My mother was never really interested in video games, cartoons, or anything that I really liked. I’d ask her to play Super Smash Bros. with me on occasion, but she only made it a few rounds before wanting to do something different. She was a big movie fan, but for the most part, our tastes were vastly different.
It was clear that I got most of my creative spark from her side, as she’s a musician with a love for art and even writing back in her youth, but sometimes there was a bit of a gap when trying to start a conversation. However, one thing in particular that brought us together was music, and there was one time when The Legend of Zelda played a part in this.
There were many times when we would venture from Long Island to Pennsylvania to visit my godfather and two of my childhood best friends, who had moved there as well in my middle school years. The car ride would usually range from two-and-a-half hours to four hours depending on that wonderful New York traffic, but it gave a lot of time between the two of us to talk, and she was always one to chat. Usually, the subject would revolve around one of two things: our faith, or music.
Both topics we could go on about forever, winding up with some pretty deep things to discuss, but sometimes, with music especially, we would have more fun, lighthearted conversations and I got to share some of the music I loved with her. She’s a jazz musician first and foremost, but she loves other types of music as well and plays a little bit of everything. I can appreciate jazz, but my heart lies within more classical mediums, broadway-esque musical numbers, and movie scores. That being said, it was no wonder why I loved music from Zelda so much.
She would usually let me play what I wanted in the car, and sometimes I would put on Zelda music. We’d start talking about it and she was always surprised that it came from a video game. She found herself really enjoying some of the tracks as well, even to the point where she loved taking me to live concerts featuring songs from its score. We went to both The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony together as well as Video Games Live, and we both had a wonderful time.
I always figured she had fun in the moment, but I never really knew if anything really stuck with her like it did me. That is, until one day when I was downstairs in the basement, playing some video games as usual, and I heard her start to practice on the piano. Whenever she had an upcoming gig, sometimes she’d just play an assortment of tunes as a warm-up. Most of the time I wouldn’t be able to recognize the songs she played, though occasionally she’d play one of my favorites from Phantom of the Opera or Disney that I really liked and I would catch myself listening along.
That day, however, she played a different song that I recognized, and it was from Zelda!
There was no melody to it, but I recognized the chord progression in an instant, even if it was played in a slightly different style than the original game score. It was undoubtedly “Gerudo Valley.” When she finally started to play the melody, there was a lot of improvisation, which was to be expected. She had only heard the song a few times, plus her roots as a jazz player probably kicked in, but I could still pick out the tune.
I went upstairs to verify with her if that’s what she was playing and she confirmed it. We only talked for a little while about it as she had to go perform, but it was still so amazing to me that she genuinely liked this song that came from something so special to me.
I recall when I first began to play Zelda music, she would beg me not to play “Saria’s Song” over and over (even though it was one of my favorites) and I didn’t think she would ever take an interest in it. She actually started to help me learn many Zelda songs on the piano, but unless she was showing me what notes to hit, I never heard her play it on her own. Then, I heard her playing it for myself and honestly, it made me so happy. I guess that’s how she feels whenever I play the ’70s disco music she brought me up on when I was a kid. It’s so nice to share something with someone you love and to know that they genuinely love it in return, and I hope we continue to share more with one another in days to come.
