Melodies and Motifs: Banjo-Tooie Quiz

Answer: Jolly Roger's Lagoon

This song is written in 6/8 (compound time), which sometimes has a "pirate" quality to it. For example, the main theme from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies was written in 6/8.

Answer: Grunty Industries

When outside the main building, the instrumentation for this song uses goofy sounding horns like a lot of "Banjo-Tooie" (and "Banjo-Kazooie"). When inside the building, the instrumentation uses more digital sounds (beeps and buzzes) to provide a different quality.

Answer: Cloud Cuckooland

The "ambient" part of this song uses a lot of glissandos (continuous slides) between notes, and jumps between registers (high vs. low notes) on alternating instruments to give it a "goofy" feel. It's still written in the common time signature.

Answer: Isle o' Hags

The Isle o' Hags is the hub world for "Banjo-Tooie." Just like the previous game's hub area, Gruntilda's Lair (and the song it was based off, the "Teddy Bear's Picnic"), this song is written in 6/8. Also like Gruntilda's Lair, when the player approaches a level entrance, this song will change instrumentation and tone to match the level.

Answer: Witchyworld

This song is in 3/4, and sounds a bit like a creepy waltz. When the player fights Mr. Patch, the boss of Witchyworld, this song is reworked into a more bombastic 4/4 version.

Answer: Glitter Gulch Mine

When a song is swung, it means eighth notes are given different lengths (all other notes are the same as the normal "straight-eighth" time). The first eighth note of each beat is longer than the second. The greater the difference in length, the "harder" the song swings.

Answer: Jinjo Village

The Jinjo Village is technically part of the Isle o' Hags, but it gets its own music. The normal version is an optimistic song played on flutes. When entering King Jingaling's throne room, a more majestic version is played with a fuller orchestra (but mostly strings). After Jingaling has his life force sucked out and becomes a zombie, the song is played in a minor key.

Answer: Mayahem Temple

It takes a while for this song to begin its melody. The start of the song is mostly percussion, followed by rhythmic chanting and supporting chords. The exterior sections have the usual bombastic (and goofy) horns playing the melody. In the interior of Targetzan's temple, the same song is much more subdued, played on pan flutes.

Answer: Hailfire Peaks

This song is played on what's called the harmonic major scale, which is the regular major scale with a flattened sixth note. You can see the first three notes are a C-major arpeggio (first, third, and fifth note of the scale), followed by the flat sixth, which gives the tune its flavour.

On the fire side of Hailfire Peaks, the instrumentation uses a lot of brass and glissandos (slides), giving the impression of lava flowing. On the ice side, the notes are played staccato and on a xylophone, which has a sharper attack, making the music feel cold and ice-like. Unlike a lot of snow levels in games, there are no jingle bells to give this song a "Christmas" feel.

Answer: Terrydactyland

This song leans on the marimba (wooden xylophone), heavy percussion, and squawks. Usually in this game and the previous game, the marimba is used when the player is underwater to emulate the muted sound effect. Here it's used to evoke the sense of primitive instruments that might be used by cavemen.