Ethan Wang IB Music Blog

 For my composition project, I decided to use Breath of the Wild's Main Theme, or simply known as "Track 1" in the game's track list, not only because Breath of the Wild is one of my favorite games of all time, but also because I consider the Main Theme (along with the rest of the soundtrack) to be iconic. Melodically, the piece is very complex, but I thought I could tackle the challenge. In order to stay true to the original purpose of the stimulus piece, I attempted to borrow the exact same chord progression, with some minor changes. The original score I used did not have the most accurate chords, so I had to figure a lot of it out by myself. I also took out some of the more complex chord progressions in the piano part—either due to my limited technical skills in MuseScore, but also to give room to the Double Bass solo; for example, in measure 29 of my composition, it looks something like this:  Whereas in the original, it looks something like this: Given the contex...

Medium: Piano and Double Bass Tonal Center: Goes through many different key changes, switches between major and minor keys. Piece starts in Eb Major, ends in C Minor.  Time Signature: 3/4 Tempo: 101 BPM Texture: Polyphonic Form: 32 bars.  Melodic Devices: Mostly conjunct, but there are also some disjunct intervals in the piece. Compromised of 8-bar measures. Uses the pentatonic scale.  Main Harmonic Ideas: Borrowed Chords -Given that there are so many key changes, it's often hard to tell what key it's in -There are borrowed chords being littered throughout the song: the most prominent example is the chord being played last: for instance, despite being a D minor chord, there is a B-natural being played, which is an accidental.   

Analyzing Video Game Music: Breath of the Wild’s Main Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWBG6_jn4Y The music I will be analyzing is Breath of the Wild’s “Main Theme”, simply listed as “Track 1” in the official soundtrack. Composed by Manaka Kataoka in early 2016, this was initially written for Breath of the Wild’s trailer at the E3 of the same year. This is a super unique piece that I’ve never heard anywhere else, and is one of my favorite video game themes to this day. Although it utilizes an European orchestral theme, modern synthesizers and ancient traditional instruments, such as Shinobue and Ehru, are also blended into the composition.  The piano opens and closes the piece; European orchestral instrumentation such as strings, horns, and percussion are also present in the tune. There is some special instrumentation, with the Shinobue, a Japanese flute is traditionally made of bamboo and characteristically gives off a sweet, high registered sound, and an ehru , a double ...

  Personal Context: includes music that has significance to the student and that they are familiar with Local context: this includes music that has local significance, but that may be unfamiliar to the subject Global Context: this includes unfamiliar music from different societies and cultures. -in the name: distant global region that was not previously accessible to the student.  Roles: Researcher, Composer, Performer Defying Gravity from Wicked  Melody: piano, drum kit, trombone, strings, 2 vocalists with a chorus  -mostly sung by Idina, high range or tessitura, movement by leaps in  -Harmony: in the key of G Major, uses G major diatonic chords. Could be thought of as being in D mixolydian. -Texture: Homophonic: Main melody with supporting voices -Meter: tempo is 136 bpm 4/4 time Form: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus Style: Broadway Musical Context: Personal or Local, meant to entertain and accompany a theatrical performance Vocal: heavy use of ...

  Texture: Call and Response  Ostinado: a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout a work or a major section of a composition (Pacabell’s Canon) Context: Purpose of Music  -Ceremonial Music (Coronation) -Sacred Music  Chamber Music: small groups, meant to be played in a “Chamber.” -Many different types of bands: Jazz Bands, Bluegrass Bands, etc.  Create 3 new pages on blog 1st one: “Area of inquiry One - Music for social-cultural and politics. “ This area focuses on music that expresses and communicates social and cultural messages, conveys political ideas and/or helps preserve social and cultural traditions. 2nd one: “Area of Inquiry 2: Music for listening and performance” This area focuses on music that expresses and communicates intrinsic aesthetic values. Such music is sometimes referred to as absolute music. Area of Inquiry 3: Music for dramatic impact, movement and entertainment This area focuses on music for supporting choreography, dance, f...

 Section 1: Triads Major Triads: Major third, perfect 5th      Minor Triads: Minor third, perfect fifth      Augmented Triads: major third, aug. fifth Diminished Triads: minor third, diminished fifth Inverting Chords: changing the position of the notes 1st inversion: bass note is now 3rd of the chord 2nd inversion: 5th is the bass note of the chord Section 2: Seventh Chords: -4 notes total in the triad: triad + seventh -Major triad and a minor 7th = dominant 7th chord -major triad + major 7th = major 7th chord -minor triad + minor 7th = minor 7th chord -fully diminished 7th chord Section 3: Diatonic Triads: every major and minor scale has seven specials triads which are found from that scale's notes. -pattern for major scales: maj, min, min, maj, maj, min, dim, maj -Natural minor: min, dim, maj, min, min, maj, maj, min -Harmonic Minor: min, dim, aug, min, maj, maj, dim, min -Melodic minor: min, min, aug, maj, maj, dim, dim, maj  Section 4: Texture...