Inside The Score - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Giants' Theme

The five saviors of the land

The mysterious lands of the guardian deities of Termina; Link can only access these after defeating the influence from Majora in each of the four cardinal directions: south, north, west and east. The giants, inspired by the Chinese god known as pangu, are the four protectors of the world. These giants made a promise to the people of Termina a long time ago; they swore to protect them whenever they were in need. It is the task of the Hero of Time to make the fulfillment of that promise possible.

So Link gains the honor of being welcomed to each of these gods’ pure lands, an ethereal realm with strange properties where the theme of the giants play; there is hope for Termina after all. The land has not been forsaken by its friends, they just need a little help waking up.

Like always, the combination of the visuals, the music and the sound design create outstanding moments in the memorable scenes where the giants are on screen. The fact that they can’t even communicate directly with Link and their unforgettable sounds have to be interpreted by Tatl, the fairy companion, also gives them an even more otherworldly, although more believable dimension, seeing as how a mere mortal could not even begin to comprehend beings of such a higher level.

A song full of a hope at the brink of desperation, just waiting there for someone, anyone to come and help. There is also a sadness to it, as if the gods are admitting that they have abandoned their friends but they want for the people to know that they still have every intention to help them. Nonetheless, there is still a sense of guilt and wanting to correct a wrongdoing. it’s truly the sound for when you are at the mercy of something bigger than you; just close your eyes, kneel down and throw your hands up in the air.

If Majora’s Mask didn’t already have a main theme, the Giants’ Theme would be a strong contender for being that cornerstone theme that glues one of the important thematic beats of the narrative; that you have to fulfill your promises. This song personifies the notion of sacrificing in order to save someone else.

Musical Analysis

Structure: Section 1 / Section 2

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 66

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: D Phrygian; D Aeolian/Minor; D Harmonic Minor; D Dorian

Like many a great Koji Kondo track, it uses very few instruments and relies mostly on melody and harmony to derive all of its power; product of the training Koji had during the NES era where restrictions in quantity and timber were the order of the day, so only melody, voice leading and harmony would do; no way to hide behind lush orchestration or powerful music production techniques, just pure music at its barebones. A few elegantly placed notes are all that is needed to make this short piece feel sacred, sad and hopeful at the same time. You can feel the sense of responsibility Link and the guardian deities are feeling. The harmony can be thought of as:

Section 1

Dm – Eb add9 – Dm – Eb add9 – Em7 (b5) – [A aug7-A7] – Dm

Section 2

Dm7 – G – Bb – Dm – [A aug 7-A7]

Normally the song would end on a Dm but on the lands of the giants it is designed to loop back to Section 1. We will need to wait and fight for that coda.

The goal of this particular voice leading is making the bass line move half steps. The melodic sensibilities of Kondo is what produces the multiple colorful chords thanks to the dance between the bass melody and the melodies present in the harmony.

Section 1 can be thought of representing the plea for help to the gods, and Section 2 the part where the deities decide to take action and descend to intervene in the world of the mortals, where the celestial choirs shall join the piece.

Kondo uses here a brand new technique for the upper part of the strings: a tremolo. The harp and female choirs are your standard fare for any godlike beings, the former arpeggiating up to give that sense of hope—seeing how they are also heavily used for the golden goddesses.

The song will reach its most effective application at the end of the game when the four giants manage to stop the unrelenting moon in an impressive cutscene that gains extra cinematic depth thanks to a full blown rendition of the Giants’ Theme. Could this music have been originally composed to this final scene? It is likely since the tempo matches the rhythms of the characters’ movements and Section 2 has that quality that perfectly adapts to the moment when all the combined power of the guardians mange to stop the cataclysm. And rhythms of the action is something Koji Kondo has always paid attention to, so perhaps this track is a shorter reprise of that grand theme.

But how can Link communicate with the guardians of Termina then? Music. It will be the connection between them as the first giant teaches Link the melody that can call for help; a true religious chant that is appropriately called the Oath to Order. It’s up to the Hero of Time that this oath along with the roar of the giants can be heard across all four corners of the world.