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Inside The Score – Banjo-Kazooie – Lose/Win Mini-game

Sad trombone, happy fanfare

The duality of man (bear). 

First, for the wounded victims of Mr Vile we have the universal loser anthem, the sliding down trombone that has mocked contestants since ancient times whenever they give wrong answers or fail tasks in game shows. This series of sad notes tap into the most primal instincts that humans developed, or even mammals; descending movements physically go from higher energies to lower energies due to the connection between frequency and wavelenght. So it is not surprising that a situation that is meant to be deflating and dispirited is accompanied by its equivalent aural movement. The glissando ability of the trombones attach an extra mockery dimension, adding insult to injury. A muted trombone is characteristically used in these situations, where a mute is a device brass players use to lower the volume and/or alter the timbre (tonal quality) of the instrument, often mimicking the human voice. Like many other tropes used frequently in cartoons and popular media it most likely has its origins in American Vaudeville and pantomime where information about internal emotions was conveyed in an easy way via aural cues. It can also be done in onomatopoeic way by the human voice.

Musical Analysis

Structure: Section 1 / section 2

Tempo: 100

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: A Chromatic; C Ionian/Major

The cue descends in chromatic fashion, with Grant adding some extra notes to spice the trombone. The tritone is of course featured in the marimba trills that accompany the piece. Meanwhile, there is an added snare roll, usually used to create anticipation and excitement, but here most likely used to ground both the winner and the loser cue in the same orchestral framework.

And the winner cue is also exactly what you would expect, the contrary to the sad trombone. It is a regal fanfare that celebrates trough the primal means of more energy; that means more notes, faster notes, in ascending fashion, and opting for a stable, diatonic major chord as opposed to the dissonance of chromaticism. These cues are used throughout Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel for many other mini games or races. Since in the game files its name is attached to the character Bogey, it likely means both tracks were originally composed for Freezezy Peaks, which was an earlier level than the swamp during development and then repurposed for all remaining mini game challenges. It is to these frost lands where we put our sights on. Not before encountering another Gruntilda deserter.

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