Saria's Song

"Saria's Song" is a song that made its debut in and that has continued to made several appearances in various  games. This melody usually serves as background music for places that are related to forests or woods.

Ocarina of Time
"Saria's Song" is a tune taught to Link by Saria. He learns "Saria's Song" as a symbol of friendship when he visits her in the Sacred Forest Meadow, and playing the song allows him to communicate with Saria at any time. When Link speaks to her, Saria will provide 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.

"Saria's Song" can be used to ease troubled minds, as seen when Link plays the melody to cheer up Darunia and receive the Goron Bracelet in return. . By playing this tune to the Skull Kid in the Lost Woods, he will give Link 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.

A Goron near the shortcut to the Lost Woods in Goron City states that all Gorons love "Saria's Song", which serves as the background music for the Lost Woods and the Sacred Forest Meadow.

Majora's Mask
In, Saria's Song serves as the background music for the Woods of Mystery and when Pierre is dancing with Link. It also plays during the scene where Tatl, Tael, and the Skull Kid are playing in the woods. During the ending of the game, the Skull Kid mentions that Link has the same smell as the fairy kid who taught him that song in the woods, assuming he is the same Skull Kid as the one in Ocarina of Time.

The song makes a last appearance after the game credits, where the tree stump showing a drawing of Link, Skull Kid, Tatl and Tael appears.

The Wind Waker
Part of the inside of the Forest Haven's background music is a segment of "Saria's Song".

Twilight Princess
"Saria's Song" appears as part of the Sacred Grove theme. Also, the Skull Kid plays the melody on his instrument from time to time.

''Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
In, "Saria's Song" can be heard as background music for the third dungeon, the Deku Temple. The song is also used as the Bana Bana boss theme.

Super Smash Bros. series
In, "Saria's Song" appears as an alternative background music on the Great Bay stage, also serving as Young Link's theme song. "Saria's Song" can also be heard at the end of the Ocarina of Time medley in.

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 could 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.

Either way, the obviously 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

 * Through the use of cheats, it is possible to play "Saria's Song" and the "Sun's Song" in Majora's Mask. "Saria's Song" has no effect except changing the background music to "Final Hours".
 * The melody of the song is taken from a section of "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity" from The Planets, by Gustav Holst.