#1 | Beginning of the Journey — The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1991)

Or "I have some harmony here... Guess which hand?"

Composer: Koji Kondo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Track Type: Loopable
Placement: "Fairy Theme" (including the "file" screen--a fairy IS the cursor)
Key: F# (+Extra circle of fifths)
Chord progression: ǁ:B6|A#mb6|G#m6|F#6ǁB6|A#° D#7b9|G#m|C#7:ǁ
Functional map: ǁ:IV6|iiib6|ii6|I6ǁIV6|ii°>V7b9>|ii|V7:ǁ
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 80BPM (Andante)
Scale: F# Major (+Chromaticism)
Instrumentation: "Fantasy ensemble" (Harp-like instruments selection)
Lenght: 0:23 (8 bars)
Structure: A (theme), A' (development)

"Beginning of the Journey" may sound like a regular run-of-the-mill "IV-iii-ii-I" progression--and it... kinda is? But Master Koji Kondo took things seriously when he picked the "arpeggio" route for putting literal "harps" to use in this composition/arrangement. So, what's going on with that?

Well, firstly there are two simultaneous arpeggios at work--one supporting the main "thematic" melody line, the other hinting at some extra harmony intel while (also) cleverly working as a counterpoint device on the 2nd half of each bar. Glueing it all together there's an "acoustic" bass lining up the listener's perception of pulse (even if plays hide-and-seek at times by syncopating notes or even dropping them altogether for movement and novelty).

What's interesting in Kondo-san's approach here is: none of the arpeggios alone is enough for allowing us nailing the actual chords progression down. In order to do that we must take a step back and see it all as a cohesive unit, but... we can still learn a thing or two analysing each "hand" individually.

The "bottom" arpeggio (the one closest to the bass line) works within a tetrad framework (mostly dropping the 5th for the 7th), but it isn't entirely conclusive because there are places where octaves replace other "expected" informational notes. Close enough, "doable" with a bit of "filling the gaps" work; but things get really interesting if we take a look at how the upper hand works by itself.

Playing that line alone gives us an impression that it's the most "reliable" one because it "appears" to build the melody over regular triads. Simpler is usually right... right? I'd say so, yeah, but here we could end with an... interesting, to say the least (even though I truly like it as, maybe, a Dark World version of the original intent) progression. Try it for yourself and tell me if isn't quite a ride:

RH arppegios as triads:

Re# (5)	Do# (5)	Si  (5)	La# (5)    |	Re# (5)	Mi  (3)	Re# (5)	Si  (5)
Si  (3)	La# (3)	Sol#(3)	Fa# (3)    |	Si  (3)	Do# (T)	Si  (3)	Sol#(3)
Sol#(T)	Fa# (T)	Mi# (T)	Re# (T)    |	Sol#(T)	Sol (5)	Sol#(T)	Mi# (T)
-------	-------	-------	-------    |	-------	-------	-------	-------
G#m	F#	E#dim	D#m	   |	G#m	C#°	G#m	E#dim

By cross referencing that with the bass we realize the actual intervals and arrive to a more complete understanding of how the piece works. Here is the same data table coupled with the bass extra info:

Re# (3)	Do# (3)	Si  (3)	La# (3)    |	Re# (3)	Mi  (5)	Re# (5)	Si  (7)
Si  (T)	La# (T)	Sol#(T)	Fa# (T)    |	Si  (T)	Do# (3)	Si  (3)	Sol#(5)
Sol#(6)	Fa# (6)	Mi# (6)	Re# (6)    |	Sol#(6)	Sol (7)	Sol#(T)	Mi# (3)
-------	-------	-------	-------    |	-------	-------	-------	-------
B6	A#mb6	G#m6	F#6	   |	B6	A#°	G#m	C#7
						D#7b9

So, are those chords 6th-ed or 7th-ed in the end? Of course, you could use both! But 6ths and 7ths rubbing shoulders in the same octave may take a toll on the "comfort" feel the theme aims for. Still, the 6th could be overlapped to become a 13th, but then it can clash with the melody itself... So I personally went for a solid cluster 6th approach because it informs the composition's intents better--even without the melody.

Lastly, the A' reharmonization: it uses a cool "ii-V-i of ii" trick, and as the "ii" is minor that allowed Mr. Kondo to get away with that A#° via harmonic minor scale. Fantastic stuff, frankly.

Take a listen to the original theme and an impromptu rendition of it I did a while ago. Pro users will be able to access sheet music for this theme plus a link for its interactive sheet at Soundslice. See ya next week!