Why Stone Tower Temple's Music in Majora's Mask is so Iconic 

Stone Tower Temple is probably the most fitting fourth act the dev team could’ve come up with for this game. It’s atmosphere and it’s design are so indicative of Majora’s Mask that Stone Tower Temple is pretty much a perfect representation of the game itself. While I think they could’ve used it’s gimmick to greater effect and I think it has a few moments where it stumbles, I feel like Stone Tower Temple is unquestionably a great dungeon. And the music is exactly what the title of this video says it is: iconic. It’s one of the best dungeon themes in the entire Zelda franchise and it’s so distinct and fitting that it will stick with you long after completing the dungeon. Basically, Stone Tower Temple is awesome. Also, I think a song from the N64 games I’d like to see you guys cover is the ranch theme, like Lon Lon and Romani Ranch.

It falls into my top 5 Zelda songs... simple as that... the first time you enter the temple you see chests upside down and locked doors that make no sense... but then the little flute starts playing and you remember: -you just have to press A! “PBS Gaming” or someone said that like 8 years ago, and I can’t agree more

Stone tower took me years to beat growing up due to one of the enemies guarding an important switch I could never kill and the gim reaper enemy. Thus the temple has been stuck in my memory for years. The thing is though, it is still one of my favorite dungeons to this day. The story and architecture were the first time I got a glimpse at the deeper Zelda lore and the music to this day is like a soothing lullaby.

I knew of the combined instruments thing, but I never considered it being a flute in the inverted version. I always thought it was the ocarina. It really does lend credence to Majora (while using the Skull Kid as its puppet) decending Link into its hell. But I think it's more like, even though all three heroes have presumably come to grips with their deaths, they still linger on through Link, and are almost being used by Majora in a sense. Because their forms are being used by Link to aid him in his quest. I really went off the rails there. These are just such thought provoking tracks. Great video as per usual!

I would love an analysis of the 4 variations of the theme in MM that plays in the swamp, the snowland, the beach and the canyon. That is one of Kondos greatest compositions in my opinion.

Yep, absolute rookie mistake and I apologize. Please forgive me.

@@SaveDataTeam don't worry, is just a smaller detail in a incredible video.

I kept saying the same thing throughout the video. Even when twinmold appeared in the cutscenes😂I actually felt like such a diehard fan

Thank you 😅

Hahaha I caught it too!! Dude me and girlfriend have been waiting for this video for weeks!!! Finally!!! :)

😂😂😂

Apparently... he can

Fire temple

Aside from the music, design of the temple, the Ikana people and the Garo what about Poe Brothers Sharp and Flat?

Why do Sharp and Flat still linger in the ancient kingdom just like the Ikana and Garo?

Koji Kondo truly is a genius.

Yeah, it blew my mind too.

Yes, this was mind blowing.

​​@@thechampestofthemall And the stringed instrument isn't a guitar. So what? The symbolism is still there.

RIGHT?!?!!? I never thought of it like that! One represents Link the other one Skull Kid! 🤯 MY FLIPPING HEART DROPPED!

the entirety of majoras mask has some of the best music in gaming

@@monsieurlefrog8706 nothing truer has ever been said other than animals breathe

@@redstoxic9252 thanks buddy

Same for woodfall temple

@@monsieurlefrog8706 Really, I can't really think of many remarcable songs from Majora's...

Honestly it’s something I learned while doing this series 😅

Thank you!

Spot on

With Skull Kid probably being super-old, maybe even one or more millenia, since he is present in the townsfolk's legend of the Four Giants abandoning their imp-friend (and in the final cutscene before the credits directly talks with the Giants about this past event). Another contrast to Link.

I'm unsure if it's childish, but honestly I still love the comparison.

I’ll get to it haha 😅

I really want to see one for the twilight music from twilight princess. You know, this one.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bUwkjIXaHEI.html

Agreed 👍

That is the song we need analyzed

Subscribed. This was very informative. Love this song.

I'll go one above you. Stone tower temple might be the greatest dungeon in the entire series. It's definitely a Contender for all-time great Zelda dungeons

@@Matanumi It really is.

The only thing bad about the Stone Tower temple is the boss. Twinmold is frankly a boring boss and incredibly underwhelming...

@@sora4440 on the 3ds yea but the spectacle of the n64 version's was sick

Yeah, and I think this is further supported by the fact that there’s a Giant’s Mask in this temple. Clearly the ancient civilization wanted to reach the heavens with the power of the giants, and I’d even say potentially slay the goddesses.

In the Inverted song you can even get the feeling that they still intend to climb to the heavens, but like the drum beat, their attempts at climbing are vain, as they fall into hell with their mask, the Voice of the Goddess, rejoicing in their victory.

yesss

Need something?

Ah thank you! I’m a huge fan of your Skyrim series! 😅

Ah yes, JinnKid is an avid enjoyer.

Jinnkid waddup man, isn't Majora's mask a beautiful game!

So when will there be breakdowns of the song from Twilight Princess temples?

Yes. You put exactly what I was feeling into words. The Inverted almost has this coldness you'd only feel in the depths of space.

*anemic* drums. What a powerful descriptor.

This is exactly the feeling I've got from it!!

No way

Lost Woods?

Do you wanna enlighten us?? It sounds so interesting

Was it the flipped version or the original? 🤔

Shit, I hope you are ok!

i realized just a moment before he said the skull kid and i was like "daaaammnn" such a good video

But nothing could compare to the nightmare fuel giant turtle from the original majora mask

There is a lot of really cool things going on in both versions. It's a really cool track. (and I definitely agree with the increase in tech and sci-fi elements in future Zelda titles)

Stone Tower doesn't really feel sci fi

@@jaydenc367 Termina has a bunch of very advanced tech, aliens, also there's a moon crashing on the world.

@@grandsome1 Ok I know Terraria has those first two things but when you say Moon do you mean the Moon Lord?

@@jaydenc367 Reread his comment.

In the Spirit Temple video, he originally reversed the names.

Love me some Grant Kirkhope! Maybe someday I'll cover some Banjo-Kazooie music!

Sweet!

Fun Fact: Grunty's theme is based off of the 1932 Henry Hall song, "Teddy Bear's Picnic." What a coincidence! ;)

That’s true, his BK music does feature diminished fifths/augmented fourths (i.e. tritones) frequently and all over the place, but it’s important not to think that tritones must always necessarily evoke diabolical evil. While it’s true that, naturally, the tritone by itself has a naturally unsettling and even sinister sound, it can achieve other effects with the right context. For example (and I would say this is the main way in which Kirkhope uses the tritone for BK), the whole tone scale naturally features an augmented fourth (tritone), however the very distinctive effect of the whole tone scale is usually used to invoke a sense of intense mystery and very often magic and wonder. Another example (also used a bit in BK, I think) is the Lydian mode. There are seven modes (there are actually many more, but they’re all or mostly all derived from the main seven ones). IMO, A mode is best explained like this: if you establish what key you’re in - it doesn’t matter which so let’s say C major - then play all the notes of that key in a row, starting from the root note of the key (I.e. C) - C D E F G A B C - you get a C major scale. Now, a mode is where you do exactly the same as that, but you start from a different note than C *while keeping* the same key of C. Each of the scales you could play in this way - e.g. starting on D, on E, on B, etc. - show you what the notes are of a different mode - e.g. D Dorian, E Phrygian, B Locrian, etc. If you play the scale starting from F (still in the key of C major), you obviously get the notes F G A B C D E F. This is the Lydian mode, F Lydian in this case. The only difference between this and F major is the fourth note of the scale, B, which is lowered by one semitone to Bb (B flat) in the “normal” scale/key of F major. In a major scale, the interval between the first and fourth notes of the scale are what’s known as a “perfect fourth” (e.g. F to Bb), because that’s regarded as sounding very pure and neutral. If you raise or “augment” the fourth note of the scale by a semitone (e.g. change it from B flat up to B), that interval of a perfect fourth (e.g. F to Bb) becomes an augmented fourth (e.g. F to B) - **the tritone**. So, in any Lydian mode, the interval between the first and fourth notes of the scale is a tritone. Much like the whole tone scale, to me the Lydian mode and its characteristic tritone usually evokes a sense of mystery, but for me it always feels more like excitable anticipation of the unknown or restless, electrifying energy before exploration and adventure - that sort of thing. **TL;DR**: the tritone isn’t necessarily just “the devil sound” - it can achieve a variety of effects depending on the musical context in which it’s used. God I got so carried away - sorry for the essay

Woah uh... tldr discordance in short moderation can spice things up and make things jazzy, silly, or happy weird.

that would be excellent!! I love adaptive music in games.

Wasn't Majora's Mask already remade for the 3DS in 2015? I wonder if they would bring it to the Switch someday..

They probably won’t due to their new design philosophy which also killed Paper Mario. There are legitimate reasons for this, but damn I’ll miss the old philosophy of fun.

@@rojoscostanada8685 What killed Paper Mario? I haven’t played the newer games so I don’t really know what happened

@@rojoscostanada8685 What are their philosophies (old and new)?

Sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoy!

@@SaveDataTeam oh I will :) got an alarm set for when this is live so I can watch :D

Couple months here

Damn I didn't know that you were here!

Aw thanks!! Glad you’ve enjoyed the series so far! Hope this one is worth the wait! 😁

@@SaveDataTeam just finished it, wow. Realizing that each instrument in the theme is one of Link’s forms was super interesting! Another great video.

Thank you!

MUH BOI!

Yeah, there’s no indication anywhere this piece is in F. Whatever 25 year old midi website he nicked the sheet music from probably just had that key signature for no reason (transcriber was maybe fooled by the momentary b-flats in the synth male voice). It’s pretty firmly rooted in A minor throughout if you listen to the bass line. More importantly, F never sounds like the tonic if you play along on a keyboard.

It’s been over a decade since I read through most of it, so now I view everything through a “what was the tldr version of Samson, David, etc?” 😅

Speaking other languages doesn't stop us from communicating. Curious, but does the bibble explain why they gave up building the tower? There was likely plans, and knowledge of said plans... so the story just seems like one writen by a child with no knowledge of how language and communication works...

@@ericaallisonc well the language wasnt really the part that made them stop. they moved to various different places, and because they werent all at the location of the building, they couldnt continue to work on it. im not a "bible scholar" so i dont know why they separated, but the exact words are "Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That’s how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into “babble.” From there God scattered them all over the world." (thats a modern translation but the meaning is the same, dunno what the hebrew is bc i dont know hebrew :|) its honestly a really good question, one that i cannot answer in full. but yea, the language wasnt actually the thing that stopped them, even tho thats the way people say it alot of the time.

i mean it may be worth mentioning that they had never done any comunication that wasnt verbal up until this point, anyone that was deaf, mute etc. would just be killed, or shunned and they would make no effort to communicate with them. and everyone else spoke the same language so no reason to do anything else. and tehy didnt have a written language cuz they were fucking stupid. thats just observation tho, not sure about it (take it with a grain of salt)

Oh its definitely psychedelic. At least in a shamanic sense. The flipping of the tower representing as above so below and the spiritual nature of the journey being both ascending yet descending at the same time. It's pretty trippy to me lol

For me I have this vague category of music I keep that refer to as "Music that makes me Astral project into I-don't-know-where" and this definitely fits the vibe

That was my first reaction, too XD Good break down but I don't know what brass instrument sounds like that... though I'll concede at the right audio quality it *could* be

Yeah that was a distinctly a double reed sound, not a brass sound.

Yes I'm like that's obviously bassoon DUH

Yeah, say what you want, but Skyward Sword’s music really is top notch 🙌

@@SaveDataTeam Not everyone likes the controls (which I hope is rectified for people in the HD version) but it has great aspects like the music and design.

It’s known as Marsh Land

That would be a really cool analysis to see. The notes in the first measure are just... creepy! O.O (Hint: Look at the sheet music, and you'll see why)

@@KTSpeedruns lol! No! Those theme music tracks are called, 'Southern Swamp', 'Mountain Village', 'Great Bay Coast', and 'Ikana Valley'! :D

That is correct. "A Phrygian" has the same key signature as F Major, but because the music centers around the tonic A, it gives the piece a darker tone - not the happy tone we typically associate with a major key (i.e. Ionian mode, if we want to stay in the Greek modes). While the chanting is keyed in A Phrygian, the melody and the bass line is still playing in A minor, which is why one hears tritones when the melody plays the B natural and the bass line holds on the F natural. If you listen to Hebrew prayer music or Klezmer music, it will have a similar tone as Stone Tower Temple's music. This makes sense since an inspiration for the temple could be from the Tower of Babel from the Book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Hebrew Bible. Also, someone mentioned this earlier, but the broken 5ths played with the chanting in Stone Tower Temple's music (Non-Inverted) are played by an English horn, not brass. Also, the "flute" in the inverted Stone Tower music is played by an English horn as well.

I’d say it’s more A eolian or simply A minor since I don’t think there are any Bb anywhere in the tune.

@@greenbefore2828 there’s a Bb in the low half notes, which are parallel fifths: E-F-D and A-Bb-G.

@@hornguy04 you are right! I still feel like eolian is as present, if not more present than Phrygian in the tune. What has more weight, melody or harmony?

@@greenbefore2828 I don’t know. That’s the thing that makes it sound so eerie. It sounds like it’s in two different keys.

It’s too low to be an oboe, it’s a bassoon. But yeah, it’s a double-reeded woodwind.

@@ineedprofessionalhelp I'm thinking English horn, which is cool because it's the same instrument playing the melody when we first hear the theme for Majora's Mask.

@@ineedprofessionalhelp I think you mean too low to be an oboe.

@@ineedprofessionalhelp it’s a bass oboe, i think. too warm to be a bassoon.

Molgera’s theme is so good!! When I get to WW, I’ll have to think about how I cover the boss themes since they are all distinct from the temple’s themes in that game I believe.

I was about to comment the same. Upvote for you!

Yep, this was an absolute mistake on my part. Please forgive me

@@SaveDataTeam :D

Thank you so much!

Thanks! 😅

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

Thank you so much! Glad you've enjoyed this series!

Yeah, I had the same impression here, I believe this theme is in Am. I think Mr. Kondo wrote this modally instead. The chant uses a Bb indeed, which points to A Phrygian, with the melody using either a passing B natural or mixture to A minor, isn’t it?

@@thalesacguimaraes I believe so, yes. More of a phrygian feel overall. However, the dissonance between a flat and natural 2 between the bass and melody could be said to contribute to the feeling of unease. It's really anyone's guess, but what should not be anyone's guess is that this track is NOT based in any variation of the key of F.

@@UnknownSpooky ah, yes. Thanks!

Glad to help out!

Glad I wasn't the only one that noticed this discrepancy. Thank you!

yeahhhh it's literally just in A minor, in which b is Normally natural

He said he was going to do some requests for N64 songs and then move onto Twilight Princess after that sadly.

What is this theory called?

Ooh, I like that! That’s good imagery!!

Oh trust me, MANY people have corrected me on that one 😅 I’m embarrassed I said it twice

I’m at Twinrova on my first play through of OoT, getting ready for MM next, and honestly I’m just thrilled to hear it’s NOT another twinrova fight lmao AMAZING video, thank u!

@@guerrero975 Hey, congrats! how many medallions do you have? the spirit temple has to be my favorite just because of the music. how are you liking OoT?

@@hylianchampion8867 I’ve enjoyed it more than I expected given the whole 25ish years old thing!! I’m now at the final ganondorf battle, he destroyed me in his final form because I did NOT know how to get to his weak point-tail but next time..? Hyrule will be SAFE

@@guerrero975 Sounds good, I'll be cheering for you!😁👍 And OoT will always be awesome, even when it is 100 years old.

Yeah, a lot of people have pointed this out, and I think you’re all correct. I went off sheet music provided to me, and it seems even the others online are mostly in C. 😅 I might have to start commissioning people to draft sheet music for me in the future

@@SaveDataTeam I figured it had to be something like that. If you're just going off what the key signature says, then defaulting to F Major makes sense. What perplexes me is why was it written with that key signature at all? It would literally be easier to just leave it in A minor (in which there are no sharps nor flats) than having to write all those accidentals. It's ultimately a small issue and doesn't compromise your other points at all. This video is really good.

This is a REALLY good analysis of Stone Tower's music. I would definitely consider the points made here and revise the video to accurately reflect these points. For point 12, I think the string instrument is a dulcimer.

@@vgfan100 Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I hope the original poster enjoys the analysis.

Yep! I’m gonna cover some more songs for the N64 games and then go on to TP next

Glad you enjoy it!