The Hyrule Castle Theme is Spectacular
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 พ.ค. 2024
- The title really says it all, I think. The Hyrule Castle theme, originally from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, is one of the greatest pieces of video game music ever written. It kind of gets overshadowed, being on a soundtrack full mostly of the greatest video game music ever written, but taking a deeper look at it I was surprised at how much there was to chew on. Enjoy!
Entire A Link to the Past score, transcribed by yours truly: drive.google.com/drive/folder...
0:00 - Intro
1:43 - Overall Form
2:23 - Intro Fanfare
3:05 - Setting Up The Groove
4:06 - A Section Gives Us Some Ideas
5:51 - B Section Fleshes Them Out
7:47 - C Section Ties Everything Together
12:46 - Outro
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#aLttP #HyruleCastle #MusicTheory - เกม
I've always loved the Hyrule Castle theme. It gives the impression of a grand orchestra with just a few channels.
Despite the limited sound channels,it truly does sound like a full orchestra, I agree
It’s also nice to hear the OG Level Theme forever memorialized (and in-turn leads to meta that said-labyrinths really were defenses for Zelda’s triforce of wisdom (which she fractured and hid herself in the game’s scrolling text before getting abducted by Ganon to keep it out of Ganon’s Possession.) SO…2D Levels and the bosses and monsters inside? Actually those are defenses and appointed guards unless specified otherwise (like the Dark World/Lorule Dungeons-which actually ARE lairs and dungeons in-function since they’re where the banished miko are being held captive in LttP/LBW.)
You might like The Consouls jazz cover from Windwaker th-cam.com/video/VQnIRwEQER8/w-d-xo.html - not an orchestra but a quintet
It helps that at least two of the channels _are_ an "orchestra" type sound. Plus that lovely SNES audio chip.
Honestly pretty much all the link to the past music did a great job of sounding like an orchestra despite the limited sound capabilities on the gameboy advanced (i can't speak for the nes version)
I love that most zelda music has leitmotifs that have stayed for 30 years now
Thought the same! Wagner style.
The only true competition is Kirby music
This song has always cemented itself as the definition of "royalty" for me. When I noticed that Ikana Castle had a similar double chromatic enclosure idea, I just thought about this song. It's so expertly put together that it has became a staple for an entire style of music for me, and I love hearing it and any remixes of it. Great video! Love any Zelda content on this channel lol
The Farewell Hyrule King version from Wind Waker, is the best version of it.
I love your random smash facts videos
@@maxpowr90
Oh definitely. And an incredibly moving arrangement for a character’s death scene who…was actually a major asshole. (Seriously-he has Link set up a Beacon for HYRULE ENTRANCE HERE, has Link break the Seal on a great deal of Ganondorf’s Power, then sidelines Tetra for Being Girl after completing her Triforce Piece and locking her away in HYRULE HERE-if you sail over Hyrule’s Entrance before completing the Triforce of Courage, it’s revealed that it’s locked away until you finish the Piece. Who has an entire Piece? GANONDORF. And the Tower of the Gods (which Link revealed by placing the Pearls) is SO MASSIVE that it’s easily scene in the distance as far away as Windfall, Forest Haven, and Dragon Roost.)
Like…yes King’s traditionalist misogyny literally Makes Plot but. Y E A H… he didn’t even have Link CHECK ON THE OG Sages which would’ve avoided A Lot of trouble. (Or, y’know, keep Tetra close and on the move with Link. Tetra’s Ancestors keeping mobile with 3/4 of the Triforce of Wisdom is what kept Ganondorf or his followers from obtaining it. Ganondorf’s seen Tetra now, sure. But On The Move with the Master Sword wielder would still have been a Better Idea than “hiding” underneath a massive neon arrow sign. And unlike the New Sages, Tetra’s not combatively helpless!)
But, yeahhh… the Kings have pretty much always been massive pieces of work in every game they appear in (LttP, OoT, WW, BotW.)
That was the first thing I noticed during this breakdown, too, how similar the Ikana Castle theme is. Surely on purpose. But Ikana Castle feels like it's missing the out-in-front brass melodies, opting for more ethereal voices and murmurings, leaving the brass just playing backup fanfare to... almost nothing. Appropriate for a dead kingdom.
So you won't mind playing this when the Queen enters the room then? Okay!
I gotta say, I feel like the production value of this video specifically seems ridiculously high from what I feel like we normally get.
There's a lot of juice in this video. Animation of on-screen elements, smooth transitions, little audio-clues from the music we're seeing to line up with what you're saying all contribute to what really feels like an evolution to your video format. It makes me wonder if this trend has been happening with other recent videos and I've only just now picked up on it, but I want to say that I really appreciate the amount of effort it takes to really polish these videos to a high sheen like that, when your much older videos demonstrated that people will totally watch even without the extra editing spice.
I noticed it too. Very useful and much appreciated.
Indeed.
Also your profile pic. That bring some good memories of a certain marine...
Yes! I wholeheartedly agree! What did we do to get so lucky?!
@@blackcitadel37 Yes lets goo carbot!
The melody in the C section is variation of the dungeon theme from Zelda 1, same key as well. Kondo's brilliance is undeniable, the way he recapitulates ideas so seamlessly is stunning.
@LonerlRelnol They used to do Zelda symphony concerts all over the country and the world; maybe they still do them. I had the opportunity to go to one, and they indeed played an orchestral version of this piece. Very exciting!
@LonerlRelnol Honestly Kondo and Uematsu should be revered on the same levels as Mozart, Bach, Handel, etc. Their ability with sounds is undeniably beyond all others within the genre, and some of the best music bar none.
I was JUST about to post this, good ear.
@Juan Ramon Silva Parra
HIGHLY disagree with this. If you compare Kondo's best stuff to Beethoven, Bach, Or Mozart's best stuff he's absolutely at their level at a minimum. In fact, I'd consider him higher because he wrote for a much bigger variety of genres and in many styles than those three did.
@Juan Ramon Silva Parra
Well, considering how subjective this whole debate is, what makes you consider Kondo’s music lesser than that of the greatest composers of the classical/Baroque eras?
If it’s purely holding up over time, then there’s no way to know. None of us will be alive in 200 years.
I think comparing him to the Beatles doesn’t make sense at all. The whole thing about popular music is that it’s in one day, gone the next. It’s all about the latest trend.
But soundtracks for games aren’t written like that, they’re all about legacy and there’s a reason that after over three decades soundtracks from games like Super Mario Bros of are still incredibly iconic. It basically revolutionized video game music and that’s when people started paying attention.
Twilight Princess's rendition of this song is my favorite, the way it gets darker and more complex and you get further to the top of the castle, until at the very end it starts transitioning into Ganon's theme to get you hyped for the final boss.
10:24 … a _cohesive,_ _climactic_ _culmination_ … even if you don't _consciously_ hear the musical _connections._
An alliteration with Cs in the C section. Bravo!
This theme has always been such a jam. Especially the syncopated rhythm! I can't NOT bop my head when it starts. 😄
I usually have to stop myself from air-conducting when the trumpets come in at the climax. 😀
The whole soundtrack is bangin. Can't help but bop to Lost Woods, Dark World, or Death Mountain themes either.
@@jakemauger8377 seriously! There’s definitely a reason that LttP’s soundtrack can be found in every Zelda remix album ever ;)
Speaking of cohesion, I'm picking out tie-ins to other music in the game as well, particularly the triplet rhythm and 4th down + stepwise up from the main theme. Subtle nods and cross-references really tie a whole soundtrack together and make it so much more than the sum of its parts.
leitmotif
well spotted. Leitmotif in melody is easy to spot but I have a lot more difficult time using nomenclature to identify the rhythmic echoes. you're totally right that the actual beat and rhythm of this piece establishes patterns used through the whole soundtrack
10:16 "Why can't I hold all these melodies? (Except I can because I'm a genius)"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The first few notes of the low strings melody in the C section also feel like a nod to the palace theme from Zelda II.
It's also similar to LeChuck's theme from Monkey Island.
I love to play this on piano, both in fast (like Alttp) or slow (like WW) versions. Really one of the best themes of the series. Section B is my favourite part btw.
I always loved the piano version in TWW, but the 5/4 organ arrangement in BotW just blew my mind.
my single favourite part of wind waker was the part where this music played
I love farewell Hyrule king from WW Link between worlds version is great too
I love how the Hyrule Castle themes melodic ideas were played around with in Lorule, in A Link Between Worlds. Reversing some of them
Man, Zelda does castle music expertly. From Hyrule castle in alttp, to the most modern rendition in botw and even some unrelated ones like Ikana Castle in MM, they always convey that sense of royalty, but also dread and melancholy. This series and its music are great!
It’s interesting to see how this format has been used in many “final area” tracks throughout later Nintendo games as well.
I think we need a deep dive into all of Castlevania SOTN's tracks in particular. Such a perfect soundtrack!
Commenting to boost this sentiment.
Yes!
Also commenting to boost this sentiment
Ooh yes! I only know the music from The Consouls th-cam.com/video/_fKGYF3WG0w/w-d-xo.html but a deep theory dive would be great!
Top 5 desert island game with a top 5 desert island soundtrack.
A Link to the Past, in my opinion, is where the series began. The game had such a cool story, a whole new world to explore (the dark world) and the abundance of beautiful music. If you want a great Zelda game, this is one you should give a try.
I'd say it's where the series started taking its story more seriously
More than just "rescue the princess!!!!11"
I mean you still do that but there's other stuff too
@@DogsRNice I agree
Zelda1 isn’t bad. But it’s more focused on exploration than it is telling a story-literally. Zelda hides the Triforce of Wisdom to keep it from Ganon and is abducted shortly after, leading to Game. Still gives Zelda FAR more agency than most titles that followed, and it wasn’t ever trying to be more than Exploration + Mcguffin Hunt
Definitely
I missed most of the SNES era (got one around the same time I got a PSX), and never have played this game. Nor anything on the N64 for more than 5 min. Nor Windwaker, or the Game Boy Zelda games.
I've got a WHOLE lot of stellar titles to explore, and I'm super excited about it. :-D
ALttP was my first Zelda game. Still one of my favorites. And the castle’s theme is easily one of my favorite songs on the series. It gave me goosebumps when I heard the theme underlying the encounter with king Rhoam the first time he appears as a spirit in BotW. Nintendo does know how to play with our nostalgia
Same here, even more so when he appears in the flashback you find near Zelda's study and is introduced with the first notes from the ALTTP castle theme. That one really made me shiver.
We absolutely need a part 2 of this where you explore all the different Hyrule Castle themes and King Hyrule themes and compare them. Kind of a leitmotif analysis between the meaning of some of King Hyrule's motifs in the dark castle themes.
Why do music analyses move me to tears?
Same.
I loved when the castle theme kicked in while playing Twilight Princess, it's such an iconic and powerful theme, it really made it feel way harder than it was. And like, I'm not nostalgic for A Link To The Past or anything, this just goes to show how great this theme actually is!
One other thing to note is that the beginning of the A section melody is a leitmotif of (or at least a reference to) the main theme of the Zelda series, just transposed into minor.
I always felt that there is some ingenuity in this piece and that it is somewhat underrepresented compared to other Zelda themes. I never realized that it has so many different parts, because all of this structural similarity that you mentioned, but it really carries the dramatic event of being this young man who just lost his father, fighting his way through a massive castle anxious about the great challenges that may lie ahead. Thank you for this detailled analysis!
To me, the low strings in the C Section feels like a call back to the dungeon theme from the Original Zelda. I know it's not 1:1, but the note movement is similar, just more fleshed out.
Every time I hear the music of any piece, after my first listen, my brain begins to point out these little details in the music. It feels like finding easter eggs in the piece, and shows me just how welll put together a piece is!
You uploading the soundtrack is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for all your hard work. I’m in school for music right now and I can only hope that one day I’ll be able to talk about music with the same passion and cohesion as you.
One of my favorite Zelda themes, I've always felt it's criminally underrated. Glad to see it getting the respect it deserves!
The Hyrule Castle theme is so iconic to the series and so ominous when approaching Ganon for that final battle. You can hear a semblance of it in the Dark Mountain Forest (what you have titled as Black Mist). Which would make sense as you are nearing Ganon's Tower in the Dark World.
The first video game i've ever played was the port of alttp on gba, i was too young to know what to do after escaping the sewers, so to me this theme was very important bc it was pretty much the whole game, it really felt like i was storming a castle at the age of 4
I have always loved The Hyrule Castle Theme since the first time I heard it when I was a kid back in the 90's. This is one of my top favorite Zelda themes.
Great video, thank you! Nothing will ever compare to when I got this game for Christmas as a 7-year old from my Nan. Never heard of it or knew what it was, as soon as I turned it on and was greeted with the intro, the falling rain, and then getting into the castle and hearing the rain still outside... WOW. As a little boy with a big imagination, I was transfixed and mesmerised. I've been a huge fan ever since and LTTP remains my most favourite video game ever.
I love a TH-cam channel that both:1. Helps me slightly remember what I learned in music school. 2. Makes me feel smarter
This score analysis makes me appreciate one of my all time favorite video game tunes so much more. Thanks so much for this.
oh my god ! ! !
I've been trying to wrap my head around this theme for the past week and how did you read my mind that I needed this ? !
thank you thank you thank you
i literally cried watching this video just reliving how epic and interwoven this masterfully crafted piece o music is. thank you for putting words to its magnificence
0:59 is legendary. thanks for the metaphor
Thanks so much for this awesome breakdown and for the transcriptions!
Man, I've been hoping you would cover some songs from my favorite childhood game. This video's analysis, as well as the overwhelming nostalgia, was just so enjoyable for me 😄
Fantastic analysis of one of my fav songs. Thanks also for the score!
So glad you made this video. This track has always struck me as profound in ways I struggled to fully articulate. It would do us good to study this carefully. It’s a masterpiece of the highest order.
I love the way you presented your discussion in this video. Hearing the topic structure isolated from the rest of the piece first makes it much easier to hear your analysis, and later appreciate it in the context of the whole bar
Thank you for this!! Hyrule Castle was always my #1 favourite Zelda tune and I'm always overjoyed to hear it show up!
Man I love your videos! Really informative, well explained and super inspiring as a composer! Thank you so much
Massive thanks for providing accurate transcriptions of the entire LttP soundtrack. Been meaning to take the time to pick apart the compositions and learn them by heart but that's been difficult as an amateur musician with only ears to rely on sometimes when trying to get material to analyze my favorite songs.
Thanks a trillion for your efforts. That's a lot of hard work that you're generously sharing with everyone.
Taking a break from my own music project I'm trying to finish and this just gave me so much inspiration to finish it up. Thanks for the great content as always
Man, having an analysis of the Hyrule Castle theme feels awesome since I know this piece very intimately from playing it on the piano so many times.
Thanks for the video, that was awesome!
Thank you very much for this video! It puts things in perspective, specially when you consider how easily this was beautifully warped into Lorule Castle theme for A Link Between Worlds.
Thank you very much for the video and also providing the transcriptions!!
I feel like I'm starting to understand your videos more and more
It's such a neat feeling XD
Thank you for your work
Link to the Past's Hyrule Castle has always been easily one of my favorite songs in all of the Zelda series.
This video was a banger like the ideas explained today was very easy to understand compared to a couple of your more recent videos. Also huge thankyous for giving the transcriptions for the game
I really like how you isolated the specific portion of the music you're referring to when making a point! As someone who doesn't know much about music theory, it makes it much easier to "latch on" to the ideas you present. Great video!
This is my all time favorite song in the Zelda-series! One of the first I learned on piano too. Thanks a lot for an interview analysis, a lot of things I’ve never thought of even though I’ve played a thousand times on the poano.
Thank you also for the transcripts of all alttp-songs! They look phenomenal! :)
I totally forgot about this channel! So happy this popped up on the feed. Thank you!
So good I wish I could like it twice! Also, the transcriptions are amazing; thank you for an amazing 30th anniversary gift.
I love that in this video, you play the piece/section that you're talking about after speaking about it; I feel like this really cements what you're saying and as some others have said, feels like higher production value. Keep producing wonderful content! Thank you!
thank you for the scores and the wonderful analysis of my favorite Zelda game :)
I love your videos, they are always super engaging and enjoyable!
Man, I just discovered your channel yesterday, but you actually encourage me to learn about music
Oh my gosh I've been saying and feeling this for YEARS, TY for making a video breaking it down
There's such a bombastic movement between the different phrases in this song; it just flows, building tension to the release. Brilliant choice to examine.
I love your content, man. Not only is it super educational and high quality, it’s also chill enough to relax and fall asleep to. Much love and respect. 🤙
I really appreciate you dropping all of these transcriptions for free! I am practicing my piano and DAW skills so the composing process will go smoother for my upcoming game title. Legend of Zelda has always been my favorite franchise of all time, and a Link to the Past really drove a lot of that love for the music in games! Lets hope I can learn a thing or two by using these as my practice transcripts. Thank you 8-bit Music Theory, and Happy 30th Anniversary LoZ!
This breakdown was freaking wild.
I'm probably going to keep coming back to keep hitting pause to learn how this was all done. Great video.
omg i got so excited when i saw this in my feed! i've always thought this was one of the best songs in all of zelda and it's great to see you break down exactly what makes it so amazing
You might enjoy this by The Consouls (the guitar solo is so good) th-cam.com/video/VQnIRwEQER8/w-d-xo.html
This Theme always takes me back to a special place, it makes me feel a way that is hard to recreate from any other piece of music.
I don’t know much about reading sheet music or making music or music theory but I love watching your videos and for some reason keep coming back to this one!
excellent, please continue this with how this theme evolved through the series!
Listening to the song as you discussed the first theme, I realized that it is itself a variation on the main Zelda theme- as if this, the final dungeon of so many Zelda games, is the mirror image of the opening theme; where one represents a hopeful adventure about to begin, the other represents the culmination of all your battles and the frighteningly narrow edge upon which that quest rests.
The rhythm of that opening figure of the A theme is similar to the main theme in a grand scheme of shape, and actually identical to the opening figure of some versions of the main theme. The melody begins with that same descending P4, jumping back up to the tonic before beginning a climb upward- except in the Hyrule Castle theme we don’t get the triumphant rise to the dominant, instead the melody falls back in on itself in a slippery enclosure and back to the P4 down idea. It wasn’t immediately recognizable to me but the moment I heard it I couldn’t stop hearing it!!! I think the symbolism makes a lot of sense and it seems obvious in hindsight that that’s what Kondo had in mind. What do you think?
Love your entire channel, keep it up!
This channel is amazing for transcribing the entire game's soundtrack into high-quality PDFs, and casually linking in the description for free. So much work - I can't believe it's free.
You deserve more subscribers tbh, these videos are always so detailed and even if I understand maybe 1/4 of it at best, it's so entertaining and makes excellent background noise ^ ^
Another great video! "April" by Deep Purple seems to be major inspiration for a lot of general Zelda music theory, most noticeably the dungeon theme, but also the main theme
The A section, vs Minute 6:24 of April..
Thank you for your wonderful content in general. Dont quit.
A Link to the Past was the first time I subconciously noticed the masterful craftsmanship that went into early videogame music. I can't say in words how much I love you for providing the transcriptions!
Very interesting as usual !! Thank you very much for the free transcription of the OST of the game!! 🙂
Cheers from France 🇫🇷
Wow! This is one of your best videos yet. Thanks!
THANK YOU! I've played the opening of A Link to the Past over and over because this theme is INCREDIBLE. I never understood how it's not given the attention it deserves.
Amazing video, hyrule castle theme is truly a masterpiece.
thanks for the transcriptions
I understand almost nothing in these videos, but I still love watching them altogether. Nice job! :)
I half started learning music theory to suck less at guitar; I also half did it so I could actually understand what you were conveying in your videos!
The LTTP Hyrule Castle theme has always been one of my favorites! Kondo says a lot with this piece of music
What a fantastic analysis (but are we surprised? you're a superb analyst)! I can't get enough of the koji kondo love fest content. he really is a true master of his craft.
Perhaps the greatest game of all time, and the soundtrack is no small part. Thanks for highlighting it!
Well, isn't this a wonderful birthday gift! Honestly, for what it's worth, this is probably one of my favourite music theory channels to watch and I've probably learned more here than anywhere. Keep it coming, this is spectacular! (Also, I know it came out on the 15th for patrons, but for me it came out today so what do you know)
My gosh, I love your video game musical analysis videos, like damn. I'm glad you highlighted the musical simplisticity yet sophistication of aLttP's ost, and I'm personally hoping you analyze the Dark World's theme soon. ^^
This analysis is as spectacular as the music itself. I started playing piano five years ago and just last year started studying music theory, and now with the knowledge that I gained and watching your videos I can see how simple pieces like that can be this incredible both melodic and harmonically. I love it.
I also find speactacular the VGM covers by The Consouls th-cam.com/video/VQnIRwEQER8/w-d-xo.html
You are such a wonderful human being. Transcribing the whole score and just making it available.
I don't play instruments and cannot read sheet music, but I applaud you.
Awesome video as usual, and thank you for the transcriptions ! :)
I always love these Zelda music vids!
I love the take on the Hyrule Castle Theme as it was in Wind Waker. I had every intention of mentioning this in the comments section and then I noticed that you had it at the end of the video. Love it.
Your channel is so much fun!
Thanks for the transcriptions! That was a really nice present :D
my dude holy shit thanks for the scores! And all the great content of course haha
So I’ve been trying to do a jazz arrangement of Zelda’s Lullaby and I LOVE YOU FOR UPLOADING THAT.
I love that the note hit right as the spinning triforce came together
It’s cool that the leap down of a perfect fourth in the main melody hints at the loz main theme, which also begins with a downward leap of a 4th
Koji Kondo's work in the Zelda series is why I think music is so integral to high fantasy worlds. And I simply adore your videos breaking down his work. I'm a longtime amateur musician (I play roughly 5 instruments, although I can only read sheet music for 2 or 3), and while i know a bit about music theory and appreciation it's enough for me to get the most out of these videos even if I couldnt make all this analysis myself. Keep up the awesome work!!
Another cool thing about the melody at 10:07 is that it very strongly resembles the climactic melodic idea in Prince Igor's aria from the opera Prince Igor by Aleksandr Borodin. They're not exactly the same, of course, but I can't help but hear the resemblance and wonder if Kondo knew that melody going in (not likely, but possible, I think)
That's a great catch (IMHO). I just made a comment of my own talking about what I perceive as influences from the great Russian composers, and one of my examples was Borodin's Symphony No. 2 Mvmt. 1-another Borodin composition. I've got no proof of it, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Kondo was drawing inspiration from that space.