What a wonderful song. I'll never forget the feeling this gave me in 2000, cursed into a twisted form and looking through a telescope at a world full of chaos, but finding some small comfort in the kindness of an old man.
A truly special game. And I think it helps to have played Ocarina of Time first - as I think most people did. But if Majora's Mask was someone's first Zelda then while it will still be a great experience it would be missing that memory of becoming adult link and a legendary hero and how much that contrasts with the transformation into a sad Deku scrub along with Termina's more ominous and bizzare world.
I remember being a kid with our Collector's Edition disc for the Gamecube. My sister would always make her way to the Astral Observatory and just... sit there. Listening to the music. It's quite the piece.
Yo, that’s how I first played Majora (and the series as a whole). I would also stick around, mainly because I was bad at the game lol. But it’s since become a piece of nostalgia that reminds of the days where I just enjoyed the novelty of playing video games.
My theory is that the opening run was written at the end of the loop as a way to bring a little melodic flavor to close the loop, to keep the melody from feeling too static. Then he decided to stick it at the start of the piece as a pickup, hence the unintuitive rhythm. That’s my guess! Either way it’s such an amazing choice in such an amazing piece
I feel that the opening run tension is perfectly done because as the player, you're not expecting this bright and colorful area after traversing the dark sewers. It takes you by surprise and the music reflects that moment
When I was a kid, I really didn't know what I was doing when playing Majora's Mask. I could never figure out how to leave clock town, or even get to the ocarina. My childhood memory of this game effectively ends after the peril and intensity of the sewers, entering the Astral Observatory - the first place that you feel safe. This song sounds like thay relief of safety, but also the sadness of knowing you'll have to face danger ahead. It's one of my favorite songs in the Zelda franchise, even if I didn't play the game all too much.
You should go back to it imho. My opinion that it’s the greatest video game ever made is perhaps the only favorite I’ve managed to choose of any category of thing…it’s one of those experiences that will give everyone something that speaks to them, and that’s coming from someone who normally has a lot of trouble with games involving realtime combat.
@NathanSimonGottemer back in covid I went back to it, but school got busy so I never went beyond the great bay temple. My winter break is coming up so maybe that's how I'll spend some of my time! I've always wanted to get back into it and this is the motivation I need haha
@@datnastysalad5616it's a lovely game. I hope you pick it up again. I never could get too far as a kid, finding it both too difficult AND too scary. But I love it now. I'm in the middle of my first full play through. Made it into Stone Tower for the first time. Only took me 24 years.
Something I find interesting is the use of the choir MIDI instrument. In most N64 games' scores, as I recall, that choir instrument doesn't come in except for the big ending (Star Fox 64) or a place of great reverence (Temple of Time in Ocarina of Time). So here, after the frenetic build-up, we're hit with the choir and subconsciously realize, "Oh, this place is special." As other commenters have said, it's a place isolated from the chaos and despair of the world around it, a place to reflect upon your significance in the grander scheme of things, a place to feel safe for a moment even as time keeps ticking on. It's a really special piece, and I'm glad you discussed it! Helped me think about it in new ways, which is always a plus
this piece somehow manages to both capture the wonder and vastness of space with the comfort and familiarity of a night sky. it's the musical equivalent to glow in the dark stars or one of those projection lamps. it has a very sleepy, lullaby-like quality to it.
I saw someone in your discord saying they had never played Majora's Mask, and I pity them. Coming into the observatory for the first time as an 11 year old kid in 2000, this world after having beat Ocarina of Time a year earlier the year prior- I felt emotional confusion. Decades later I realised that this moment was to teach children with innocence that there is hope in the face of grieving. Even more eerie is the fact that I thought about this song this morning when I inexplicably woke up at 5:30 a.m. this morning before this video came out.
I got this game for Christmas in 2001, hanging out in the Astral Observatory on Christmas Day while eating an oversized Hershey bar while holding a ridiculously large third-party N64 controller is a core memory for me
The piece is very melancholic and it fits perfectly with not only the theme of the game, but the part of the story that is being revealed to you when you first reach the astral observatory. You use the telescope to look at Skull Kid, who is a very sad character, and watch as a moons tear falls to the ground. Is that the Skull Kid's tear, since he created the moon? It's all very tightly coupled together thematically and that's why it's so emotional and memorable.
It’s melancholic but hopeful, awe inspiring, but foreboding. Like you know that this will come to an end in three days, that the moon will fall upon the observatory and all of termina, that the beauty of the astral observatory will soon be erased.
When I first played Majoras Mask I got kinda lost since I didnt know what I was suposed to do in Clock Town. When I managed to get to the Astral Observatory, the moon was about to crash and that creepy Last Hours song was playing, so I didnt get to hear this song. I rushed it to get back to Clock Tower on time... but I couldnt make it, the moon crashed and I had to restart. That made me upset, but I am thankful it happened, otherwise I would have completely missed this amazing song. When I played again I already knew what to do so I got to Astral Observatory with a lot of time to spare, and I was completely surprised to hear such a beautiful song, it became one of my all time favorites. Time and time again I would go to Astral Observatory just to listen to it
Majora's Mask is literally the game that keeps on giving. And it was apparently made in a year. They straight up poured so much love into this game its insane!
The strangeness of the timing to disorient the listener and seamless looping fits the theme of a telescope peering into the twinkling stars and the vastness of space, no?
I was always so excited to get to the observatory as a kid, just for this song. Right up there with Stickerbush Symphony, Forest Interlude, and Aerith’s theme, it gave me a sense of euphoria in just how gorgeous it is ❤
It took me forever to get the secret code for the tunnel as a kid. Can't believe I almost gave up before I even got to the Observatory. It's probably my favorite room in all of video games.
The themes of the music match with the themes of the game very well. The push and pull of darkness, wonder, and even some yearning are beautifully explored in such a short piece.
this is one of my favourite VGM tracks, I used to play it as a lullabye for my niece when she was little and she would always drift to sleep peacefully to it lol
Rozen did a breathtaking cover of this song, keeping the emotional core while developing the short loop into a full 4 minute song It's magnificent, I'd highly recommend seeking it out.
This game holds a special place in my heart as it’s the only game I’ve ever played that actually moved me to tears, and it managed to do that with a callback to an implied part of a side quest’s story that shows during the end credits. This game achieved with 5 seconds of screen time what multiple others couldn’t with their entire storylines and musical scores combined. Just…wow
Happy you mentioned the glockenspiel overtone. That is the magic that can't be described. Theory in that regard, is pointless; it doesn't make sense, and it doesn't have to. It makes the piece mystical and wondrous, in two places at once: the vast openness of space. I find the more I listen to the overtones (especially in a slower version, it changes the harmony in very beautiful and cohesive ways even though it "shouldn't" make sense. I believe it was intentional to have it that loud-let the stars sparkle!
It’s so cool to learn the theory and see the science behind why I feel these things when I hear this piece. This makes me so glad I played my Astral Observatory remix in that show we played at the Rec Room haha See you at Mag? Hopefully, but if not I got a hug waiting for you at VGM Con 💜
can’t believe ive been watching these since middle school, i jusr finished my first semester of music school your videos definitely gave me inspiration to analyze music from a young age, thank you
Man, I’m not the only one that gets emotional from this theme. ❤ it’s one of my faves of the entire game. Also happy 8-years man! I’ve been enjoying since the beginning 🎉
A challenge with this type of video is that often times, the narrator talks about a part of the song while a different part is playing in the background. This pacing in this video is absolutely perfect, i love singling out specific parts and having that audio compliment the narration!
I wish you went more into detail about the harpsicord. I don't know why but my ear always seemed to tune into the pattern the harpsicord plays, as if that was the main melodic part of the song. I love this song for how every aspect of the music blends into itself.
I think there's something to say about the instrument choices as well, how the piano with its fullness feels like a solid ground for the harpsichord sharp attacks work like clockwork, the glock give us a fragility with the high pitch sustained attacks and the choir to be a thin transparent veil covering everything together into a single piece
also how immersion inside songs is often achieved through repetition and estaticness, enhancing the whole ehtereal mood of everything I effin love this song aaa
first off, congrats on 8-years!! I think I’ve been subbed since ~2018, and can’t believe how fast it’s gone in some ways. second, I wholeheartedly agree with your praises for this track. While I do enjoy the Switch era Zelda soundtracks, and they’re clearly produced with an extremely high-quality, I miss when the OST’s were more melodically driven like this game.
Please do more on Koji Kondos pieces or even a deep dive into his entire anthology. I’ve always been mystified by his work since A Link to the Past in the early 90’s and he is probably my favorite composer ever, I’ve never heard any music quite match his style and I’ve never known why. This video is amazing!
Im so happy with u, hope someday u can notice me, I speak Brazilian portuguese and sometimes I need to do other things to understand better your videos, I REALLY love to study with your vídeos, u ARE a gift! THANK u so much ❤
I love this theme so much ❤. One way I can describe it is looking at a burning or suffering world from a place of peace and tranquility, a bittersweet observation. In my opinion, this perfectly sums up the tones of the game in an elegant, mystical manner.
im so happy you finally did this video, this song means so much to me. there's a cover of it by Mark of Two that i've listened to for at least over 5 years now i think? its a beautiful rendition that constantly is evolving on itself to push the boundaries of the original 12 bars into a 6 minute piece, so its cool seeing the music theory behind the original ^_^
Very soulful in a way that reminds me of something like Let the Sunshine In, or the way the background vocals in the chorus of the Evangelion OP return to the 5th and 6th of the scale, even though that's common to do in the backing of a piece. Astral Observatory is probably one of the songs that got me INTO listening to instrumentals of vocal songs, because it acts like one. It does so much while staying "in the same place," which hypothetically gives a lot of room for another melody to come in right on top of it, but it never comes. Edit: Out of the whole analysis, 4:16 is my favorite point about this because I never thought about it, as someone who grew up listening to this familiar song every year of my life.
the music that gave me the feeling that i'm in for a very special adventure back then when i first played this game on november 17th 2000. has been my favorite game ever since then.
Man straight up read my mind... not even halfway through the vid and I already went to get the ten hour version to listen to after this vid finished. Always amazing analysis of the music and always awesome picks to analyze! Love your content and can't wait for more!
Hearing the Astral Observatory made me feel so calm as a child. It wasnt until i was older that i could appreciate the hopeful sadness saturating the song. Awesome video!!
I've never clicked a video so fast in my entire life. Like many others here, this song is very special to me. It captures so many feelings that are important to me. Thank you for helping me to understand it on a deeper level. Happy holidays, I hope you are well. ❤️
Congratulations! I'm also surprised it's been 8 years since I started enjoying your channel. This video absolutely made me day! I've been hoping you'd cover this piece. Hearing the enthusiasm in your voice is an added bonus! Great work, as always!!
Love your videos. My analysis is more simplistic since I don't know theory very well, but I always interpreted those two more unusual/off chords in the middle as reality seeping in. It's this beautiful location that feels peaceful but the moon is still falling and it sounds like a reminder of that darkness to me.
This was the video i always wanted but never asked for! love the song, learned it on piano and never knew why it felt the way it did! love your videos!
Thanks for this video, which I didn't realize I needed. Ever since I heard it, I've thought this piece in particular's one of Kondo's greatest works and didn't understand why. The way it has such a satisfying and hypnotic loop reminds me immensely of Pokémon's Petalburg City, which coincidentally also lasts 32 seconds before looping.
wait....... it's been 8 YEARS ALREADY??? WHAT???? Been subscribed since 2016, love your content to heart! Coming from a family of musicians, I always found fascinating how intricate the theory behind every music makes us feel different things. The techniques explaining what our hearts feel... That's wonderful... And I love how your videos detail those things in videogame music, which is still a (VERY) underrated form of art, especially by a lot of classical and professional musicians. Thank you so much for so many years of knowledge shared to all of us! And here's for MANY MORE!!! 🎉🎉✨✨
I played this game 15 years ago, it was raining and arriving to that area was just too beautiful that i cried, i still remember that day and the feels c: it's a warm memory
i think what makes the run so impactful is it uses the dissonance of starting on Bb and passing E, then softens it even more by slipping in the G#. spotlighting the diatonic tritone makes the context of the harmony immediately apparent. opening with the 4, the stable/consonant component of the interval, tiptoeing thru that dissonance, and cementing the floaty lydian feeling further with the 1-2-#2-3. so i think the rhythmic aspect of where the run lands in the meter could be a happy accident (although a septuplet would probably sounds just a little too sappy and overblown) but just piles in the sentiment. incredible work as always, and this piece proves length and complexity aren't needed to make something dense with technicality
8-year music theory. I have so little music education, but love all of your videos, I don't know a lot, but you make it easy to understand the technical and emotional parts of great pieces of music. Thank you for making such interesting, engaging and accessible videos 🎼🖥️❤️
OMMMMMGGGGGGG ! MY FAVORITE SONG EVER BY 8 BIT THEORY ???? I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT !!! Thank you so much !! Gonna be so helpful to know such things in my playing !!!
good to know im not the only one who hasnt been able to get this piece out of my head since it smacked me in the feelings like the moon colliding into the earth 20+ years ago
I had a hard time understanding the 4 3 5 separation as explained in the video, but after listening to the song a few times I understand it now. Thanks for the interesting content.
I've been watching since the FFVII battle theme analysis back in 2016, I was 12. 20 now, still just playing old, in college for game music. Thank you so much, its been a great time
The observatory, as well as MM as a whole, always holds a special place in my heart. I was so obsessed with the observatory during lockdown that I built a minecraft house replica of it. While I know nothing about music theory so most of this video is probably wasted on me, to me the opening scales always represented climbing up the stairs. You fight your way through the sewers as this wooden scrub child, pop a random balloon with snot magic, and climb up a ladder into some vague black darkness. You’re greeted with.. an eccentrics basement? The scales begin. Your eyes are drawn to the dancing scarecrow, the chicken in the cage, the colorful staircase. The theme hits its climax as you arrive at the top and see the wildly out of place observatory, owned by a kind man who’s friend to the bomber children. I agree with some of the other comments that talk about this theme making them want to cry. It’s always had that effect on me. I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs in the Zelda series. I hope you make more videos about MM songs, you’re earned a new subscriber :)
So much more going on in this song than you would think just listening to it. It seems so simple, yet hauntingly beautiful. This and the Milk Bar theme are some of my favorite Zelda songs.
I was hoping you would also cover this track. There is also a baroque influence there. And in other tracks from Majora's Mask. If you wanna see and hear the instruments isolated check out the visualization I made where I also discuss the music theory and cultural influences of the piece and the rest of this Zelda soundtrack
despite me wanting to play this game REALLY REALLY BADLY when i was a child, we never got it. i didnt end up playing it until last year and STILL the first time i heard this track ever i was just filled with nostalgia for something i’ve never experienced myself before
This video is fantastic for me since as a beginner piano player, Astral Observatory is the one song that I know how to play by heart at any time, I absolutely love it
I always thought this song was underappreciated and was going to learn it on piano soon. Gosh tyty for the transcription. That should help so much learning it.
As a kid/teen I used to just go to the observatory, set the controller down, and just listen to this song, sitting with the feelings and admiring the delicate emotions it evoked. It really tugged at me to lament and empathize with the sad origins behind Scarecrow Kid's story and naïvely poor behavior. I replayed Majora's Mask on Switch last year and I still felt the need to stay, listen for awhile, and sit in the feels and nostalgia 💚
This song is perfect for representing the Cosmos: it's comforting, frightening, deeply sad, and unfathomably beautiful all at the same time. It's one of those rare songs that's truly transcendent.
This song always floods me with nostalgia and hope. Peaceful and loving dreams. The water hose of truth and happiness comes and takes you back when you were a kid who was loved. This song is always overwhelming to me.
I really love the Astral Observatory, but as you said in the video how it almost seems like it could be the accompaniment to another melody, my favourite arrangement of the theme is from the fan opera Majora. It combines it with the wedding theme from the end credits in a beautiful manner.
One of my favorite Zedla songs of all time. One thing that I'd expand upon at 9:20 is that the last three chords do outline a vi V I progression which is very common and the reason for that is because the root is descending the circle of fifths. But if we go back to the previous two chords in the piece, we see that it is a continuous circle that loops onto itself until we hit what would be the tritone of the scale where we step out of key to drop a perfect fifth before doing a chromatic slide up in the bass to establish that tritone interval. We end up stepping down theough the entire scale in fifths. We have (E)m7b5, (A)7, (D)m, (G)7, (C)7, (F)maj, (Bb)maj7, (Eb)7#11. It's such a simple idea, but the harmonization around the movements makes it so great.
Thank you for covering this song. This is absolutely one of my favourite video game songs of all time 🥲 EDIT: Side-note, this song always reminded me of the beginning of Billy Joel's "Captain Jack"
What a wonderful song. I'll never forget the feeling this gave me in 2000, cursed into a twisted form and looking through a telescope at a world full of chaos, but finding some small comfort in the kindness of an old man.
This is the biggest reason the melody is so hauntingly beautiful. It's one moment of calm in a world of pain.
Beautifully said!
So true. The song and your comment just took my back. What an experience to have as a young person!
A truly special game. And I think it helps to have played Ocarina of Time first - as I think most people did. But if Majora's Mask was someone's first Zelda then while it will still be a great experience it would be missing that memory of becoming adult link and a legendary hero and how much that contrasts with the transformation into a sad Deku scrub along with Termina's more ominous and bizzare world.
8 year music theory
I remember being a kid with our Collector's Edition disc for the Gamecube. My sister would always make her way to the Astral Observatory and just... sit there. Listening to the music. It's quite the piece.
Yo, that’s how I first played Majora (and the series as a whole). I would also stick around, mainly because I was bad at the game lol. But it’s since become a piece of nostalgia that reminds of the days where I just enjoyed the novelty of playing video games.
Haha, I did the same thing! I still did it when I replayed it recently, too 😆
My theory is that the opening run was written at the end of the loop as a way to bring a little melodic flavor to close the loop, to keep the melody from feeling too static. Then he decided to stick it at the start of the piece as a pickup, hence the unintuitive rhythm. That’s my guess! Either way it’s such an amazing choice in such an amazing piece
I think you're exactly right.
I feel that the opening run tension is perfectly done because as the player, you're not expecting this bright and colorful area after traversing the dark sewers. It takes you by surprise and the music reflects that moment
I've been subscribed since your first video! Hadn't realized that's been nearly a decade
I can't believe it's been that long! Thanks for sticking around all this time!
Been here since the "Why does Mario sound Fun"-Video. Thanks for all the years of content
His first video was based on Zelda, no less.
dayum I also remember the first video, that’s 1/4 of my age 😭
@@whatsf2 whippersnapper
When I was a kid, I really didn't know what I was doing when playing Majora's Mask. I could never figure out how to leave clock town, or even get to the ocarina. My childhood memory of this game effectively ends after the peril and intensity of the sewers, entering the Astral Observatory - the first place that you feel safe. This song sounds like thay relief of safety, but also the sadness of knowing you'll have to face danger ahead. It's one of my favorite songs in the Zelda franchise, even if I didn't play the game all too much.
You should go back to it imho. My opinion that it’s the greatest video game ever made is perhaps the only favorite I’ve managed to choose of any category of thing…it’s one of those experiences that will give everyone something that speaks to them, and that’s coming from someone who normally has a lot of trouble with games involving realtime combat.
@NathanSimonGottemer back in covid I went back to it, but school got busy so I never went beyond the great bay temple. My winter break is coming up so maybe that's how I'll spend some of my time! I've always wanted to get back into it and this is the motivation I need haha
@@datnastysalad5616it's a lovely game. I hope you pick it up again.
I never could get too far as a kid, finding it both too difficult AND too scary. But I love it now. I'm in the middle of my first full play through. Made it into Stone Tower for the first time. Only took me 24 years.
bro same, half my time was listening to the music, watching my dad play, and using his save with the fierce deity mask to kill majora
Something I find interesting is the use of the choir MIDI instrument. In most N64 games' scores, as I recall, that choir instrument doesn't come in except for the big ending (Star Fox 64) or a place of great reverence (Temple of Time in Ocarina of Time). So here, after the frenetic build-up, we're hit with the choir and subconsciously realize, "Oh, this place is special." As other commenters have said, it's a place isolated from the chaos and despair of the world around it, a place to reflect upon your significance in the grander scheme of things, a place to feel safe for a moment even as time keeps ticking on. It's a really special piece, and I'm glad you discussed it! Helped me think about it in new ways, which is always a plus
I literally just learned how to play this song on the piano last week, because I had a strong, sudden surge of nostalgia. What a coincidence!
I need to start learning it too
this piece somehow manages to both capture the wonder and vastness of space with the comfort and familiarity of a night sky. it's the musical equivalent to glow in the dark stars or one of those projection lamps. it has a very sleepy, lullaby-like quality to it.
Idk why that comment unlocked my memory..i had those😭😭😭
I saw someone in your discord saying they had never played Majora's Mask, and I pity them. Coming into the observatory for the first time as an 11 year old kid in 2000, this world after having beat Ocarina of Time a year earlier the year prior- I felt emotional confusion. Decades later I realised that this moment was to teach children with innocence that there is hope in the face of grieving.
Even more eerie is the fact that I thought about this song this morning when I inexplicably woke up at 5:30 a.m. this morning before this video came out.
The piece oozes with a melancholic sense of nostalgia
I got this game for Christmas in 2001, hanging out in the Astral Observatory on Christmas Day while eating an oversized Hershey bar while holding a ridiculously large third-party N64 controller is a core memory for me
I can't say it's ever made me want to "cry", but I know what you mean.
I'd describe it as "awe-inspiring" perhaps, and energising
The piece is very melancholic and it fits perfectly with not only the theme of the game, but the part of the story that is being revealed to you when you first reach the astral observatory. You use the telescope to look at Skull Kid, who is a very sad character, and watch as a moons tear falls to the ground. Is that the Skull Kid's tear, since he created the moon? It's all very tightly coupled together thematically and that's why it's so emotional and memorable.
It’s melancholic but hopeful, awe inspiring, but foreboding. Like you know that this will come to an end in three days, that the moon will fall upon the observatory and all of termina, that the beauty of the astral observatory will soon be erased.
When I first played Majoras Mask I got kinda lost since I didnt know what I was suposed to do in Clock Town. When I managed to get to the Astral Observatory, the moon was about to crash and that creepy Last Hours song was playing, so I didnt get to hear this song. I rushed it to get back to Clock Tower on time... but I couldnt make it, the moon crashed and I had to restart.
That made me upset, but I am thankful it happened, otherwise I would have completely missed this amazing song. When I played again I already knew what to do so I got to Astral Observatory with a lot of time to spare, and I was completely surprised to hear such a beautiful song, it became one of my all time favorites. Time and time again I would go to Astral Observatory just to listen to it
Majora's Mask is literally the game that keeps on giving. And it was apparently made in a year. They straight up poured so much love into this game its insane!
The strangeness of the timing to disorient the listener and seamless looping fits the theme of a telescope peering into the twinkling stars and the vastness of space, no?
I was always so excited to get to the observatory as a kid, just for this song. Right up there with Stickerbush Symphony, Forest Interlude, and Aerith’s theme, it gave me a sense of euphoria in just how gorgeous it is ❤
It took me forever to get the secret code for the tunnel as a kid. Can't believe I almost gave up before I even got to the Observatory.
It's probably my favorite room in all of video games.
The themes of the music match with the themes of the game very well. The push and pull of darkness, wonder, and even some yearning are beautifully explored in such a short piece.
this is one of my favourite VGM tracks, I used to play it as a lullabye for my niece when she was little and she would always drift to sleep peacefully to it lol
Rozen did a breathtaking cover of this song, keeping the emotional core while developing the short loop into a full 4 minute song
It's magnificent, I'd highly recommend seeking it out.
Mark of Two similarly has a fantastic one.
This cover actually made me cry with emotion, Rozen does an amazing job elevating Koji Condo’s work in all his Zelda albums.
This is the SADNESS of the moon falling. Not the fear, not the denial, not the Nihilism. This is the sadness.
Makes sense that its when you get the moons tear
Sadness it'll end soon.
The safety and love will be gone.
This game holds a special place in my heart as it’s the only game I’ve ever played that actually moved me to tears, and it managed to do that with a callback to an implied part of a side quest’s story that shows during the end credits. This game achieved with 5 seconds of screen time what multiple others couldn’t with their entire storylines and musical scores combined. Just…wow
Happy you mentioned the glockenspiel overtone. That is the magic that can't be described. Theory in that regard, is pointless; it doesn't make sense, and it doesn't have to. It makes the piece mystical and wondrous, in two places at once: the vast openness of space. I find the more I listen to the overtones (especially in a slower version, it changes the harmony in very beautiful and cohesive ways even though it "shouldn't" make sense. I believe it was intentional to have it that loud-let the stars sparkle!
It’s so cool to learn the theory and see the science behind why I feel these things when I hear this piece. This makes me so glad I played my Astral Observatory remix in that show we played at the Rec Room haha
See you at Mag? Hopefully, but if not I got a hug waiting for you at VGM Con 💜
can’t believe ive been watching these since middle school, i jusr finished my first semester of music school your videos definitely gave me inspiration to analyze music from a young age, thank you
Man, I’m not the only one that gets emotional from this theme. ❤ it’s one of my faves of the entire game.
Also happy 8-years man! I’ve been enjoying since the beginning 🎉
A challenge with this type of video is that often times, the narrator talks about a part of the song while a different part is playing in the background. This pacing in this video is absolutely perfect, i love singling out specific parts and having that audio compliment the narration!
I wish you went more into detail about the harpsicord. I don't know why but my ear always seemed to tune into the pattern the harpsicord plays, as if that was the main melodic part of the song.
I love this song for how every aspect of the music blends into itself.
I think there's something to say about the instrument choices as well, how the piano with its fullness feels like a solid ground for the harpsichord sharp attacks work like clockwork, the glock give us a fragility with the high pitch sustained attacks and the choir to be a thin transparent veil covering everything together into a single piece
also how immersion inside songs is often achieved through repetition and estaticness, enhancing the whole ehtereal mood of everything I effin love this song aaa
first off, congrats on 8-years!! I think I’ve been subbed since ~2018, and can’t believe how fast it’s gone in some ways.
second, I wholeheartedly agree with your praises for this track. While I do enjoy the Switch era Zelda soundtracks, and they’re clearly produced with an extremely high-quality, I miss when the OST’s were more melodically driven like this game.
Please do more on Koji Kondos pieces or even a deep dive into his entire anthology. I’ve always been mystified by his work since A Link to the Past in the early 90’s and he is probably my favorite composer ever, I’ve never heard any music quite match his style and I’ve never known why. This video is amazing!
This reminds me of the chorus of "Walk on By" by Burt Bacharach. Beautiful piece!
One of the greatest pieces of video game music ever composed!
Im so happy with u, hope someday u can notice me, I speak Brazilian portuguese and sometimes I need to do other things to understand better your videos, I REALLY love to study with your vídeos, u ARE a gift! THANK u so much ❤
8-bit music theory notice this guy
Brasil sil sil!
Dude I was obsessed with this song for a while! I’m so happy you’re covering it!!!
The first full song I learned on piano was an arrangement of this. It is such a magical, warm blanket of a song!
Great video, as always!
I love this theme so much ❤. One way I can describe it is looking at a burning or suffering world from a place of peace and tranquility, a bittersweet observation. In my opinion, this perfectly sums up the tones of the game in an elegant, mystical manner.
im so happy you finally did this video, this song means so much to me.
there's a cover of it by Mark of Two that i've listened to for at least over 5 years now i think? its a beautiful rendition that constantly is evolving on itself to push the boundaries of the original 12 bars into a 6 minute piece, so its cool seeing the music theory behind the original ^_^
Very soulful in a way that reminds me of something like Let the Sunshine In, or the way the background vocals in the chorus of the Evangelion OP return to the 5th and 6th of the scale, even though that's common to do in the backing of a piece. Astral Observatory is probably one of the songs that got me INTO listening to instrumentals of vocal songs, because it acts like one. It does so much while staying "in the same place," which hypothetically gives a lot of room for another melody to come in right on top of it, but it never comes.
Edit: Out of the whole analysis, 4:16 is my favorite point about this because I never thought about it, as someone who grew up listening to this familiar song every year of my life.
the music that gave me the feeling that i'm in for a very special adventure back then when i first played this game on november 17th 2000.
has been my favorite game ever since then.
Man straight up read my mind... not even halfway through the vid and I already went to get the ten hour version to listen to after this vid finished. Always amazing analysis of the music and always awesome picks to analyze! Love your content and can't wait for more!
You made this for me my friend. This song has gripped me for... .25 years? What a masterpiece Thanks for talking through it
Hearing the Astral Observatory made me feel so calm as a child. It wasnt until i was older that i could appreciate the hopeful sadness saturating the song.
Awesome video!!
Absolutely fantastic video, as always! Super great explanations and analysis here! And spectacular choice of piece to cover!
I've never clicked a video so fast in my entire life. Like many others here, this song is very special to me. It captures so many feelings that are important to me. Thank you for helping me to understand it on a deeper level. Happy holidays, I hope you are well. ❤️
What does looking up at the night sky and seeing the imminent ending of everything feel like?
Koji Kondo knows.
Wow 8 years, I started watching your videos in 2018ish and have always really enjoyed them. Here's to many more years of great music theory content!
my god he's doing my favorite game song of all time it's HAPPENING
Congratulations! I'm also surprised it's been 8 years since I started enjoying your channel. This video absolutely made me day! I've been hoping you'd cover this piece. Hearing the enthusiasm in your voice is an added bonus! Great work, as always!!
WOAH my favourite channel performing an analysis on my favourite piece ever!! ❤
Aaaaaand now I want to play Majora's Mask again
Love your videos. My analysis is more simplistic since I don't know theory very well, but I always interpreted those two more unusual/off chords in the middle as reality seeping in. It's this beautiful location that feels peaceful but the moon is still falling and it sounds like a reminder of that darkness to me.
This was the video i always wanted but never asked for! love the song, learned it on piano and never knew why it felt the way it did! love your videos!
Been here since the beginning, an amazing journey learning about game music from you!
Thanks for this video, which I didn't realize I needed. Ever since I heard it, I've thought this piece in particular's one of Kondo's greatest works and didn't understand why.
The way it has such a satisfying and hypnotic loop reminds me immensely of Pokémon's Petalburg City, which coincidentally also lasts 32 seconds before looping.
wait....... it's been 8 YEARS ALREADY??? WHAT????
Been subscribed since 2016, love your content to heart! Coming from a family of musicians, I always found fascinating how intricate the theory behind every music makes us feel different things. The techniques explaining what our hearts feel... That's wonderful... And I love how your videos detail those things in videogame music, which is still a (VERY) underrated form of art, especially by a lot of classical and professional musicians.
Thank you so much for so many years of knowledge shared to all of us! And here's for MANY MORE!!! 🎉🎉✨✨
This is my favorite song in all of gaming. I love that you did this one! Definitely feels like Christmas!!! This made my evening!!!
Another video of yours that I love. This piece captivated me the first time I heard it. Thanks for the last eight years!
great analysis as always.
keep em coming, happy holidays!
and happy anniversary ;)
I played this game 15 years ago, it was raining and arriving to that area was just too beautiful that i cried, i still remember that day and the feels c: it's a warm memory
Koji Kondo didn’t have to go so hard for a room you visit once
eight years was a good feeling. I love your vids. and I always wondered about this as a kid. now I know more. thank you
i think what makes the run so impactful is it uses the dissonance of starting on Bb and passing E, then softens it even more by slipping in the G#. spotlighting the diatonic tritone makes the context of the harmony immediately apparent. opening with the 4, the stable/consonant component of the interval, tiptoeing thru that dissonance, and cementing the floaty lydian feeling further with the 1-2-#2-3. so i think the rhythmic aspect of where the run lands in the meter could be a happy accident (although a septuplet would probably sounds just a little too sappy and overblown) but just piles in the sentiment. incredible work as always, and this piece proves length and complexity aren't needed to make something dense with technicality
8-year music theory.
I have so little music education, but love all of your videos, I don't know a lot, but you make it easy to understand the technical and emotional parts of great pieces of music.
Thank you for making such interesting, engaging and accessible videos 🎼🖥️❤️
I love the way the glockenspiel sounds in this track. It’s unique
OMMMMMGGGGGGG !
MY FAVORITE SONG EVER BY 8 BIT THEORY ????
I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT !!!
Thank you so much !!
Gonna be so helpful to know such things in my playing !!!
I remember the Chrono Trigger nonfunctional harmony video like it was yesterday
good to know im not the only one who hasnt been able to get this piece out of my head since it smacked me in the feelings like the moon colliding into the earth 20+ years ago
Great song really evokes a sense of wonder. synth harpsichord and grand combo sounds odd on paper but are so complimentary here in practice
I had a hard time understanding the 4 3 5 separation as explained in the video, but after listening to the song a few times I understand it now. Thanks for the interesting content.
Happy anniversary bro. These videos are some of my favorite content on TH-cam.
We’ve been waiting for this! One of the best songs of all time. It has a special place in my heart after i played it as a kid and grew up with it.❤
I've been watching since the FFVII battle theme analysis back in 2016, I was 12. 20 now, still just playing old, in college for game music. Thank you so much, its been a great time
One of those songs I never quite know how to sing along to, but is utterly mesmerizing.
Majora's Mask really had so many bangers, I think about this song all the time
The observatory, as well as MM as a whole, always holds a special place in my heart. I was so obsessed with the observatory during lockdown that I built a minecraft house replica of it.
While I know nothing about music theory so most of this video is probably wasted on me, to me the opening scales always represented climbing up the stairs. You fight your way through the sewers as this wooden scrub child, pop a random balloon with snot magic, and climb up a ladder into some vague black darkness. You’re greeted with.. an eccentrics basement? The scales begin. Your eyes are drawn to the dancing scarecrow, the chicken in the cage, the colorful staircase. The theme hits its climax as you arrive at the top and see the wildly out of place observatory, owned by a kind man who’s friend to the bomber children.
I agree with some of the other comments that talk about this theme making them want to cry. It’s always had that effect on me. I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs in the Zelda series.
I hope you make more videos about MM songs, you’re earned a new subscriber :)
So much more going on in this song than you would think just listening to it. It seems so simple, yet hauntingly beautiful. This and the Milk Bar theme are some of my favorite Zelda songs.
i always saw this as a in-space theme, with the scale intro being us breaking the atmosphere and entering the vast space after
amazing anaylsis as always, thank you for being such an amazing resource to learn theory from
Great Song and great breakdown. Thanks 8-Bit!
I was hoping you would also cover this track. There is also a baroque influence there. And in other tracks from Majora's Mask. If you wanna see and hear the instruments isolated check out the visualization I made where I also discuss the music theory and cultural influences of the piece and the rest of this Zelda soundtrack
Appropriate plug. I'll check you out.
we meet again¡ Your Zelda essays are literally a game changer
I hear that kurzweil piano and roland harpsichord… also the editing here is really slick with the camera always moving around the space
despite me wanting to play this game REALLY REALLY BADLY when i was a child, we never got it. i didnt end up playing it until last year and STILL the first time i heard this track ever i was just filled with nostalgia for something i’ve never experienced myself before
been waiting for someone to make this video my whole life it feels like
You did this amazing song justice!
This video is fantastic for me since as a beginner piano player, Astral Observatory is the one song that I know how to play by heart at any time, I absolutely love it
I always thought this song was underappreciated and was going to learn it on piano soon. Gosh tyty for the transcription. That should help so much learning it.
It also makes me wanna cry too.
Such a beautiful song for such a small part of the game
As a kid/teen I used to just go to the observatory, set the controller down, and just listen to this song, sitting with the feelings and admiring the delicate emotions it evoked. It really tugged at me to lament and empathize with the sad origins behind Scarecrow Kid's story and naïvely poor behavior.
I replayed Majora's Mask on Switch last year and I still felt the need to stay, listen for awhile, and sit in the feels and nostalgia 💚
This song is perfect for representing the Cosmos: it's comforting, frightening, deeply sad, and unfathomably beautiful all at the same time. It's one of those rare songs that's truly transcendent.
One of my favorites, I am guilty of spending hours listening to this! this video was super informative!
This song always floods me with nostalgia and hope.
Peaceful and loving dreams.
The water hose of truth and happiness comes and takes you back when you were a kid who was loved.
This song is always overwhelming to me.
I really love the Astral Observatory, but as you said in the video how it almost seems like it could be the accompaniment to another melody, my favourite arrangement of the theme is from the fan opera Majora. It combines it with the wedding theme from the end credits in a beautiful manner.
Thank you man! This piece of music has haunted me for years
One of my favorite Zedla songs of all time. One thing that I'd expand upon at 9:20 is that the last three chords do outline a vi V I progression which is very common and the reason for that is because the root is descending the circle of fifths. But if we go back to the previous two chords in the piece, we see that it is a continuous circle that loops onto itself until we hit what would be the tritone of the scale where we step out of key to drop a perfect fifth before doing a chromatic slide up in the bass to establish that tritone interval. We end up stepping down theough the entire scale in fifths. We have (E)m7b5, (A)7, (D)m, (G)7, (C)7, (F)maj, (Bb)maj7, (Eb)7#11. It's such a simple idea, but the harmonization around the movements makes it so great.
Thank you for covering this song. This is absolutely one of my favourite video game songs of all time 🥲
EDIT: Side-note, this song always reminded me of the beginning of Billy Joel's "Captain Jack"
This is definitely one of my favorite vgm tracks. Its so good
Yes, this video is definitely for me. Totally made my day.
Always LOVED this song. Thanks for the deep dive.
I had my partner play majoras mask for the first time yesterday and heard this banger, it’s just too good ❤