4:50
Component #4 - 5:03
So there are 21 components in all.
There are rules to how the song transitions in-game:
Hyrule Field Main Theme rules
1). You will always hear component #1 first as soon as Link steps on Hyrule Field.
2). No matter which component you're in during the adventurous or serene movements, if Link begins to engage an enemy, component #12 will always come next.
3). If Link continues battle an enemy after component #12, the game will loop components #13 through #16 until the enemy is defeated or... worse...
4). No matter which component you're in during the adventurous or battle movements, once you stand still or defeat the enemy and then stand still, the serene movement will begin with component #18 coming next. If Link continues to stand still, the game will loop components #19 through #21
5). Deductive reasoning will denote that if you're in the adventurous movement and you never stand still or encounter and enemy, the game will loop this movement as well.
We'll see how the string orchestra version fares:
Hyrule Symphony
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:09
Component #2 - 0:20
Component #3 - 0:33
Component #4 - 0:45
Component #1 - 0:58
Component #2 - 1:11
Component #3 - 1:24
Component #4 - 1:36
Component #5 - 1:49
Component #4 - 2:02
Component #1 - 2:16
Component #2 - 2:28
Component #3 - 2:40
Component #4 - 2:53
Component #2 - 3:06
Component #2 - 3:19
Component #3 - 3:31*
*Begins component #3 then fades out.
This arrangement only includes the adventurous movement and only repeats components #1 - #4 with component #5 thrown in near the middle of the song.
Rearranged Album
This arrangement is similar to the OST version - just with better samples, an added violin, and trumpet, over a break beat - however it reorders the components as well. Here are the components broken down:
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:00
Component #2 - 0:14
Component #3 - 0:26
Component #4 - 0:39
Component #5 - 0:52
Component #6 - 1:05
Component #7 - 1:18
Battle movement
Component #12 - 1:30
Component #13 - 1:43
Component #14 - 1:56
Component #15 - 2:09
Component #16 - 2:22
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #9 - 2:34
Component #10 - 2:47
Component #11 - 3:00
Component #8 - 3:13
Serene movement
Component #18 - 3:26
Component #19 - 3:38
Component #20 - 3:51
Component #21 - 4:04
Component #21 - 4:17
Back to Adventurous movement - song loops with additional arrangements and violin/trumpet solos
Component #1 - 4:30
Component #3 - 4:43
Component #4 - 4:55
Component #8 - 5:08
Component #8 - 5:21
This version includes every component except for #17 and puts components 12 - 16 in between components #7 and #9 while the OST goes in order.
Let's see how the full orchestral version plays around with sequencing the 21 components:
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:01
Component #2 - 0:15
Component #3 - 0:29
Battle movement
Component #12 - 0:43
Component #15 - 0:57
Serene movement
Component #18 - 1:11
Component #19 - 1:25
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #9 - 1:40
Component #7 - 1:54
Back to Battle movement
Component #12 - 2:07
Component #15 - 2:21
Component #12 - 2:35
Component #15 - 2:49
Component #15 - 3:02
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #2 - 3:18
This one hops around quite a bit (Link is fighting a lot in this arrangement) and plays a total of 9 components out of 20 from the original song.
So the sequencing goes like this:
OST: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 3, 4
Hyrule Symphony: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3
Re-arranged version: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 9, 10, 11, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 21, 1, 3, 4, 8, 8,
Orchestra arrangement: 1, 2, 3, 12, 15, 18, 19, 9, 7, 12, 15, 12, 15, 15, 2
Doesn't anyone else appreciate how much work went into this song? Anyone not a fan of the song but do now after given insight on how it works? Any interest in interactive VGM? Any mistakes made in the sequencing breakdown?
Let's discuss!
*Special Thanks to GilvaSunner - who I believe is a Gaffer (forget his username) - for posting so much Nintendo music
Rule #1: This is not the thread to post your favorite Zelda songs or your favorite overworld themes.
Rule #2: We are analyzing one specific song here, the quality of the composition, the merit of interactive music, the technical wizardry of the sound design, and the various interpretations of the song.
Interactive Music in N64 Games
The N64 had several titles with interactive music. However, the style of interactive music differed across various games. I'll use the three games as examples: Super Mario 64 (1996), Banjo-Kazooie (1998), and Rogue Squadron (1998).
Super Mario 64 featured a beautiful song called "Dire, Dire Docks" which featured an interactive song using what I will call the layering technique. As you progress through the stage, more layers are added to the music. When you begin the stage, you hear an ambient keyboard melody. Once you enter the water, strings are added. And once you reach the cave beyond the lagoon, drums and percussion are added to the piece. The "Cave Dungeon" piece uses the same technique. Koji Kondo uses this technique the most. He began using it in Super Mario World - whenever you hop on Yoshi, a drumbeat would kick in on nearly every stage theme in the game.
Banjo-Kazooie featured a different kind of interactive music. Depending on where you go in a stage, the entire instrument set would change. The melody would stay exactly the same, however it would be played on a different instrument. We'll call this technique dynamic instrumental.
Rogue Squadron featured a third type of interactive music. Depending on where you go in a stage, the entire track will change. This is probably the most common type of interactive music and seems to require the least amount of effort unless you take the time to compose transitions (which another game, Goemon's Great Adventure did when transitioning from in-stage day and night cycles). Let's call this one the dynamic track technique
Hyrule Field Main Theme - Introducing a Fourth Type of Interactive Music.
Back in 1998, I remember being floored by this "Hyrule Field Main Theme". I thought it was a fantastic composition, but once I realized that it was interactive, I could never wrap my head around how this was done. To begin, the song has three "movements":
1). The "adventurous" movement - when Link is walking, running, or riding Epona across Hyrule Field
2). The "battle" movement - when Link fights enemies
3). The "serene" movement - when Link stands still and takes in the sites
The game segues between each movement FLAWLESSLY. This song is a context sensitive interactive piece unlike anything I've heard up to this point. I remember trying to "trick" the game by running, then coming to a complete stop, going into first person view, and waiting for the music to change, then exiting first person view to run across the field and see when the music would switch back. I figured out which notes the music would switch, but I could never figure out how EAD sound team programmed the music to work this way.
It took 13 years, but I finally learned how this was done:
Kondo composed "about 20" of these components.Koji Kondo said:
Think about that for a second. No matter how you mix and match these ~20 components, it will segue firmly into the next component, as each component begins and ends with the same chord on the same measure. Genius. Think of each component as one card in a deck of 20. No matter how you shuffle and cut the cards/components, they will segue perfectly from one to another.
Finding Each Component!!
Let's break down each of these components. We will do this for the OST version, remixed version, string orchestra arrangement, full orchestra arrangement. Remember, you can tell the beginning and end of each component easily in-game, as they represent the segue point where the music switches between "movements". So keep in mind that the version you hear here on the OST is just one way you could possibly hear the song. It will sound different in-game almost every time.
OST
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:17
Component #2 - 0:30
Component #3 - 0:42
Component #4 - 0:55
Component #5 - 1:08
Component #6 - 1:21
Component #7 - 1:34
Component #8 - 1:47
Component #9 - 1:59
Component #10 - 2:12
Component #11 - 2:25
Battle movement
Component #12 - 2:38
Component #13 - 2:50
Component #14 - 3:03
Component #15 - 3:16
Component #16 - 3:28
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #17 - 3:42 - (This is essentially the same component as #1, but with slight differences)
Serene movement
Component #18 - 3:54
Component #19 - 4:08
Component #20 - 4:22
Component #21 - 4:36
Back to Adventurous movement - (the song loops)
Component #3 - 4:50
Component #4 - 5:03
So there are 21 components in all.
There are rules to how the song transitions in-game:
Hyrule Field Main Theme rules
1). You will always hear component #1 first as soon as Link steps on Hyrule Field.
2). No matter which component you're in during the adventurous or serene movements, if Link begins to engage an enemy, component #12 will always come next.
3). If Link continues battle an enemy after component #12, the game will loop components #13 through #16 until the enemy is defeated or... worse...
4). No matter which component you're in during the adventurous or battle movements, once you stand still or defeat the enemy and then stand still, the serene movement will begin with component #18 coming next. If Link continues to stand still, the game will loop components #19 through #21
5). Deductive reasoning will denote that if you're in the adventurous movement and you never stand still or encounter and enemy, the game will loop this movement as well.
We'll see how the string orchestra version fares:
Hyrule Symphony
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:09
Component #2 - 0:20
Component #3 - 0:33
Component #4 - 0:45
Component #1 - 0:58
Component #2 - 1:11
Component #3 - 1:24
Component #4 - 1:36
Component #5 - 1:49
Component #4 - 2:02
Component #1 - 2:16
Component #2 - 2:28
Component #3 - 2:40
Component #4 - 2:53
Component #2 - 3:06
Component #2 - 3:19
Component #3 - 3:31*
*Begins component #3 then fades out.
This arrangement only includes the adventurous movement and only repeats components #1 - #4 with component #5 thrown in near the middle of the song.
Rearranged Album
This arrangement is similar to the OST version - just with better samples, an added violin, and trumpet, over a break beat - however it reorders the components as well. Here are the components broken down:
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:00
Component #2 - 0:14
Component #3 - 0:26
Component #4 - 0:39
Component #5 - 0:52
Component #6 - 1:05
Component #7 - 1:18
Battle movement
Component #12 - 1:30
Component #13 - 1:43
Component #14 - 1:56
Component #15 - 2:09
Component #16 - 2:22
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #9 - 2:34
Component #10 - 2:47
Component #11 - 3:00
Component #8 - 3:13
Serene movement
Component #18 - 3:26
Component #19 - 3:38
Component #20 - 3:51
Component #21 - 4:04
Component #21 - 4:17
Back to Adventurous movement - song loops with additional arrangements and violin/trumpet solos
Component #1 - 4:30
Component #3 - 4:43
Component #4 - 4:55
Component #8 - 5:08
Component #8 - 5:21
This version includes every component except for #17 and puts components 12 - 16 in between components #7 and #9 while the OST goes in order.
Let's see how the full orchestral version plays around with sequencing the 21 components:
Adventurous movement
Component #1 - 0:01
Component #2 - 0:15
Component #3 - 0:29
Battle movement
Component #12 - 0:43
Component #15 - 0:57
Serene movement
Component #18 - 1:11
Component #19 - 1:25
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #9 - 1:40
Component #7 - 1:54
Back to Battle movement
Component #12 - 2:07
Component #15 - 2:21
Component #12 - 2:35
Component #15 - 2:49
Component #15 - 3:02
Back to Adventurous movement
Component #2 - 3:18
This one hops around quite a bit (Link is fighting a lot in this arrangement) and plays a total of 9 components out of 20 from the original song.
So the sequencing goes like this:
OST: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 3, 4
Hyrule Symphony: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3
Re-arranged version: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 9, 10, 11, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 21, 1, 3, 4, 8, 8,
Orchestra arrangement: 1, 2, 3, 12, 15, 18, 19, 9, 7, 12, 15, 12, 15, 15, 2
Doesn't anyone else appreciate how much work went into this song? Anyone not a fan of the song but do now after given insight on how it works? Any interest in interactive VGM? Any mistakes made in the sequencing breakdown?
Let's discuss!
*Special Thanks to GilvaSunner - who I believe is a Gaffer (forget his username) - for posting so much Nintendo music
