Chapter One: The Hero of Legend
Chapter One: The Hero of Legend
“Before I enter the sleep that calls me to the sword, I wish to relay to you words that I recorded many times over the course of our journey. Many have said them to you thus far, but I now wish to say them for myself. Thank you, Master Link. May we meet again in another life.”
- Fi, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011)
The Legend of Zelda is known for employing a combination of diegetic and nondiegetic music. Skyward Sword is one of only three games in the series to feature diegetic music so prominently that players are required to participate in musical production to advance the plot.[1] Variations among the ways in which players initiate the creation of music in Skyward Sword as compared to other games in the series are indicative of changing methods of musical dissemination throughout western history. While the culture in The Legend of Zelda is purely fictional, 2013’s The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia confirmed that the creators utilized existing world cultures as models for the universe they constructed.[2] As such, certain aspects of Western culture permeated the narrative of Skyward Sword that provide a correspondence to major periods of western musical history.[3]
The Earth Below the Clouds
Skyward Sword opens with a prophetic nightmare acting as a prologue. A cut scene reveals a wild and desolate earth inhabited by a gargantuan monster later revealed as “The Imprisoned” – a manifestation of the evilest being in the realm.[4] When the audience is first introduced to the protagonist, Link, this nightmare has caused him to oversleep. Upon waking, he quickly rushes to meet Zelda, his closest friend. This act introduces players to the land Link and his people inhabit known as Skyloft – a large section of land magically suspended miles above the surface of the Earth. This suspension is the result of efforts by the Goddess Hylia to protect its inhabitants from harm after an ancient battle destroyed the majority of the Earth below the clouds.
Zelda urges Link to practice for the impending Wing Ceremony, an annual competition among the youth in the Knight Academy in honor of the Goddess Hylia.[5] Participants must ride around Skyloft on their loftwings, powerful birds left behind by the Goddess to guide her people, in pursuit of trophy. The student who reaches the trophy first is declared the winner and receives a special gift from the person acting as the Goddess that particular year. As Zelda is acting as the Goddess Hylia in the present ceremony, she is adamant that Link must succeed. Eventually, Link wins the competition and receives a sailcloth which functions as a makeshift parachute throughout the course of the game and becomes paramount to his survival. Zelda and Link decide to celebrate by riding their loftwings, at which point a cyclone tears through the sky and knocks both of them off their loftwings and towards the earth below. Players are left with an image of Link and Zelda falling before the screen blacks out.
When Link awakens, he is in his bedroom. The headmaster informs him that while he was saved by his loftwing, Zelda fell down below the clouds and is currently missing. This is particularly worrisome as the present generation of human beings centuries removed from those who were first sent into the sky by the Goddess. The Earth below the clouds is a complete mystery. Some do not believe anything could possibly exist or survive there at all. It becomes clear that Zelda is in danger and Link is forced into action to rescue her. It is in the ruins of the Earth from the ancient battle that a number of musical and iconographic cues remain that further reinforce the official franchise timeline. This will be discussed further in subsequent sections of this chapter.
The narrative of Skyward Sword is divided into three main sections devoted to a particular task. Each must be completed in order to advance towards the fulfillment of the next task. As such, Link obtains crucial skills, information, and weapons throughout the game that prepare him for the final battle with Demise. The three tasks are as follows: travel below the clouds to search for Zelda, locate and activate the second Gate of Time, wield the Triforce to bring about the end of Demise. These endeavors undertaken throughout the game require Link to travel to each of the three areas left on the earth below: Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and Lanayru Desert, thus providing Link with opportunities to familiarize himself with the uncharted land below the clouds.
The initial objective to find Zelda is complicated by several factors. First, Zelda is accompanied on her journey by a guardian appointed to her by the Goddess known as Impa. Because Zelda has a guide, she is able to easily move from one objective to another. As such, Link has to do the work of two people by himself and often arrives at a given area too late to actually speak to Zelda. Despite this, Zelda and Link have three encounters below the clouds. Two of these take place in sacred areas known as the Earth Spring and Skyview Spring - where Zelda must purify herself as part of her destiny. Within these springs, Link finds two tablets that combine to form a cohesive map of the earth below the clouds. This allows him to pinpoint specific locations and travel freely between them and Skyloft throughout the course of Skyward Sword.
While exploring the third region known as Lanayru Desert, Link discovers that the entrance to the Temple of Time has been destroyed. Because it has been confirmed that Zelda is inside of the Temple, it becomes imperative that Link find an alternative entrance to the Temple. Thankfully, Link is able to enter the temple from underneath through an area previously used for mining known as the Lanayru Mining Facility. After navigating through the temple and defeating the boss within, Link hears Zelda performing The Ballad of the Goddess and hurries to meet her. Zelda’s performance of The Ballad of the Goddess was meant to awaken the Gate of Time which would allow Zelda and Impa to travel to the specific moment in the past just after Demise had been defeated by the Goddess.
Just as the Gate of Time is awakened, Ghirahim a demon servant of Demise responsible for the cyclone that formed after the Wing Ceremony arrives and attempts to attack Zelda. Impa intervenes and urges Link to return to the Sealed Grounds to speak to the old woman in the temple. Impa assures Link that she will know where he must go next. Zelda hands Link the Goddess Harp insisting that he will need it to continue on his journey moving forward just before she and Impa step through the Gate of Time. Impa destroys the Gate of Time after they step through to ensure that Ghirahim will not be able to follow them. The act of destroying the Gate of Time is essentially a double edged sword. While it does guarantee that Ghirahim will not be able to follow them into the past in order to complete his goal of sacrificing Zelda’s soul in order to resurrect his master Demise, it simultaneously makes certain that Link will not be able to follow them either.
Upon arriving at the Sealed Grounds, Link is informed by the old woman in the temple that there is a second Gate of Time located within the temple itself. However, this Gate is dormant and can only be activated by a skyward strike from the master sword left behind by the Goddess. While Link is in possession of that sword, he must endure several trials before the sword can be restored to its former power and glory. In order to do so, Link must purify the sword in three sacred flames – the locations of which are hinted toward within the lyrics of The Ballad of the Goddess. As such, Link must seek someone in Skyloft with knowledge of the piece who remembers the lyrics in full. However, before Link travels back to Skyloft, the old woman teaches Link how to play the Goddess Harp.[6]
After speaking with Headmaster Gaepora at the Knight Academy and learning the rest of the lyrics to the Ballad of the Goddess, Link learns he must travel to the Isle of Songs to learn three separate songs: Farore’s Courage, Din’s Power, and Nayru’s Wisdom.[7] These pieces unlock a sacred realm trial meant to test the hero of legend in the corresponding area below the clouds. These trials allow for Link’s spirit to grow to ensure that he is truly worthy of eventually wielding the Triforce. Additionally, upon completing these trials, Link receives a sacred gift that allows him to travel to new areas in each region in search of the sacred flames. Each of these new areas is also home to a new temple which must be navigated in order to reach these flames. After defeating each temple and purifying the Goddess sword in the sacred flames, the sword becomes the Master Sword – capable of repelling evil and reactivating the second Gate of Time in the Sealed Grounds.
Once the Gate of Time is reactivated, Link steps through and finds himself in the Temple of Hylia in the past. At this point, Zelda explains to Link that he must find the Triforce capable of immense power in the present and use it to wish for the destruction of Demise. It is revealed that Zelda is the spirit of the Goddess Hylia reborn and her quest below the clouds allowed her to regain certain key memories that would aid in the vanquishing of Demise. For her own protection, Zelda becomes encased in Amber and will remain in a state of slumber until Link succeeds in defeating Demise. Link then returns to the present and learns that he must visit three dragons from each area below the clouds to learn a section of the Song of the Hero. Once complete, the song will allow Link to find a fourth sacred trial that will lead him to the Triforce.
Link is eventually successful and destroys Demise. He travels to the Sealed Grounds and through the Gate of Time once again to wake Zelda, but is interrupted by Ghirahim who followed him. Ghirahim informs Link that while Demise is destroyed in the present, where they are in the past has yet to completely eradicate him. He kidnaps Zelda in an attempt to use her soul to bring Demise back to his full form. As Link heads to the final battle of the game, he must first conquer an entire hoard of hundreds of enemies before reaching Ghirahim. After successfully defeating Ghirahim, Link must travel to another dimension where Demise has been housed all this time to keep him from destroying the earth. Once defeated, Demise curses the souls of Zelda, Link, and himself. He vows that they will be forever entwined in battle. This revelation explains the several incarnations of Zelda, Link, and Demise or Ganondorf in preceding and subsequent games in The Legend of Zelda series.[8]
The Goddess Harp
The instrumentation in Skyward Sword is significant when one considers that there are only four games in the entire franchise that feature a musical instrument or accessory.[9] Skyward Sword features the Goddess Harp while Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask require gamers to “play” an ocarina. While both instruments have roots in a multitude of cultures, the way in which the audience is expected to engage with the instruments aligns the Goddess Harp with medieval European culture. As previously stated, The Goddess Harp is initially in Zelda’s possession for the first half of the game before being transferred to Link during the second half. When players are first introduced to Zelda’s character in the beginning of the game, Link finds her performing a familiar melody – The Ballad of the Goddess on the harp.
Figure 1.1: Link wields the Goddess Harp after learning the Song of the Hero.[10]
Zelda’s performance of a section of this piece through singing and accompanying herself with the harp is notable for a number of reasons. The style of performance is similar to performance practices associated with the Troubadours and Trouvères in the 12th and 13th centuries. The presence of these medieval practices can create an affiliation with these traditions in the mind of a player who has some knowledge of these practices. Additionally, the text of the ballad is written in an ancient language known as Hylian that was spoken by the indigenous people of Skyloft and their goddess Hylia. The Hylian language can be equated to Provençal, the langue d’oc, utilized by the Troubadours or the langue d’oil utilized by the Trouvères in their respective works.[11] The Ballad of the Goddess is specifically employed as a guide for the hero of legend that would one day help to eradicate the world of all evil as Link is fated to do in Skyward Sword. An analysis of the text of this piece makes this clear –
Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess
Unite earth and sky, and bring light to the land
Oh youth, show the two whirling sails the way to the Light Tower
And before you a path shall open
And a heavenly song you shall hear[12]
Further play of the game reveals that this text refers to Link’s eventual success at defeating enemies in the earth below and his discovery of the Isle of Songs.
All of the antecedent analysis is contingent upon one factor – a direct correlation to western culture. The use of the harp as the instrument left behind by the Goddess provides the correspondence necessary for this examination. In actuality, the curved shape of the Goddess harp more closely resembles that of a lyre than a harp. However, certain characteristics of the Goddess harp are consistent with medieval harps. “Medieval harps appear from pictures to have varied greatly in size and number of strings, some having as few as six or seven and some as many as thirty.”[13] The eight strings on the Goddess harp are indeed consistent with this initial classification.
This eight string construction suggests a diatonic tuning spanning one octave. Herbert Myers states, “Treatises throughout the medieval and early Renaissance period confirm that the basic tuning of all harps was diatonic – that is to say, there were regularly only seven notes to the octave. At the same time, there is some evidence that the medieval minstrel retuned his harp constantly for different pieces and maybe even during pieces; we often see the tuning key held ‘at the ready’ in early depictions.”[14] While this description of the medieval harp is consistent with the apparent diatonic tuning of the Goddess harp, the shape of the Goddess harp itself is different than that described by Myers.[15] Myers explains, “The body is an elongated resonating cavity, always running rather vertically and held close to the player’s own body in European harps; to it are attached the lower ends of the strings. The neck carries tuning pins, around which the upper ends of the strings are wound.”[16] The absence of tuning pins and spherical shape of the Goddess harp more closely align its design with that of the Greek lyre, thus creating parallels to ancient Greek culture.
Orphic Ideals and the Power of Music
Throughout Skyward Sword the relationship between Link and Zelda corresponds to that of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology. Orpheus, taught to play the lyre by Apollo, possessed an immense musical gift. “Carrying only his lyre, with the gentle power of his music he opened the gates of the underworld and bewitched the gods.”[17] The Goddess harp also possesses these qualities as it is utilized to open doors to sacred trials, realms, and locate the Triforce towards the end of the game. The myth of Orpheus is essentially a testament to the power of music and this power is also alluded to throughout Skyward Sword. For example, on the day that Orpheus and Eurydice were to be wed, Eurydice is bitten by a snake, passes away, and her soul is sent to the underworld. Orpheus travels to the underworld in hopes of retrieving her soul and uses his immense musical talent to convince Hades to allow her soul to return from the underworld.
This is contingent upon Orpheus leading Eurydice’s soul out of the underworld without looking back at her lest she be sent back. Unfortunately, Orpheus cannot help himself and her soul is forever sealed away. Link and Zelda share a similar fate as he travels throughout the world beneath the clouds to find her, only to have her ripped away from him just as the two reunite when Impa is forced to destroy the Gate of Time in the Temple of Time. If one were to equate the underworld to the earth beneath the clouds, then this act resembles the moment when Eurydice is ripped away from Orpheus when he turns around to look at her while leading Eurydice out of the underworld. Ultimately, Zelda’s final act of handing the Goddess harp to Link and insisting that he will need it to continue on his journey also serves to emphasize the power of music as it is impossible to complete the game without learning to play the Goddess harp.
Musical Analysis
The passing of the Goddess harp from Zelda to Link marks a pivotal moment in Skyward Sword. Music then becomes essential to finishing the game as Link is required to play the instrument to progress along his journey. After successfully defeating monsters locked away in temples in each of the respective areas left on the earth below, Link discovers that he must travel to the Isle of Songs, a desolate island in the sky created by the Goddess to help the hero of legend fulfill his destiny. When Link arrives at the Isle of Songs, he utilizes a Skyward Strike from his sword to activate a message left behind for him by the Goddess.[18] A small Goddess statue appears and begins to repeat a unique short monophonic motif for each visit after each temple has been conquered. Each motif corresponds to one of the three areas left on Earth.
Figure 1.2: Motif from Farore’s Courage.
Figure 1.3: Motif from Din’s Power.
Figure 1.4: Motif from Nayru’s Wisdom.
These three initial pieces must be learned to set three silent realm trials in motion. These trials are meant to challenge Link, allow for his spirit to become pure, and grow to become worthy of wielding the Triforce. Musically, these pieces are of particular interest in so far as they follow certain conventions of medieval harp performance and simultaneously break from them. If one were to believe that the eight stringed construction of the Goddess harp would suggest a diatonic tuning, transcriptions of motifs from Farore’s Courage, Din’s Power, and Nayru’s Wisdom do not allow for such a designation. The presence of both B-flat and G-sharp is not compatible with a diatonic construction.[19]
In his discussion of modern re-imaginings o medieval harps, Benjamin Bagby illustrates that two diagrams he provides “…suggest that a diatonic tuning with eight notes per octave was used on medieval harps … diatonic tuning therefore in this context can refer to either a harp strung with B-natural, B-flat only, or both. Chromatic tunings would imply the tuning in of any notes outside the hexachord system.”[20] While this would suggest that the necessity of a G-sharp or A-flat could be accounted for by retuning the harp, the Goddess harp does not possess tuning pins making this impossible. Although Link does generally play the melodic tunes presented here in transcriptions, when performing the pieces on the harp in order to access the sacred realm trials, Fi sings the melody while he accompanies her by playing chords. However, a harp capable of accompanying these passages with chords would still require either additional strings or tuning pins to be able to account for an accompaniment covering a range of modes and accidentals.
In the narrative of Skyward Sword, upon listening to these motifs, Fi, a guardian and servant of the Goddess left behind to guide Link throughout his journey, translates messages in Hylian left for the hero. These messages are similar to the message in The Ballad of the Goddess and contain hints for players of the game. Link’s treks to the Isle of Songs to learn pieces are notable because of Link’s method of learning these melodies. The short monophonic motifs are repeated until Link improvises over said melodies. This method of improvisation as a memorization tool is similar to that in the time of Guido of Arezzo in the 11th century. “ … It will be generally agreed that the best method, without quite excluding songs, will place musical improvisation in the foreground, on condition however that the teacher should have a guide at his disposal which aims both at the development of musical aptitude and acquisition of a certain technical skill such as singing from a score or taking down a melody heard.”[21] Because Link has just received the harp and had no previous knowledge of how to play the instrument, he can then be seen as a beginner learning to play the instrument for the first time through the use of improvisation with the repeating melody serving as a guide.
Link’s ability to learn by listening evolves throughout the course of the game. Once he has completed the three initial silent realm trials, he is informed by Levias, a warden of the skies appointed by the Goddess, that he must learn the Song of the Hero to continue. At this point, Link has already discovered the second Gate of Time located near Faron Woods and learned that he and Zelda are reincarnations of the original hero of legend and the Goddess Hylia, respectively. From this point on as a point of clarification, the name Zelda will be used to refer to both Zelda and Hylia. Zelda also already informed Link that the only way to truly defeat Demise is to find the Triforce, a sacred artifact of great power created by the Goddesses that created the earth.[22] The Triforce was sought by Demise as it has the power to bring any wish of the holder into fruition. Link must find the Triforce and utilize it to wish with all his might for the destruction of Demise. Only then can Zelda return from the past where she remained to ensure that Demise did not escape from where he was being held.
Figure 1.5: Full melody from Farore’s Courage.[23]
Figure 1.6: Full melody from Din’s Power.
Figure 1.7: Full melody from Nayru’s Wisdom.
Levias relays to Link that the Triforce is hidden somewhere on Skyloft. In order to find its location, he will need to learn the Song of the Hero – a four-part polyphonic work with individual parts taught to Levias and the three dragons from Faron Woods, Lanayru Desert, and Eldin Volcano respectively. In this way, it is guaranteed that no one but the hero would be able to find the Triforce. Upon traveling to each location, Link is able to learn the songs without the use of improvisation. At this point in the progression of the game, all that is required is for Link to listen to each part of the Song of the Hero twice to have learned them. Thus, implying his growth as a musician throughout the course of the game.
Figure 1.8: Part of the Song of the Hero learned in Faron Woods.
Figure 1.9: Part of the Song of the Hero learned in Eldin Volcano.
Figure 1.10: Part of the Song of the Hero learned in Lanayru Desert.
Figure 1.11: Part of the Song of the Hero learned from Levias in the Thunderhead.[24]
The Song of the Hero is musically significant because of its texture. The segments of the piece that Link learns from each dragon and Levias are monophonic. Because the game features a mixture of diegetic and nondiegetic music, the creators of the game could have easily added an accompaniment to the chants as they did when Zelda first performs The Ballad of the Goddess. It is the absence of this accompaniment that helps to reinforce the idea that these pieces are meant to initially be performed monophonically and then polyphonically when Link later gains access to the Goddess Harp in the future. Alongside the multitude of hints that have been left behind by the Goddess for the hero, these motifs and their manner of performance practice strongly suggest that the Goddess possessed the power of foresight. This would allow her to create melodies that could be performed both monophonically and polyphonically with musical accompaniment in the future.
Figure 1.12: Full polyphonic Song of the Hero.
Iconography and Symbolism
The last aspect of Skyward Sword that serves to reinforce the timeline is the iconography present throughout the game. The first indication of ancient origins comes from the architecture near the statue of the Goddess where Link meets Zelda at the beginning of the game. The marble statue of the Goddess is surrounded by square enclosures with several pillars. This structure is similar to the architecture of the Pantheon, dating back to the second century AD in ancient Greece. The Pantheon was built as an act of worship of the Goddess Athena, Goddess of wisdom. Because the Triforce is meant to embody three core values – wisdom, courage, and power, the Goddess and her later incarnations are all representative of wisdom which furthers the relation to ancient Greece.[25]
Additionally, bird iconography is present throughout several areas in Skyward Sword and all other Zelda games in the series. The bird image is directly linked to the loftwings left behind as guardians for humanity by the Goddess. The loftwings are of such importance that each citizen of Skyloft has one. Bird iconography can be found most prominently in areas or on items that are directly related to the Goddess. For example, it is found in the temple underneath the Goddess Statue, in the Sealed Temple where Zelda slumbers, on the Hylian shield that Link carries in every game, and on the sailcloth that Zelda made for the winner of the Wing Ceremony at the beginning of the game. Perhaps the most important iconographic cue in Skyward Sword comes from the design of the Gate of Time itself.
As seen in Figure 1.13, the Gate of Time serves as a testament to the importance of music in Skyward Sword. While the notes do not directly relate to any of the monophonic motifs learned by Link throughout the game, they serve as a symbol of the music Link must learn in each area in order to open the gates to the sacred silent realm trials as well as the parts of the Song of the Hero learned in each of the three areas represented by their respective symbols of water, fire, and earth. These three symbols are also representative of the three main characters. Zelda is commonly associated with water as a purifying agent, Link is related to the earth as he is human and dressed in green, and Demise is associated with red and the power of fire.
Figure 1.13: Artwork from the Gate of Time featured on the cover of Hyrule Historia.[26]
To conclude, the combination of aforementioned musical and iconographic cues present in Skyward Sword all serve to reinforce its placement as the earliest game in the overall chronology of the series. The presence of ancient ruins, choice of instrumentation, methods of musical dissemination, oral transmission of pivotal works performed by means of solo singing and accompaniment, and relation to Greek mythology and medieval influences all give the impression of an ancient culture left behind in the world beneath the clouds of Skyloft. As such, even without the aid of the official timeline and explanation revealed in Hyrule Historia, one would be able to accurately point to Skyward Sword as an origin story for the entire franchise and as a testament to the presence of ancient and pre-modern influence in our modern world.
[1] Additional games where diegetic music is paramount include 1998’s Ocarina of Time – the first game of the series to feature three-dimensional technology, 2000’s Majora’s Mask, 2003’s The Wind Waker, and 2006’s Twilight Princess. Neither Twilight Princess nor Majora’s Mask will be discussed in this report as the former only requires players to participate in musical practices while Link takes the form of a wolf and howls particular melodies to unlock fighting techniques. The latter takes place within the same span of time as Ocarina of Time. However, the events of Ocarina of Time factor more heavily into the overall chronology of the series.
[2] Patrick Thorpe, ed. The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. Translated by Michael Gombos, Takahiro Moriki, Heidi Plechl, Kumar Sivasubramanian, Aria Tanner, and John Thomas. Dark Horse Books, 2013.
[3] These correspondences are not entirely accurate. The examination of these characteristics will encompass later discourse.
[4] It is important to note that players are not in control during this prologue. The image of The Imprisoned acts as an external narrative before players are able to take any concrete action.
[5] The initial impression of Link portrays him as being both young and irresponsible for sleeping in on a day of such importance to his society. This makes their journey all the more horrifying as players as consistently reminded of their age in relation to the trauma the pair experience throughout the game. Additionally, the Knight Academy was established to train young Skyloft residents to become a sort of law enforcement. Knights are expected to patrol the skies at all times as there is the constant threat that one could fall off the edge of the city to their death.
[6] The significance of Link learning to play the Goddess Harp will be discussed in a later section of this chapter entitled “The Goddess Harp”.
[7] Analysis of these pieces and their melodic motifs will be discussed in the “Musical Analysis” section of this chapter.
[8] This revelation supports the official franchise timeline included in Hyrule Historia that explains that Skyward Sword is the first game in the overall chronology of the series despite being released in 2011.
[9] The musical accessory is a conductor’s baton known as The Wind Waker that Link uses to conduct the wind as well as Sages in The Wind Waker.
[10] “Skyward Sword Walkthrough.” Zelda Dungeon. Accessed April 6, 2016. http://www.zeldadungeon.net/skyward-sword-walkthrough/.
[11] Hylian may also be equated to other ancient or dead languages. Karp, Theodore. “Troubadours, Trouvères.” Grove Music Online, n.d. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/.
[12] The heavenly song referred to in this excerpt is the first of the three songs needed to reveal the location of the sacred realm trials in Faron Woods as previously mentioned. Additionally, it is important to note that The Ballad of the Goddess is also a strophic work which is consistent with works from the Troubadour repertory.
[13] Myers, Herbert W. “Plucked Strings - Harp.” In A Performer’s Guide to Medieval Music, 330–35. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Additional correspondence comes from Plato’s Republic in the fourth century in which Plato discusses a need for caution regarding “many stringed” instruments. As such, the eight string construction of the Goddess harp is consistent with the designations in place for the lyra and kithara. Mass, Martha. “Polychordia and the Fourth-Century Greek Lyre.” The Journal of Musicology 10, no. 1 (1992): 74–88.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Partridge, Christopher H. The Lyre of Orpheus: Popular Music, the Sacred, and the Profane. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
[18] A Skyward Strike involves pointing the master sword up towards the sky in order to imbue the sword with a special energy capable of activating dormant structures to reveal messages left behind by the Goddess for the hero of legend.
[19] It is important to note that these differences can be explained by an emphasis on intervals rather than pitch specific designations in medieval music. However, as will be discussed in the next chapter that examines Ocarina of Time, previous games have involved pitch specific transcriptions. As such, the decision to create pieces and motifs that operated in several separate keys is significant.
[20] Bagby, Benjamin. “Imagining the Early Medieval Harp.” In A Performer’s Guide to Medieval Music, 336–44. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000.
[20] Bagby, Benjamin. “Imagining the Early Medieval Harp.” In A Performer’s Guide to Medieval Music, 336–44. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000.
[21] Smits Van Waesberghe, Jos. “Guido of Arezzo and Musical Improvisation.” Musica Disciplina 5 (1951): 55–63.
[22] These Goddesses and their role in creating the earth will be further discussed in the next chapter focusing on Ocarina of Time as they play a more essential role in that game than in Skyward Sword.
[23] The following melodies represent a fully realized piece built upon the earlier motifs presented in this chapter. When Link is initially learning the pieces, the earlier motifs from Figures 1.2 to 1.4 are utilized as a starting point. However, when Link performs the pieces to access the sacred realm trials, he performs the full melodies as they are listed here from Figures 1.5 to 1.7. Additionally, it is important to note that players cannot control which notes are being performed. As an individual moves the controller in time with the music, the notes and chords change automatically to match what is being sung by Fi. Players must only concern themselves with the timing of the performances.
[24] While the earlier pieces were written in treble clef, the Song of the Hero has been transcribed in bass clef to reflect their lower range. As this piece is performed by dragons, their voices are capable of producing lower tones than that of Fi or the Goddess Harp.
[25] Link is meant to represent courage while Demise and his eventual reincarnations symbolize power.
[26] Needler, Matt. The Gate of Time, n.d. http://firedragonmatty.deviantart.com/art/The-Legend-of-Zelda-Skyward-Sword-Gate-of-Time-343198655.
