12 Zelda Songs Your Kids Can Play in Color

This week, Nintendo brings The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to Nintendo Switch 2 (it's out November 5), right in the middle of Zelda's 40th anniversary. The whole internet is humming Zelda songs this week... so we figured our kiddos should get to play them too.

Mr. Chris on our team has been quietly arranging Zelda music in Prodigies Compose for weeks. There are now 12 of them, including all six warp songs from Ocarina of Time. Every one is written in our color-coded notes, so even a preschooler can look at the page and follow along.

The coolest music fact in Zelda: the ocarina only has 5 notes

Mr. Chris pointed this out while he was arranging these, and I'll be honest, I had no idea. In Ocarina of Time, Link's ocarina only plays five notes: D, F, A, B and a high D. That's it. Five buttons, five notes.

And with just those five notes, composer Koji Kondo wrote a whole world of songs. Zelda's Lullaby starts on B, D, A. Epona's Song flips it to D, B, A. Saria's Song is F, A, B, over and over. Song of Healing is B, A, F, three times in a row. Song of Storms goes D, F, high D.

In other words, you don't need a lot of notes to make music people remember for 40 years. You need a few notes, a good pattern, and a reason to play it again. That's the same reason a 3-year-old with a handful of deskbells can write a real song.

And here's my favorite part. In the game, Link plays those five notes on his little ocarina... and then the music answers him. The melody takes off past the five notes, the whole orchestra comes in, and the song goes somewhere the ocarina can't. Every one of these songs has that little story inside it: a kid with a tiny instrument starts the tune, and the whole world finishes it.

That's exactly what Mr. Chris wrote down (he moved a couple into a friendlier key, that's all). Look at the first few notes of any song on this page and you'll find the five-note ocarina. Then watch where it goes.

How to play along in Compose

1. Open a song from the list above. It works in any web browser, and in the Prodigies Compose & Perform app on iPad.
2. Press play and watch. Each note glows in its color as it sounds (C is red, D is orange, E is yellow, and so on).
3. Check "Notes used" at the top of the page. It shows exactly which notes the song needs, before you start.
4. Sing and hand-sign along. The solfege hand signs under every note show you how. Sing, hand-sign and play, all at once.
5. Make it your own. Press Remix to open the song in the editor and change a note or two. That's how a lot of kids go from playing music to making music.

One honest note: most of these songs use sharps and flats, so they go beyond the 8 bells in a C Major deskbell set. That's okay. Listening, singing and hand-signing along is real ear training too.

The big themes

The Legend of Zelda (Main Theme)

The theme from the very first game in 1986, the one everybody hums. It's one of the busiest of the 12, so it's a great one to listen to first and play later. Play the Main Theme in Compose

Zelda's Lullaby

A gentle waltz in 3/4 time. Count "1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3" and sway along. Watch for the pink B, the orange D and the purple A at the start: that's the ocarina version. Play Zelda's Lullaby in Compose

Song of Healing

From Majora's Mask, the game that came right after Ocarina of Time. The whole melody is pink, purple, green (B, A, F) three times in a row, then a little turn. It's slow, it repeats, and it's lovely for winding down before bed. Play Song of Healing in Compose

Songs from Ocarina of Time

Lost Woods / Saria's Song

Full confession: my brothers and I spent hours trying to pick this one out by ear on our grandma's piano. No sheet music, no YouTube, just three kids poking at keys until it sounded right. (That's ear training, by the way. We just didn't know it yet.)

Now look at the page. Green, purple, pink. Green, purple, pink. That's the F-A-B we were hunting for, and your kiddo gets to see it. Ask them to point to every green-purple-pink they can find, then play it fast. Play Saria's Song in Compose

Epona's Song

The song Link plays to call his horse. High, middle, low (D, B, A), like calling someone's name across a field. Short, sweet and very singable. Play Epona's Song in Compose

Song of Storms

The windmill song, and a fan favorite. It's another 3/4 waltz, with a bouncy low D to high D jump in the very first bar. Play Song of Storms in Compose

The six warp songs

In Ocarina of Time, Sheik teaches Link six songs, and each one whisks him to the doorstep of a different temple. Each one is short (6 to 8 bars), which makes them perfect for little hands and short attention spans. Try one a day this week.

Here's the part I love as a music teacher: the six titles are six real music words. A minuet, a bolero, a serenade, a nocturne, a requiem and a prelude. Nintendo snuck a whole music vocabulary lesson into a video game. So as you play each one, you get to teach a new word for free.

Minuet of Forest

A minuet is an old ballroom dance in 3, so count "1, 2, 3" and let your kiddo take a bow at the end. This one warps Link to the Forest Temple, and the melody is a tiny back-and-forth pattern (E, D, E, D in this key) that even a toddler can echo. Play Minuet of Forest in Compose

Bolero of Fire

A bolero is a Spanish dance (Ravel wrote the famous one), and this one takes Link up to the Fire Temple inside Death Mountain. It's the speedy one, full of quick notes, so it's a fun listening challenge for older kids. Play Bolero of Fire in Compose

Serenade of Water

A serenade is a song you play for someone special, usually in the evening, usually under a window. This one is for Lake Hylia and the Water Temple. It's a gentle waltz, and the melody climbs up like a staircase, so have your kiddo raise their hand a little higher with each note. Play Serenade of Water in Compose

Nocturne of Shadow

A nocturne is night music (Chopin wrote a famous set of them), and this one takes Link to the graveyard and the Shadow Temple. It's the spookiest of the six. Mr. Chris kept the exact ocarina notes here, B, A, A, D, B, A, F, so your kiddo can read them straight off the page: pink, purple, purple, orange, pink, purple, green. Play Nocturne of Shadow in Compose

Requiem of Spirit

A requiem is music written to remember someone, and this one carries Link across the desert to the Spirit Temple. Tied with Bolero as the shortest of the 12, at just 6 bars, and much slower. A great first warp song. Play Requiem of Spirit in Compose

Prelude of Light

A prelude is the opening piece, the one that sets the stage, and this one takes Link to the Temple of Time. It's bright, it's in a major key, and it's the easiest of the six to sing. The ocarina notes are D, A, D, A, B, D, and that's exactly what's on the page. Play Prelude of Light in Compose

Why video game music is great for young musicians

Game music is written to be heard over and over while you explore, so it's built from short, catchy patterns that repeat. That's exactly what a young ear needs: a melody short enough to remember, and enough repetition to start predicting what comes next.

Think of it like a favorite picture book. The first time through, your kiddo is just listening. By the tenth time, they're "reading" it to you. A song works the same way, and when that song is one they already love from a game, they'll happily ask for the tenth time. Nobody made my brothers and me practice Lost Woods. We just wanted to hear it again.

That's meaningful play with pitch during the critical window for auditory development... wearing a green tunic.

A huge thank-you to Mr. Chris for arranging all 12 of these. If your family makes a version of your own, we'd love to hear it.

#HappyMusicing

- Mr. Rob

Frequently asked questions

Are the Zelda songs in Prodigies Compose free?

Yes. All 12 songs are free to open, play and remix in any web browser at compose.prodigies.com. Prodigies members also get Perform mode and members-only songbooks.

What ages are these songs good for?

Little ones (2 to 5) can listen, watch the colors and sing along. School-age kids can follow the notes, learn the hand signs and try playing them. The six warp songs are the shortest, so they're the best place to start.

Can my child play these on Prodigies deskbells?

Most of these songs use sharps and flats, so they need more notes than the 8 bells in a C Major set. Kids can still sing and hand-sign along, and the "Notes used" row on each song shows exactly which notes it needs.

Is Prodigies affiliated with Nintendo?

No. Prodigies is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda and Ocarina of Time are trademarks of Nintendo. We're just fans, celebrating along with everyone else.