Instruments of the Legend of Zelda Series
- For a complete list of instruments in the Zelda series, see Category:Instruments.
Throughout The Legend of Zelda series, there are numerous instruments used to make music. Some of these serve important purposes, while others are simply for entertainment.
Types of Instrument
Woodwind Instruments
The most frequently occurring and most notable woodwind instrument in the Zelda series is the Ocarina. This includes the Bone Ocarina, the Fairy Ocarina, the Ocarina of Wind and most importantly, the Ocarina of Time. Of these, only the Fairy Ocarina and the Ocarina of Time are actually played note by note under Link's control, using the four C-Buttons and the A Button (on the N64) or the L R Y X A Buttons (on the 3DS).
Other woodwind instruments include various Flutes, such as the Recorder, the Strange Flute and the Spirit Flute (also known as the Spirit Pipes). Once again, only the Spirit Flute can be played note by note, using the touch screen and microphone of the Nintendo DS. Carben and Rael also play a flute and an oboe respectively.
Organs are considered woodwind instruments, as Ganondorf plays his theme on one in Ocarina of Time. In the N64 version it has only one manual and no visible stops, but in the 3DS version it has three manuals and 16 stop knobs. In several games, Guru-Guru cranks the Song of Storms on a small Street Organ. In Breath of the Wild, Kass plays a bandoneon.
The Horse Call and the Grass Whistles from Twilight Princess may also be considered woodwind instruments, as well as the Howling Stones and Air Stones, though it is Wolf Link's vocals that are played in the case of the former.
Brass Instruments
The Deku Pipes from Majora's Mask is a multi-belled horn. It is a transformation of the Ocarina of Time, activated when Link dons the Deku Mask. In Twilight Princess, the Skull Kid uses a strange four-bell horn to summon his Puppets. Skull Kid's horn is very similar to the Deku Pipes, both instruments being multi-belled horns, but the Deku Pipes has one more bell than Skull Kid's horn.
String Instruments
The first string instrument to appear in the Zelda series is Sheik's Harp, with which he teaches Link warping songs.
The Zora Guitar is also a string instrument, but again, it is simply a transformation of the Ocarina of Time, activated when Link dons the Zora Mask. Japas is the bass player of The Indigo-Gos, and Evan plays piano. The Happy Mask Salesman also teaches Link the Song of Healing with a very large piano.
The Harp of Ages is the first real string instrument to be played by Link. There are three possible songs to be played on it, all of which allow him to travel through time using Time Portals similar to the Dark World portals in A Link to the Past. The Sea Ukulele, another string instrument in Oracle of Ages, is one of the final objects of the Trading Sequence, however it is never seen in use.
In The Wind Waker, two string instruments are wielded by the Sages of Earth and Wind. The first is Medli's Harp which resembles a golden lyre, while the second is Makar's Violin, crafted from a large leaf, which he plays like a cello due to his size.
In Spirit Tracks, Gage plays a cello, and Steem plays a biwa.
In Skyward Sword, the Goddess's Harp was first owned by Hylia thousands of years ago, which she used to raise Skyloft. It is later owned by Zelda as a descendant of the Goddess, and she later gives it to Link to play various songs to open the gates to the Silent Realms. He also performs a duet with Kina in a sidequest. It is played by swinging the Wii Remote in time with a tempo or beat, using the Wii Motion Plus's added precision motion-sensing controls. This harp is supposedly the same harp that Sheik used later on during Ocarina of Time.[1]
In Breath of the Wild, an invisible electric guitar sounds whenever Robbie strikes a pose.
Percussion Instruments
There are only two percussion instruments which are playable in the Zelda series; the Bell, which Link uses to summon Irene to carry him around on her broom in A Link Between Worlds, and the Goron Drums (though these are a transformation of the Ocarina of Time activated when Link dons the Goron Mask). However, various gongs are seen throughout the series, including within the Swordsman's School. Link can strike these with his sword and they will sound one note.
In Majora's Mask, Tijo of the Indigo-Gos plays a drumkit. In Spirit Tracks, Embrose plays a timpani. In Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Hestu plays maracas.
Other Instruments
The Instruments of the Sirens are musical instruments obtained from each dungeon in Link's Awakening and used to awaken the Wind Fish. They span multiple music families and include a cello, a bell, and a marimba, among others.
The Wind Waker, although not an instrument, is treated as one in its namesake game. When used, musical notes play according to the direction and time the baton is conducted at. It can control the direction of the wind, the passage of day and night, and can even summon cyclones to carry Link around the Great Sea.
In Majora's Mask, the Music Box House is a building which contains a giant version of a normal music box's mechanism powered by a waterwheel.
Finally, vocals play a part in a few games, most prominently Wolf Link's Howl in Twilight Princess, which can mimic the sounds of the Grass Whistles and Howling Stones. Fi also appears to sing along to the notes of the Goddess Harp each time Link plays a song.
Gallery
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Ganondorf's organ
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Happy Mask Salesman's three-manual piano
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Guru-Guru's music box
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Makar's violin
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Skull Kid's horn
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Gage's cello
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Steem's biwa
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Embrose's drums
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Carben's flute
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Rael's shawm
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Kass's bandoneon
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References
- ↑ "The harp in Skyward Sword looks a lot like Sheik's harp in Ocarina of Time. Could it be the same one...?" (Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 11)