Ocarina of Time is a classic. It's timeless, and beloved by many people. Personally, it's in my top 5 Zelda games ever created.
And I personally feel that the game's soundtrack is one of the reasons why it's so beloved by many. The OST ranges from bombastic, triumphant, and powerful, to creepy, to somber.
It invokes so many emotions, and it's why Koji Kondo, in my mind, is a madlad.
Let's start this analysis of the OST with the first thing you hear in the game. The Title Theme.
Now what makes this piece so great?
Well, let's analyze it.
The piece is split into two sections, the A and B sections.
Let's begin with the A section.
A SECTION:
The piece starts off with a slightly arpeggiated F maj7 (add6) chord that then moves to a C maj7 (add9) chord. Since the piece is in the key of C major, this movement from the F major chord to the C major chord creates a specific cadence.
A cadence in music is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of resolution. In this case these two chords form a specific cadence that you hear in religious music a lot.
And that's the Plagal Cadence.
A Plagal Cadence is a chord movement in which the Sub-Dominant chord precedes the Tonic chord.
Or, you can think of it like this: a Plagal Cadence is when your IV or iv chord precedes your I or i chord.
It's called a "Plagal" cadence because the word's etymology comes from Greek and Latin, and often this is used in religious musical works. It goes by another name, the "Amen Cadence."
The reason this cadence works is because since our key is C major, that means, naturally, the chord C maj is the most stable sounding chord in the key. It's the chord that the whole music revolves around.
This is because the chord contains the most stable sounding notes in the key, the root, the major third, and perfect fifth. These notes are why the chord sounds so stable.
The F maj chord, the IV chord, introduces a little instability, though, not much. Since it's built off of the 4th note, an inherently unstable note, that means the 4th note has a harmonic tendency to want to resolve down to the major third, and even moreso, because the note is only a half step away. Furthermore, the chord contains the root note, which as we know, is the most stable note in the key, but it also contains the sixth note, which we music theorists call the Sub-Mediant.
The sixth splits the difference. It's not as unstable as the 4th, but not as stable as the root, therefore, this is why the chord built off of the 4th note of the major scale sounds the way that it does. The sixth also has a tendency to resolve to the fifth, but because the distance between the two notes is twice as far as between the 4th and 3rd notes, the tendency isn't as strong, also leading to why the chord sounds the way that it does.
Now, that's how the Plagal Cadence works, the Sub-Dominant chord introduces a tiny bit of instability to the harmony, while the Tonic is the most stable chord.
But, you'll notice the chords in this piece aren't C maj or F maj. They're F maj7 (add6) and C maj7 (add9). That means this whole idea of stability vs. instability is blurred because now the 7th note is added in, and it's even blurred moreso by the addition of those chord extensions (that's the whole add6 add9 part).
Now, why would Koji Kondo choose to do this? Well, he's making a trade-off. A normal Plagal Cadence is quite a stable cadence, as we've established. But when you add these extra notes to the chord, it makes the chords more dream-like and the relationship between the two chords are blurred somewhat.
Now, regarding the harmony of major 7th chords in major keys, they only naturally show up on the 1st and 4th chords of the key, which in the key of C major, just so happen to be C maj7 and F maj7, the only two chords in the A section of this piece.
In terms of functional harmony, the chord extensions he adds don't change the function of the chords, they just add some cool color to the whole vibe of the piece.
A simple way of looking at this, is that by adding the 7th note to these chords, you're taking a bit of the stability away from the C maj chord, and adding stability to the F maj chord, blurring the relationship between the two chords.
So while the F maj going to C maj sounds like a complete, stable cadence (it even has a special name), the F maj7 (add6) going to the C maj7 (add9) is left a little ambiguous.
Cool, eh?
Combine this with the song's slow, somber tempo, the rhythm being a little loose, and the melody using and embracing the upper chord extensions and embellishing them all adds to the contemplative, moody, dream-like vibe.
B SECTION:
The B section of the piece lifts up the intensity somewhat, and actually simplifies the harmony.
The B section of the piece moves between F maj7 and introduces a new chord. A chord built off of the fifth degree of the scale, called, appropriately, the Dominant chord.
And that chord is good ol' G maj.
This means we have another cadence happening, it's called a Half Cadence, which is when the IV or iv chord moves to the V chord.
In this case, it'd be F maj7 moving to G maj.
The melody adds some more triumph by embellishing the notes in the chords, and then the final two measures contain different chords, Ab maj7 and Bb6 which then, of course resolves to C maj, creating a Perfect Cadence...
Except it doesn't, it moves right back to the A section of the piece.
This is a staple of Koji Kondo's compositional style, the good ol' bVI-bVII-I progression. He debuted it in Super Mario as part of the level complete theme.
Instead of in Super Mario, where it ends on the Tonic, here, he subverts our expectations. Since it doesn't resolve to the Tonic chord, we can call it a Deceptive Cadence.
A Deceptive Cadence, is when a dominant function chord (in this case the bVII) resolves to a chord other than the Tonic chord. It's a subtle and tasteful way that foreshadows the rest of the game.
Which, it wouldn't surprise me that Koji Kondo is thinking about the point in the game when writing his compositions, because he explains that when he composes, he plays a part of the game over and over again that he has to compose the music for, so he can get the mood right.
Which begs the question, why make the piece sound so dreamy? Consider that in the beginning of the game Link is having a dream. A nightmare to be more specific.
And here, it works quite beautifully.
And I personally feel that the game's soundtrack is one of the reasons why it's so beloved by many. The OST ranges from bombastic, triumphant, and powerful, to creepy, to somber.
It invokes so many emotions, and it's why Koji Kondo, in my mind, is a madlad.
Let's start this analysis of the OST with the first thing you hear in the game. The Title Theme.
Now what makes this piece so great?
Well, let's analyze it.
The piece is split into two sections, the A and B sections.
Let's begin with the A section.
A SECTION:
The piece starts off with a slightly arpeggiated F maj7 (add6) chord that then moves to a C maj7 (add9) chord. Since the piece is in the key of C major, this movement from the F major chord to the C major chord creates a specific cadence.
A cadence in music is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of resolution. In this case these two chords form a specific cadence that you hear in religious music a lot.
And that's the Plagal Cadence.
A Plagal Cadence is a chord movement in which the Sub-Dominant chord precedes the Tonic chord.
Or, you can think of it like this: a Plagal Cadence is when your IV or iv chord precedes your I or i chord.
It's called a "Plagal" cadence because the word's etymology comes from Greek and Latin, and often this is used in religious musical works. It goes by another name, the "Amen Cadence."
The reason this cadence works is because since our key is C major, that means, naturally, the chord C maj is the most stable sounding chord in the key. It's the chord that the whole music revolves around.
This is because the chord contains the most stable sounding notes in the key, the root, the major third, and perfect fifth. These notes are why the chord sounds so stable.
The F maj chord, the IV chord, introduces a little instability, though, not much. Since it's built off of the 4th note, an inherently unstable note, that means the 4th note has a harmonic tendency to want to resolve down to the major third, and even moreso, because the note is only a half step away. Furthermore, the chord contains the root note, which as we know, is the most stable note in the key, but it also contains the sixth note, which we music theorists call the Sub-Mediant.
The sixth splits the difference. It's not as unstable as the 4th, but not as stable as the root, therefore, this is why the chord built off of the 4th note of the major scale sounds the way that it does. The sixth also has a tendency to resolve to the fifth, but because the distance between the two notes is twice as far as between the 4th and 3rd notes, the tendency isn't as strong, also leading to why the chord sounds the way that it does.
Now, that's how the Plagal Cadence works, the Sub-Dominant chord introduces a tiny bit of instability to the harmony, while the Tonic is the most stable chord.
But, you'll notice the chords in this piece aren't C maj or F maj. They're F maj7 (add6) and C maj7 (add9). That means this whole idea of stability vs. instability is blurred because now the 7th note is added in, and it's even blurred moreso by the addition of those chord extensions (that's the whole add6 add9 part).
Now, why would Koji Kondo choose to do this? Well, he's making a trade-off. A normal Plagal Cadence is quite a stable cadence, as we've established. But when you add these extra notes to the chord, it makes the chords more dream-like and the relationship between the two chords are blurred somewhat.
Now, regarding the harmony of major 7th chords in major keys, they only naturally show up on the 1st and 4th chords of the key, which in the key of C major, just so happen to be C maj7 and F maj7, the only two chords in the A section of this piece.
In terms of functional harmony, the chord extensions he adds don't change the function of the chords, they just add some cool color to the whole vibe of the piece.
A simple way of looking at this, is that by adding the 7th note to these chords, you're taking a bit of the stability away from the C maj chord, and adding stability to the F maj chord, blurring the relationship between the two chords.
So while the F maj going to C maj sounds like a complete, stable cadence (it even has a special name), the F maj7 (add6) going to the C maj7 (add9) is left a little ambiguous.
Cool, eh?
Combine this with the song's slow, somber tempo, the rhythm being a little loose, and the melody using and embracing the upper chord extensions and embellishing them all adds to the contemplative, moody, dream-like vibe.
B SECTION:
The B section of the piece lifts up the intensity somewhat, and actually simplifies the harmony.
The B section of the piece moves between F maj7 and introduces a new chord. A chord built off of the fifth degree of the scale, called, appropriately, the Dominant chord.
And that chord is good ol' G maj.
This means we have another cadence happening, it's called a Half Cadence, which is when the IV or iv chord moves to the V chord.
In this case, it'd be F maj7 moving to G maj.
The melody adds some more triumph by embellishing the notes in the chords, and then the final two measures contain different chords, Ab maj7 and Bb6 which then, of course resolves to C maj, creating a Perfect Cadence...
Except it doesn't, it moves right back to the A section of the piece.
This is a staple of Koji Kondo's compositional style, the good ol' bVI-bVII-I progression. He debuted it in Super Mario as part of the level complete theme.
Instead of in Super Mario, where it ends on the Tonic, here, he subverts our expectations. Since it doesn't resolve to the Tonic chord, we can call it a Deceptive Cadence.
A Deceptive Cadence, is when a dominant function chord (in this case the bVII) resolves to a chord other than the Tonic chord. It's a subtle and tasteful way that foreshadows the rest of the game.
Which, it wouldn't surprise me that Koji Kondo is thinking about the point in the game when writing his compositions, because he explains that when he composes, he plays a part of the game over and over again that he has to compose the music for, so he can get the mood right.
Which begs the question, why make the piece sound so dreamy? Consider that in the beginning of the game Link is having a dream. A nightmare to be more specific.
And here, it works quite beautifully.
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