Legend of Zelda main theme analysis
Here’s most the melody to the main theme of “The Legend of Zelda”. Each colour represents a different motif. Notice that the motifs are not restated the same way each time but all are recognizably similar.
Blue is the one motif that’s not utilized heavily in this composition, however it shows up in later games.
Pink is the most memorable motif and it’s manipulated in a couple ways. Each time it’s played it uses a pickup note followed by a quick run. The first run is ascending sixteenth notes, the second run is ascending triplets, and the third run is descending triplets. Each run ends with a half note. The “structure” of this motif is then “pickup —> quick run —> half note”.
^ Note from 4 years later: the usage of this motif is the hinge technique.
Green is nearly identical every time in its rhythm but its pitches are shifted.
- Let the first occurrence, #1, be the “original” version of the motif
- #2 is then an inexact sequence: it starts on a lower note and retains the same intervals but not their qualities
- #3 is another inexact sequence featuring more chromaticism
- #4 occurs much later, and starts on the same pitch as #3, but is instead diatonic
Orange is a much simpler motif than the others, just as identical in its rhythms during its repetitions as Green was, but there’s even less variance in the pitch changes.