Musical instruments from The Legend of Zelda series

Musical instruments have been featured in every game of , except in Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures and Phantom Hourglass. The instruments have different powers, ranging from summoning a creature, to changing the course of time.

The Legend of Zelda
In the original Legend of Zelda, Link obtains a recorder. When the recorder is played while wandering the overworld, it will either summon a Whirlwind to teleport Link to an entrance of a dungeon (in order rather than randomly), or will reveal certain secrets. It is also necessary to use this flute to defeat the boss of the fifth dungeon, Digdogger. The Recorder is referenced in Super Mario Bros. 3 as the Warp Whistle. In addition to having a similar purpose, it plays the same tune. The Recorder's song is also mixed into the title screen music of Ocarina of Time.

The Adventure of Link
The Recorder makes another appearance in The Adventure of Link. It is used to scare off the river guardian so Link can access Southern Hyrule, and at a later time to reveal the entrance to the sixth palace.

A Link to the Past
The flute looks more like an ocarina in A Link to the Past. Playing it in front of the rooster statue in Kakariko releases a bird, which can be summoned by Link in any open-air area in the Light World to fly him to any one of eight pre-determined warp points. It is also automatically used after the second battle with Agahnim to transport Link to the Pyramid of Power, where his showdown with Ganon takes place.

Link's Awakening
In ', the flute is called an Ocarina. Link must enter the Dream Shrine and go to sleep there, and then make his way through the shrine until he finally reaches the Ocarina. In the course of his journey Link will learn three songs: the "Ballad of the Wind Fish", "Manbo's Mambo", and "The Frog's Song of Soul". The Ballad of the Wind Fish is taught to Link by , and is used to enter the Wind Fish's egg. It may also be used to instantly destroy all Pols Voice enemies on the screen. Manbo's Mambo teleports Link to Manbo's Pond (near Crazy Tracy's Health Spa) or to the entrance of the dungeon that Link is currently in, and The Frog's Song of Soul restores the Flying Rooster and allows Link to enter the eighth dungeon, Turtle Rock.

Additionally, Link must collect the eight Instruments of the Sirens from the dungeons in his quest to wake the Wind Fish. These are in order of the dungeons in which they are received:
*The Full Moon Cello
*The Conch Horn
*The Sea Lily's
*The Surf Harp
*The Wind Marimba
*The Coral Triangle
*The Organ of Evening Calm
*The Thunder Drum

Ocarina of Time

Early on in Ocarina of Time, Link is given the Fairy Ocarina by Saria as he leaves the forest after defeating Gohma in the Great Deku Tree, but the key instrument in this game is the titular Ocarina of Time, which Link receives from Princess Zelda as she flees Hyrule Castle with Impa.
Instruments are focused upon more in Ocarina of Time than in games released previously. Both ocarinas (but more especially the Ocarina of Time) possess several magical abilities that are come into play when certain songs are performed. With either ocarina, Link can summon his horse and Fairies both Great and small. After he obtains the Ocarina of Time, Link can additionally summon a scarecrow or a rainstorm, as well as transport large blue blocks that open new paths or are part of the puzzle element common to most Zelda games. He can also use the Ocarina of Time to transport himself to various locations in Hyrule.

Sheik demonstrates the ability to play a lyre, which he brings out when he teaches Link the various warp songs; however, Link cannot play it.

Majora's Mask

The Ocarina of Time makes another appearance in '. It is stolen from Link by Skull Kid at the outset of the game, but Link retrieves it soon after. It has much the same functionality with a few changes. Link not only has one teleporting song, which teleports him to multiple points, but a song that awakens, a song that puts people to sleep, a song that affects sea creatures, and a song that makes copies of himself, among others. As Link uses transformation masks, namely the Deku, Goron and Zora masks, the ocarina converts itself into a set of pipes, a set of drums and a bone guitar, respectively. The "Song of Storms" and "Epona's Song" return from Ocarina of Time, as does the "Song of Time" (though it now has a different, and a more vital purpose; it allows Link to rewind, fast forward, and slow down time, as well as save the game). At one point, Link plays the "Ballad of the Wind Fish" (a different tune which only shares the name of the song in Link's Awakening) using all of the instruments in order to obtain a mask.

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
In , Link receives the "Strange Flute", which serves primarily to summon one of his animal friends. The animal friend summoned depends on choices made in the game that determine his permanent friend. As part of the trading sequence in Oracle of Seasons, Link may also obtain a Phonograph that plays the "Song of Storms".

Harp of Ages

The Harp of Ages is a musical item used to navigate time in Oracle of Ages. Link finds this item in the house of Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, and it is given to him to assist him on his journey after Nayru is kidnapped by Veran. At first, Link's only song is the "Tune of Echoes", which Nayru teaches to him telepathically when he obtains the Harp. The "Tune of Echoes" only allows Link to travel through time by activating dormant time portals found throughout Labrynna. Later, the composer Tokkey uses the Tune of Echoes Link plays for him to complete the composition of the "Tune of Currents", which allows Link to travel from the past to the present from anywhere in the overworld. Near the end of the game, Nayru teaches Link the third and final song, the "Tune of Ages", which allows Link to travel in either direction through time from nearly anywhere. The Tune of Currents and the Tune of Ages leave behind one-time-use portals back to the period Link came from when used. Like the Rod of Seasons in Oracle of Seasons, it is used to navigate the game and solve puzzles.

The Harp's abilities do not work in the Black Tower, Yoll Graveyard, and Sea of No Return areas.

The Wind Waker
While not an actual musical instrument, The Wind Waker, which shares its name with the game's title, is a , the main purpose of which is to endow Link with the ability to control the winds. The baton serves a range of secondary purposes, from allowing Link to control statues and people (i.e. Makar and Medli), changing day into night and vice versa, and opening doors to some dungeons. The Wind Waker is bestowed upon Link by the King of Red Lions, and was used in ancient times to conduct music for the gods. Although the baton itself is not an instrument, there are featured instruments such as the violin (Makar and Fado) and the harp (Medli and Laruto), which are used to open Link's way forward at certain points during the game. Fado tells Link that the King of Hyrule once used the Wind Waker to conduct the sages. Although the Wind-Waker is not an instrument itself, it does conduct music based on the direction that the control stick is pointed when "playing" it. These notes sound strangely like a large, tubular bell.

The Minish Cap
In The Minish Cap, the Ocarina of Wind is acquired halfway through the game; it summons a bird that flies Link to a chosen location as long as he has already gone to the place he is flying to and has smashed the Wind Crest there to unlock that destination. The tune Link plays on the Ocarina of Wind is that of the recorder in The Legend of Zelda.

Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the focus is much more on animals and more immediate, physical puzzles than music. However, in both human form and wolf form, Link can make use of reeds. The reeds, which can be found in set locations and only used when picked at that location, are shaped in a manner indicating the animal they used to summon. One calls a hawk (hence the reed is bird shaped), and the other summons Link's horse, Epona (and is therefore shaped like a horseshoe). The song Link plays on the hawk grass is new, while the song played on the horse grass is the traditional "Epona's Song".

As a wolf, Link can stand near grass or howling stones and howl a tune. The tune the grass normally plays is drawn in blue lines.

In addition to howling tunes from grass, Link in wolf form can also find oddly shaped rocks, messengers for the Hero's Spirit, that whistle oddly familiar tunes to summon the Hero's Spirit. When sitting next to these rocks, Link can listen to the song being played and howl it himself, and in turn learn a new attack. However, Link never gains the ability to retain any given melody.

The music system is different as well. When howling, Link holds one of three pitches for a set amount of time in order to play the song, as opposed to playing multiple short notes. When standing in a patch of grass, Link will howl the song it plays. When standing before a howling stone, Link will howl other songs (such as the "Song of Healing" from Majora's Mask).

Later in the game, Link receives the Horse Call, an instrument modeled after the horseshoe-shaped grass that allows Link to summon his horse from virtually all outdoor locations.

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