2-49: Memories of Melodies

Uncovering the Familiar

It was a calm Saturday evening, and I was having an early dinner with my friend’s family when something very particular caught my attention. The first time I heard the melody from the live acoustic guitar of the musician in the dining room, I didn’t believe it was true. I thought for sure it was a different song that sounded similar, but after hearing the melody for the second time, I knew that it was none other than the theme song of The Legend of Zelda.

I must have heard this theme song a few hundred times throughout much of my adolescence, and even into the past few years. It helps that I know how to play this song on the piano, but it is simply unforgettable. The two beginning notes before the march up to the high notes hit the most nostalgic of nerves. Hearing these notes, I was instantly transported to my childhood living room, sitting there with my Dad and brother as I watched Link riding his horse Epona, fighting off the villains of Hyrule.

Before the guitarist had played this song, I hardly noticed that he was playing at all. In the middle of a conversation, these notes pierced through my subconscious and brought me back to so many different times and places. The theme song, present in most if not all of the many games in the series, has surfaced across many of the games that I’ve played, and I can vividly recall when they were and where I was. They are, importantly, all very fond memories of exploration, overcoming challenges, and relaxing with family.

These notes were a set of keys that I didn’t know existed. Maybe it was the live guitar and the simplicity of the notes being played without anything else that made the feeling that much more nostalgic. Whatever it was, it was thirty seconds that felt like an hour of me jumping through the times and places where I have heard that song throughout my life.

I’m sitting here wondering how many more times I will hear these notes played together over the rest of my life. Will sequels be made that will echo this theme song? Undoubtedly, I will continue to play it on the piano until I can’t anymore. I sincerely hope that, well into my old age, hearing this peaceful song brings even more fond memories to mind, transporting me to places that I have yet to even experience.