The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - Linebeck’s Theme [Revision] (Patreon)

Another Zelda revision complete! I'm always shocked at how popular Linebeck's Theme is among the many Zelda arrangements I've made, but working on it again has made me realize that it's just a good (and somewhat underrated) track. Also, I've always thought that Linebeck was just a neat character! I hope we see more of him in future games.

Quick side note, if you didn't know I recently released a new streaming album that contains a selection if my tracks from the first half of 2023! Also, if you've been enjoying the [revisions] I've been making I created a new spotify playlist made up entirely of those tracks! Anyway, enough self-promotion, here's the breakdown:

0:00 - This track starts off with an average orchestral ensemble, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about the trumpet. Since it's a lead instrument I made a point to adjust its virtual mic placement and panning. It's personal preference, but if isolated solo brass is panned too far to one side it distracts me. Also, I believe I mentioned this in a previous breakdown, but if you find yourself working with sample libraries and other virtual instruments, please take some time to mess with the different mic settings they offer. I know it can be taxing on CPU, but so many good sounds are hidden behind a few simple sliders. 

Not every orchestral piece has to be entirely realistic in its space. In fact, it usually sounds better if you break the rules of concert hall positioning when mixing something. Like I mentioned previously, I always put my lead instruments up front and "close" to the listener. And while more contentious, I make a point to always have my contrabasses panned down center, even though though it goes against their live positioning. It just sounds better!

0:06 - Enough production rambling. :p I wanted this piece to be orchestral, but I also wanted to contextualize it with what I'm calling a "pirate ensemble." So in addition to the regular orchestral instruments, you will also hear an accordion, dulcimer, solo piccolo, and scratchy lead violins. 

0:23 - In this sparser section, I played up the amount of unique percussion to highlight the silliness of Linebeck's character. Wood Blocks = comedy. 

0:40 - In this second loop I doubled the lead melody with the piccolo and accordion I mentioned earlier. It makes it sound just a bit more... seafaring? 

I also added a sort of "tappy" percussion part, because for some reason that also reminds me of pirate music? No clue where I'm drawing that from.

1:14 - This theme is fairly short, so I wanted to add a unique section to keep it interesting. This time I made a reference to the "Inside the Pirate Ship" music from both this game and Wind Waker. Linebeck captains a ship... the Inside the Pirate Ship music is ship related... the through-line of logic here was very simple. 

4:05 - In the spirit of trying to end more of my music with actual endings other than fade-outs, I threw together a small section that modifies the intro into a more climactic part. I love how the open G sounds in the final note.

Not a whole lot to say about this one! I had a ton of fun working on it though, this instrument ensemble is one of my favorites. As always, if you have any questions about the piece let me know in the comments! Thanks for listening! <3