Inside The Score - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Oath to Order

A plea for action

We’ll… be… there…

The ultimate promise in a game about promises; the song that symbolizes that the gods of Termina are with their people. When the last ray of hope banishes, they are to be called to save the land, appearing from each corner of the world. A true pledge for help and a mantra that will only have a sole effective use in the entire game; no other ocarina melody is as exclusive.

Compared to the hopefully Giants’ Theme, for which it is often confused with, their ocarina song has a darker edge, specially in the accompaniment, which uses a Phrygian profile just like in the first part of the Giants’ Theme to create the sense of ancientness aided with fifths intervals. By using only the notes of a D minor chord for the melody, the song pretty much fits in any part of the Giants’theme, which also uses D minor tonalities; just like the giants themselves, this song consists of a motif of just 4 notes.

The deity is desperately trying to communicate these notes to Link.Thankfully, Tatl catches the message and proceeds to interpret the tune to the hero.

This mournful sound is because the oath is truly meant to be a religious chant made with an ocarina playing a similar melody contour to what a congregation would sing in a solemn fashion for a religious ceremony.

Musical Analysis

Structure: Section 1 / Section 2

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 66

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: D Phrygian

Like many an orchestrated ocarina melody, the piece functions as a duet between the voice of the giant and Link’s instrument. As stated, the song is meant to work in tandem with the theme of the giants, so it sticks to the notes of a D minor chord, a chord that fits with any of the harmonic profiles of the Giants’theme. It also retains the same tempo; we will have the opportunity to hear them fused together, as intended, at the very end of the game.

The giant sings its phrase (the voice is probably a tenor opera singer pitched down and enhanced with effects, similar to the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars), then Link responds just like he used to with Sheik; the notes simply go down the minor chord and then up.

The accompaniment is the same as on the theme from the giants but it sounds more monolithic and ancient by virtue of using low perfect fifths as opposed to the full chords. The harmony goes:

D5 – Eb no3 add9, also known as Ebsus2 – D5 – Eb no3 add9 (the add9 adds to the mystery and incomprehensibility of these beings).

Dm – Eb – Dm

Seriousness at the beginning, sadness at the end. The compromise of the gods combined with their guilt for being powerless—Majora’s Mask is short of triumphant Mario cadences.

Surprisingly, the female choirs are an integral part of the sound design of the giants, with Kondo using the low register of this choir sample to engulf the giant’s voice in an ethereal shine; otherworldly is the order of the day so using this particular choir in an unnatural way was preferred to simply using the male choir.

It will be quite some time before Link can witness the power of this tune or, you know, perhaps just 72 hours.