Interview with Zelda Violinist Lindsey Stirling

January 29th, 2013 by Timothy

Our good friends over at Zelda Universe have been given a privileged opportunity to conduct a face-to-face interview with our favorite Legend of Zelda violinist, Lindsey Stirling. If you’d like to have the opportunity to get to know her better then this is the interview you’d most want to see as she discusses her profession, concert details, special YouTube music videos, her love of portraying Link, and her gaming experiences including revealing her favourite Zelda game!

Zelda Universe have split the interview into two parts so be sure to check out both parts after the jump!

Source: YouTube (via Zelda Universe)

Categorized under: Fan Material, Music, YouTube, Zelda Music, Zelda News
Tagged: Interview, Legend of Zelda, Lindsey Stirling, YouTube, Zelda Interview, Zelda Universe

HeruKun

I love Lindsey Stirling, she’s so talented and beautiful! I want to go to her shows someday.
Cody

Hombre is so pretty
She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

Thanks for posting this! I’m a HUGE fan of Lindsey, and it was cool being able to see this
http://twitter.com/mikejcsauer Mike Sauer

Love her. I will marry this girl one day
BEN

wow pretty girl ahhhhhh….. i love you lindsey stringer you the best i also love zelda
- Ben
  
  and i know her last names stirling just wanted creativity
Shiekface

As much as I love her music, she really has no clue about zelda
- gamer
  
  I was waiting for the “I love Zelda, he’s my favorite video game hero”.
- http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
  
  That’s because doing Zelda cover’s isn’t something she does out of her love of the game.
  
  It’s something she does for exposure.
  
  She may have listened to and appreciated the music from Ocarina of Time, but she clearly hasn’t played the entirety of the game, or any other Zelda game for that matter.
  
  Doing cover’s of video game music gets her exposure, and fans. She knows that by covering Zelda she will have lot’s of Zelda fans checking out her work and her music.
  
  It’s why she cover’s a lot of different games, Halo, Skyrim…. she wants the fans of these series to check out her music. It’s basically a flattering form of advertising.
  
  Produce something you know people will be interested in, and then try to shift them over to listening to your original material.
  
  Being a cute girl who dresses up for Link also certainly doesn’t hurt in getting her attention either.
  - tim
    
    Or maybe she genuinely likes game music? She obviously has a passion for music and playing the violin, so if she wants to play Zelda tunes then what’s the harm in that?
    - http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
      
      I did say that. I wrote “She may have listened to and appreciated the music from Ocarina of Time,”
      
      Also never said there is no harm in it, it’s actually very clever. Her passion is clearly music, Zelda is simply a gateway for her to showcase her talent to listeners.
  - Vink
    
    So she hasn’t played any other Zelda game? So does that mean I won’t be able to hear her play a violin cover of darkworld from ALTTP?
Janken

What a poser
Demise

Erm… where are the pointy ears?
Demise

BTW… this is off-topic. But I just wanted to say that I’ve finally finished TP today (well, yesterday, and I beat the last boss again today). And here’s my final verdict:

An amazing game. On par with OoT, and better than SS. It had a nice graphic style (I don’t get the hate). Creative battles. GREAT story. The “mini-plots” (e.g. the whole search for City in the Sky) were very good and creative. Some items were underused, but most of the were great*. The music is epic. The boss battles are cool, to say the least, and the last boss was both challenging, epic, well-designed and fun.

The ending was very emotional. It almost made me cry… When Ganondorf is standing there, he raises his hand, and then suddenly the triforce on the back fades… and all hope leaves him… Gosh, if I was younger I’d be crying again right now.
- The Unicorn Hanger-Outer
  
  YOU BEAT TWILIIGHT PRINCESS!!!!!!!?????!!!!!! WTF!!! I’m stuck on the temple of time. ):
  - http://www.facebook.com/Cyborg1985 Joshua Anderson
    
    Where are you stucck? let us know and we(we being thr collective followers of Zelda Dungeon) can help you if you want the help.
- Vink
  
  I’m quite surprised that there are still people out there who haven’t beaten Twilight Princess yet I’m not calling you a noob or anything, it’s just the game is 6 years old. Anyway, it’s great that you enjoyed the game.
  - Demise
    
    I know. My dad is pretty strict with video games, and I only got a wii when SS was released (I bought it for SS). Sad…
    
    Well, at least I’m getting a wii u as soon as I have enough money. I’m £100 short right now, but I expect this will soon be mended. And Zelda wii u hopefully won’t have to wait long after its release to be played by me.
- OwnerofTriforce
  
  That’s fantastic! I absolutely love Twilight Princess myself. It’s definitely one of my absolute favorites in the series. Yes, on par with OoT and better than SS. I also love the art style and graphics, and I don’t understand the hate either. I love how they managed to create the face expressions on certain characters with these graphics, because many say that Wind Waker did this a lot better with the cel-shading, but that worked out mostly just for Link. I mean, talk to people around on Windfall Island and they’ll pretty much have the same expressions all the time, no matter how the conversation may change. In TP, Telma is a great example. Her face is constantly moving to what she’s talking about!
  
  I wasn’t all impressed with the battles. I mean, some were creative, yes, but I was really disappointed with the difficulty, cause they were very easy. However, the final battle is absolutely EPIC and I CAN’T understand why people don’t talk about it much. While they are different, the final battle here is at least just as amazing as the one in OoT in my opinion. The story is amazing, yes, and the mini-plots was awesome too! I agree with you on the items, many underused (Dominion Rod, Spinner…) but holy crap the Bow/Bomb or Bow/Hawkeye combos were awesome, and not to mention the Dual Clawshots! Most of the music is amazing and the ending was emotional (and shocking, about the mirror! :p) I’m glad you got to play it and I’m glad to see that you liked it so much, because it really is an amazing game!
  - Demise
    
    I actually find the last battle better than OoT. If OoT had one weakness IMO, then it’s the last battle. The Ganondorf bit is fun, but I wish he was better at sending the ball back. The flight down the tower gets boring and annoying after a few times. Ganon can be REALLY easy if you do it correctly, but if you mess up a bit or just have fun and don’t care it’s super awkward without stunning him… Actually, you can stun him, which I never think about when battleing him… But it certainly uses a lot of arrow that way. And deku nuts are too ineffective.
    
    Yes, I really love the expressions, and graphics… One thing I don’t understand is, how do they have some semi-realistic characters (like Telma – even her eyes are almost non-animesque at all) and some utterly cartoonish characters (like the doctor, or Falbi).
    
    About the mirror… it was certainly a nice touch, and a good way to take the bore out of the credits. I found the Ganondorf bit a lot more emotional (and no, it’s not because my username’s Demise, it’s just because I find it so. )
    
    I don’t get the point the the DR, apart from its actual connection with the sky. As such, it was intensively used in that part of the game, but “moving statues” doesn’t necessarily have to be a widely-used concept. The Spinner was awesome though, I’d have loved to see a lot more rail in random locations… Or a roller coaster-like contraption… Man, that would have been amazing! And if they had more sniper sections with the hawkeye (like the hidden city) it would’ve been great too.
    
    Yes, the battles were easy, but who can forget their first fight against a giant slimy toad which grew eggs on its back, fell from the ceiling without hurt, burped at you, and spit out its heart? What about fighting a giant ice mass? (I always rofl at that title… “Twilit Ice Mass”… seriously, I’m fighting and “ice mass”?! )
    - OwnerofTriforce
      
      Haha, yeah, the ice mass was weird xD But Blizzeta had a nice set up! I especially love the dungeons in this game, they were just amazing. Of course I remember the Deku Toad, but really, the most amazing mini boss in this game was without a doubt Death Sword (in my opinion, of course) he was just amazing!
      
      I guess it’s just Zelda when it comes to the characters, like you said :p That’s just how the games are ^^
      
      Well, I did like the Dominion Rod and the Spinner, and I don’t REALLY find it so underused compared to many other people. I actually enjoyed moving the statues around :p
  - http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
    
    The reason why the final battle isn’t that great is because Ganondorf isn’t all that hard.
    
    Phase One: Plays out like Phantom Ganon or Ganondorf (from Ocarina of TIme)
    
    Phase Two: Easily the best of the entire final battle is actually refreshing, and it’s a great take on Ganon, and it was a great battle to make use of the wolf form… not to mention thematically beast of light versus the dark beast. So I give props to this being the high point.
    
    Phase Three: Kind of meh, there is something about this fight that is just sort of tedious, and waiting for the horse whips to reload made it annoying. Also found it funny that Ganonford spends his time running away from you during the battle.
    
    Phase Four: This was the lowest point of the entire battle. It’s nothing more then a waiting game to to trigger a quick time event. You don’t even have to strike at Ganondorf, he will eventually charge at you and you can clash with him and just mash A to win. It wasn’t skill based in the slightest. Not to mention a gaudy electric wall ring. Also…. pots lining the ring? who brought them out there? why does one contain a fairy? it makes it even easier then it already was…..
    
    Bleh… the final fight is all about show without substance.
    - OwnerofTriforce
      
      I know, it was easy, but the whole setting is so freaking epic! You fight against a possessed Zelda in the first phase, which is special, since she’s one you’re supposed to rescue
      
      Yes, the second phase was great and I liked the fight. Might just be the most interesting one, and I liked how you worked together with Midna in ths one. Beast vs beast was awesome
      
      After this phase, Midna sends both Link and Zelda out in the fields of Hyrule while trying to defeat Ganondorf herself. However, she fails, and the way you know that is by seeing Ganondorf on his horse, holding that helmet-thing Midna’s been wearing the whole game, which was an incredible lead up to the next part.
      
      Phase 3 was annoying? It should have been a lot longer and harder because it was easy. I didn’t find it annoying at all, just really, really awesome! You’re having a mounted battle with Ganondorf out in Hyrule Field who summons, like, ghost or phantom riders and everything. Plus this time, you fight together with Zelda, who you had just fought yourself
      
      And the final phase was a bit disappointing when it comes to the difficulty, but holy crap. A sword fight with Ganondorf is just incredible. This time with no help, just you alone. I mean, I agree with you on the whole thing being easy, but I look past that. It all builds up amazingly and I just loved every bit of it, even though, again, it was very easy. Btw, what was wrong with the wall..?
- http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
  
  Sorry but when the fact that the only reasons you praise the game is because of the graphic’s, and the fact that it tries to be “epic”. That alone show you didn’t take a close look at how the actual game was designed or the plot was developed.
  
  Searching for the sky characters (under the bird statues) is as tedious and padding as there ever was. The Triforce Quest at the end of Wind Waker was more engaging then that whole event.
  
  The game rehashes so much of Ocarina of Time, that it’s barely a fresh experience. Then again though it’s probably why you enjoyed it so much seeing as you have fond memories of OoT. So to have all the nods to the game probably was enough for you.
  
  I could talk at length about all the problems with the item design, and the OP nature of the hidden skills, and the under use of the wolf transformation, and empty fields, but meh, it’s not a terrible game, but I wouldn’t call it the best, and I don’t think it was revolutionary like OoT or SS.
  - Demise
    
    Opinions differ. The big fields ar actually a big plus IMO; they encourage exploration, and also make the world feel more believable, or realistic. Like people could actually live there and all that.
    
    The OoT bits are not “rehashed”, rather they are more like semi-easter-eggs; and they don’t blandly reuse oot’s concepts, but rather use a similar design, improving and modifying the old one.
    
    I don’t see problems with the item design, apart from the underusage of some; wolf transformation was very well used IMO, and more of it would have resulted in transofmations every 10 seconds, which would have been annoying.
    
    Also, apart from the occasional reference to OoT, the games are VERY different. The game mechanics (apart from the basics), items, story, etc. etc.
    
    Hidden skills… it might be an overkill to use a helm splitter for a tektite, but they were intended for use on harder enemies, like dinalfos and darknuts (I could ramble about darknuts quite a bit, BTW, but I’m too tired to do so), and they certainly work very well.
    
    Remember though that it’s all a matter of opinion. I respect yours, I just wanted to give you my points (so that you don’t say I like it just because of it being “epic”).
    - http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
      
      Exploring big fields would be great if there was something to explore. Sadly there is little to discover in Twilight Princess’ field’s. Hidden grotto’s and secret paths are pretty much non-existent (there are a few, but yeah not much of anything). Other games have way better fleshed out, realistic worlds, and a perfect example of this is Xenoblade.
      
      I’ve got a long list of problems with the items in Twilight Princess, enough to fill an entire post. Which I have in the past. So instead of copy and pasting that I’ll just sum it up as…. what’s the point of getting a slingshot when you get the bow and arrow shortly after, what’s the point of bomblings when you have bomb arrows, why have water bombs when they are only needed for a single dungeon, what use is the dominion rod after you complete the the two small parts of the game that need it? Seriously…. and that’s the tip of the ice berg on the problems with the items.
      
      Also the wolf transformation is only integral to a single dungeon’s design. The Arbiter Grounds. There are 9 dungeons in the game and only one really factors in your wolf abilities. Additionally there are no enemies aside from a few bosses that really require the wolf abilities to defeat. It’s supposed to be a main part of the game and it kind of takes a back seat, especially after the first half is complete.
      
      Hidden Skills can be spammed to no end, and most are instant kill moves, and you won’t take any damage while performing them. This is opposed to the Wind Waker method of having skills performed through timing (essentially putting yourself at risk as they can only be performed as a form of a counter). Also most of those tough enemies like ReDead Knights, Armored Lizolfos and Dark Nuts are actually easily killed by the simple use of the Bomb Arrows…. again another OP weapon that you attain after the second dungeon.
      
      And yeah it’s fine if you enjoyed the game, I respect that as well, and overall it’s a good game. It certainly has it’s fine thrill ride moments, but the overall design of the game isn’t as well thought out as other titles in the series.
      - Demise
        
        OK, I won’t reply to this because we might go on arguing forever. The only thing I wanted to say is that, apart from the slingshot (BTW, SS has the same problem, with the difference that the bow is acquired somewhat later) and OP bomb arrows (though if you used a bomb arrow on every lisalfos and dinalfos and chilfos and stalfos you’d be out of bombs most of the time, and darknuts are unvulnerable to bomb arrows unless you somehow shoot them from behind) the actual items didn’t have any problems. They were UNDERUSED. Bad item usage and bad item design are different things.
        
        Also, I wanted to say that I’ve only played through it once, and maybe the second time the tear of light sections are a lot more boring now that you know exactly what’s coming, and th city in the sky quest is a lot more annoying when you know what you’re supposed to do but don’t remember exactly who to speak to and what are the exact actions, BUT for the first time it was very interesting (at least to me).
        
        I said I wouldn’t reply and here I just wrote 2 paragraphs or arguments. *sigh*
      - http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
        
        You get three bomb bags in Twilight Princess, and you can double the amount of bombs the bomb bags hold. Twilight Princess has the most bombs a you can carry at once with a grand total of 180 regular bombs at once. To put it simply, you will run out of arrows (which you can carry a lot of as well) before you will ever run out of bombs. Again OP.
        
        Also Darknut’s are totally vulnerable to bomb arrows;
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaiFxpdxSu8
        
        This video is a perfect example of how OP bomb arrows are. He’s not even using a 180 bomb set and look at the damage he does.
        
        Here’s addtional info on defeating Darknut’s with bomb arrows; http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/928519-the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess/52492529
        
        Also SS doesn’t have the same issue as TP. Skyward Sword gives you a slingshot as your main projectile weapon, and you rely on it for 5 dungeons before getting the Bow & Arrow. Even after you get the Bow & Arrow though it is still beneficial having the slingshot around because it is very likely you will run into situations where you will run out of arrows. Skyward Sword’s arrow capacity is much smaller then that of TP…. and although you can carry additional quivers and expand that it means sacrificing space for carrying bottles, medals and shields instead. Basically more likely then not people will experience times when they run out of arrows and that slingshot will still be put to use again.
        
        Item design also encompasses how useful an item is in your quest, not just how it looks or how unique the item is. It’s great to have unique fresh and exciting items, but if they aren’t put to good use in the overall design of the game, then they probably weren’t well designed items. The dominion rod really was the worst of the bunch, having no other use other then moving statues which were only in very strict area’s.
        
        Compare it to an item like the grappling hook from Wind Waker, which serves as a a rope to climb up to ledges, rope to swing across gaps, a line to pull up treasure from the bottom of the ocean, and hook for stunning and stealing items from enemies. A single item can be used in several different ways and not only solves puzzles but is useful through out the entire adventure.
        
        Like I said Twilight Princess is a fun game. It looks good, and it does have it’s highlights… it’s just got some glaring flaws design wise compared to other titles which are better balanced. You may be right because I’ve played the game several times over, and sure that first run through is pretty entertaining (although I still though the dominion rod was lame)…. but the issues come out more in subsequent play throughs. For the most part though, most people you will talk to will probably say they loved Twilight Princess.
        
        Sorry for the long reply, but game design is something I analyze and discuss a lot.
      - Demise
        
        Well, the dominion rod is the one thing where I agree with you. It’s lame, and when I got it in the temple of time I went: “WTF, the dungeon item is just this random thing to be able to move randoms statues and only to be used in 3 places in the game?”
        
        As for the grappling hook. nintendo seems to be afraid to do too much. You have a nice hookshot in OoT. In WW it’s replaces by the grappling hook, which has more functionality. In TP the have the doble clawshots, that allow you to go from wall to wall but ditch all the grappling hook functions. In PH they bring back the Grappling Hook, adding new and cool functionality, like catapulting across gaps and tightrope walking, but because it’s a top-down game you can’t climb up ledges, or steal stuff from enemies and all that. In SS, the separated the 2 concepts, having both a double clawshot and whip. Because SS has only 8 items, IMO they’d have done better if they had merged the 2 and made a new and original item fit in the vacant spot. Also, the whip only allows you to swing across gaps (when specific vines are present) and activate 1 type of switch, found almost solely in a single dungeon.
        
        If they merged the WW and PH grappling hooks, then even not having the double clawshot’s functionality would be fine by me, even more so if you could actually use other items while hanging (e.g. throw a boomerang, drop a bomb, etc.). Although, maybe, you could have a rope with 2 hooks (in PH, it doesn’t, and the reason you can still tightrope is because it’s not realistic), which would allow you to tighrope, and also swing to a target, then climb so that you’re right next to the target, then throw the other end, etc.
Palmer Insull

god damn that persons camera skills are terrible.
Darunia

What did she say was her favorite zelda game?????
BloogaBla

“…our favorite Legend of Zelda violinist, Lindsey Stirling.”

Why is she being called a “Legend of Zelda” violinist? It’s not like she strictly plays Zelda songs.
- http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk
  
  Not only that she doesn’t exactly play Legend of Zelda games.
http://www.triforcetalk9.blogspot.com/ Linkfan99

“Our friends over at Zelda Universe”

…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO.
tingleberries

I wak the old goron to her on a regular basis.
http://twitter.com/MK_Langley Adventurer of Hyrule

No offense but the interview really needs to prepare his work because his lack of a plan led to some awkward and ambiguous reactions that could be interpreted as lack of interest or sarcasm.
http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk

It was interesting to watch. I had been curious for a long while if she was actually a gamer, or if doing video game cover’s was just a way to gain exposure.

At the end of the day it’s pretty clear even if she knows a small bit about gaming, she’s not really a gamer.

That’s ok though, cause music is clearly her passion and that’s her career. It’s not that strange for a musician to cover music simply on the basis of getting fans of a certain genre of music. Not to mention that covering video game titles and getting dressed up is certainly a good way to attract attention.

All important if you want to succeed as any sort of artist. Hopefully though people aren’t too surprised/disappointed to learn that she isn’t that big into Zelda or video games as a whole.
Terrible Fate

Interviewer: “Obviously you’re a HUGE Zelda fan, so I have to ask you, what’s your favorite game?”
Lindsey: …haven’t played any of the games…but I can’t tell him that….
LOL. It’s OK if you don’t know a thing about the series, Lindsey! Your music’s still awesome
http://www.facebook.com/emilio.valle.5 Emilio Valle

so she’s a fake D:
Ghostly Gengar99

Whats around her neck?