The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time #2 Playable Songs

Bolero of Fire

The "Bolero of Fire" is taught to Link as an adult by Sheik in Death Mountain Crater after the hero receives the Goron Tunic from Darunia's son and enters the crater. By using the Ocarina of Time, the melody allows Link to warp to the Death Mountain Crater, right before the entrance to the Fire Temple.

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Music Theory

The "Bolero of Fire" is a short, 6-bar piece in triple time. Harmonically, the piece is rooted in D minor and follows a very basic harmonic progression (i - ii° - i - ii° - V7 - I). The piece consists of 2-bar phrase lengths in the standard bolero style. The accompanying parts to Link's Ocarina are the famous snare drum excerpt from Maurice Ravel's "Boléro."

Nomenclature

Bolero is a name given to certain slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and songs. There are Spanish and Cuban forms, which are both significant and both of which have separate origins.

Minuet of Forest

The "Minuet of Forest" is a Warping song taught by Sheik when Link first enters the Sacred Forest Meadow as an adult. When played on the Ocarina of Time, it warps the Link to the Sacred Forest Meadow right before the entrance to the Forest Temple.

Even though the song warps to the Sacred Forest Meadow, the message appearing after playing it asks if Link wishes to warp to the Lost Woods. This was corrected in Ocarina of Time 3D.

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Saria's Song

Saria teaches "Saria's Song" to Link as a symbol of friendship when he visits her in the Sacred Forest Meadow in Ocarina of Time. Playing the song allows Link to communicate with Saria at any time. When Link speaks to her, Saria provides him with information about what to do or where to go next in his quest. If Link opts not to speak to Saria, Navi will ask if he wants to speak with her instead.

Link can play "Saria's Song" to cheer up Darunia and receive the Goron's Bracelet in return. By playing the song to the lone Skull Kid in the Lost Woods, Link a can obtain a Piece of Heart. Once Link turns into an adult, he must play "Saria's Song" in front of Mido in the Lost Woods to gain access to the Sacred Forest Meadow.

"Saria's Song" also serves as the background music for the Lost Woods and the Sacred Forest Meadow.

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Music Theory

Saria's Song is based on three main notes, F, A, and B. The tonic of the piece is F, resulting in a scalar mode of F Lydian (a major scale with a raised 4th). Although this is where the piece is based harmonically, it is still overall ambiguous in its harmonization, as accidentals in the harmony later on in the piece suggest that the piece is in fact in C Major and it simply starts on the 4th scale degree and a IV in the harmony. The modal basis of the piece is a way to make the song sound more medieval and removed from classical western music.

The piece is in duple meter and is constructed in binary form (an A section and a B section, with a short intro on tambourine) which is looped "ad infinitum." Both A and B sections are characterized by straight-forward dance rhythms in metric groupings of two. The A section is 8 bars long (in 4/4 time) and the B section is 10 bars long, which can be viewed as a 6 + 4 hypermetric grouping.

Trivia

• In Ocarina of Time, a Goron near the shortcut to the Lost Woods in Goron City states that all Gorons love "Saria's Song."

Scarecrow's Song

In the two games in which it has appeared thus far, the "Scarecrow's Song" can only be up to eight notes long, allowing any combination of the C and A buttons as long as they are not a duplicate of one of the game's other tunes or the same eight notes in a row. This melody only has an effect when either Navi in Ocarina of Time or Tatl in Majora's Mask fly over to a spot and change their color to green or blue, respectively. Upon playing the Scarecrow's Song, a Scarecrow appears in the place indicated by Navi or Tatl, allowing Link to use the Hookshot to bring himself to it.

The Scarecrow's Song is not a requirement in order to beat the game. However, it still serves to:

• Retrieve Otherwise Out-Of-Reach Items
• Provide Shortcuts such as being able to provide Link access to the top of the maze in front of the Forest Temple entrance, thus avoiding battle with the Moblins inside.
• Avoid Otherwise Unavoidable Traps such as many places inside the Gerudo Training Grounds.

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In Ocarina of Time, young Link must travel to Lake Hylia and show Bonooru, the scarecrow in the soil by a fence, his Ocarina. He will ask the young hero to play him any melody that is eight notes long and see if he can memorize it.

However, in order for the "Scarecrow's Song" to function properly, Link must return as an adult and play the same tune to Bonooru. The Scarecrow will be so happy to hear it again that he will offer Link the services of Pierre, the other Scarecrow, who is wandering the lands of Hyrule by this time.

Having learned the "Scarecrow's Song," Link can now use it to summon Pierre whenever he is nearby. He can call upon the Scarecrow when Navi flies to a far off area and turns green, even though there appears to be nothing there. If the young hero plays the song, Pierre will spring out of the ground. Once summoned, Link can grapple onto Pierre with his Hookshot or Longshot and pull himself to otherwise impossible-to-reach locations.

Serenade of Water

The "Serenade of Water" is one of the warping songs Link learns as an adult in Ocarina of Time. It is taught to him by Sheik after obtaining the Iron Boots in the Ice Cavern, and enables him to easily warp to Lake Hylia, where the Water Temple is located.

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A serenade, or "serenata" is a musical composition or performance in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music. The word Serenade is derived from the word "sereno," which means calm, making it fitting to the smooth and relaxing tempo of the "Serenade of Water."

Song of Storms

The "Song of Storms" is taught to Adult Link by the Phonogram Man inside the Kakariko Windmill in Ocarina of Time. When played, it can summon rain, reveal secret grottoes, and water Magic Bean sprouts to produce Fairies. In several areas throughout Hyrule, if Navi turns green, Link can play the "Song of Storms" to summon a wingless Fairy which restores Hearts and the Magic Meter. If Link plays the "Song of Storms" inside the Kakariko Windmill as a child, it will speed up the windmill dramatically, causing the well to drain and open the access to the Bottom of the Well.

The song can also be played to the Fabulous Five Froggish Tenors in Zora's River to obtain a Piece of Heart.

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Music Theory

The "Song of Storms" is in triple time and features a 4-bar intro. The rest of the piece is 7 bars long and looped ad infinitum, with the last bar of the 8-bar melodic phrase overlapping with the first bar of the intro. Even though the piece is only 11 bars long, it uses two different sets of instrumentation to add variety. The first set primarily uses an organ for the melody, while the second set uses an accordion and glockenspiel or celeste. Harmonically, the piece is set in D Dorian with a brief use of B-flat Major.

Link's experience with the "Song of Storms" is known as a bootstrap paradox. The Windmill Man teaches adult Link the song because of his fury at the damage young Link brought by playing it. After traveling back in time, young Link uses that knowledge to cause the damage that led to the Windmill Man's fury. Therefore, Link could not have learned the song if he had not gone on to play it to the Windmill Man's in the past.

Zelda's Lullaby

"Zelda's Lullaby," also known as the Melody of the Royal Family, and "Zelda's Lullaby," is a recurring song in The Legend of Zelda series. Since its debut in A Link to the Past, it usually serves as background music whenever Princess Zelda appears and is thus considered to be her theme song. It appears as a playable melody in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.

"Zelda's Lullaby" is taught by Impa after initially meeting Princess Zelda at her courtyard. It is a sacred song with mysterious powers passed down by the Royal Family for generations, and it also served as a lullaby for the young Princess Zelda. "Zelda's Lullaby" plays a major role in solving numerous puzzles in the game, such as raising water levels in the Water Temple, entering Zora's Domain, and opening other hidden passages. The mark that usually signals the need to play "Zelda's Lullaby" is a Triforce symbol, as seen when opening the Royal Family's Tomb and changing the water levels in the Water Temple.

According to Impa, only members of the Royal Family are allowed to learn "Zelda's Lullaby"; as such, playing this tune helps prove Link's connection to the Royal Family. After Ganon has been defeated and Link and Princess Zelda are talking in the sky, the princess sends the young hero back to his original time by playing "Zelda's Lullaby" on the Ocarina of Time, further demonstrating the melody's mysterious powers.

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