Analyzing Compositional Style in the Music of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Abstract

The soundtrack of The Legend of Zelda: “Ocarina of Time” is rife with fascinating and innovative musical techniques which facilitate player engagement and interactivity. The composer Koji Kondo’s unique style, which often includes the use of modes, chromatic harmony, parallel motion, and proximal voice leading techniques, differentiates this game from others of the same era and efficiently communicates important narrative information like emotion, setting, and trope. Using these musical topics makes Kondo’s works distinct and recognizable. These musical elements also contribute to the game’s overall goal of immersion. By analyzing the characteristics of Kondo’s work, similarly effective stylistic topics can be implemented in new, original compositions to accomplish the same feats as Kondo’s famed soundtracks. The purpose of the project is to develop my personal compositional style which is audibly identifiable while also functioning as nuanced video game music. Some of these nuances of game music include the added challenges of player engagement and the necessity of continuous music; the duration of the music is not predetermined like a live performance or film score. Achieving this goal involves the analysis and recreation of Kondo’s original works, including simulating the limitations of the 1990s era game console hardware. Also, to modernize the findings of this project, similar analysis and experimentation is applied to works of other game composers, exploring the growth and changes in compositional techniques in games throughout the past several decades. The culmination of this research is my own body of original compositions which aim to achieve the goals outlined above. These works include both acoustic and digital pieces of music, and a live interactive suite for medium ensemble.