This Video Shows How The Zelda Theme Song is a Perfect Melody
Posted on July 07 2019 by Alexis S. Anderson
YouTube channel 8-bit Music Theory took a quick dive into the Legend of Zelda theme song in a recent installment of its series Music Theory Minute. The video focused on structuring a melody, wherein composers consider what elements of a piece they must maintain to ensure cohesion and what they can add or change to introduce variety. Composer Koji Kondo’s iconic theme is examined bar-by-bar, with a break down of how each melodic choice contributes to his ear-pleasing final product.
It’s interesting to hear some of the technical reasons why the Zelda theme song is so spellbinding and enduring. It just goes to show the great talent that Koji Kondo is, and I certainly appreciate his craft more having seen some of the deliberate choices he has to make in each of his works. I feel this short-form examination also makes the undoubtedly complicated science of melody making accessible, even to someone like myself who doesn’t have any experience composing music.
What did you think of this Music Theory Minute? Are there any other Zelda songs you’d like to see broken-down in this technical way? Let us know in the comments!
Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.
