Ballad of the Wind Fish on a real ocarina
On a 12-hole the Ballad of the Wind Fish's main tune opens A, B | high C, A. It is medium to play and written a whole step higher, in A minor, to fit the ocarina.
Goes up to high F, so it does not fit a 6-hole or 4-hole.
Ballad of the Wind Fish
Bar 1 of 18
What are the notes for the Ballad of the Wind Fish?
On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.
- AB high CABhigh CBAEGA(hold)AB
- high CAhigh Chigh Fhigh Ehigh Dhigh E(hold)B
- AEEF(hold)high Dhigh CBAEDEAFFG
- (hold)low A♯DGE(hold)CA(hold)Tricky spot:G♯high Fhigh E
- (hold)(hold)rest
The whole Ballad of the Wind Fish as the Game Boy plays it: the melody line of one fan MIDI file, The Sound Defense's. It is our only source for these notes, so we could not check them against a second file. We kept its pace of 96 beats a minute and wrote the tune once; the file also has a backing under the tune and plays it again lower, which we left out. The file writes the second part an octave above the first, which is too wide for one 12-hole ocarina, so we wrote the second part an octave lower and moved the whole tune up a whole step, to A minor. The file's own bar lines do not fall on the tune, so the bars here are ours.
What is the tricky spot in the Ballad of the Wind Fish?
The jump from G sharp up to high F near the end, a major sixth to the top note of a 12-hole. The G sharp is one of the two notes the key does not have, and the high F needs firmer air than the note before it. On a 12-hole, the Ballad of the Wind Fish goes from G♯ to high F: you lift the left pinky, left middle, left index, right ring, left thumb and right thumb.
How do you hold and breathe for the Ballad of the Wind Fish?
The long notes are the places to breathe: the E that fills the seventh and eighth bars, where the first part ends, and the one at the very end. Keep the air soft and even through the half-beat runs, so the notes stay separate without a push on each. To check your breath, hold each note of the Ballad of the Wind Fish in turn and watch it on a tuner such as our free ocarina tuner.
Which ocarina can play the Ballad of the Wind Fish?
The Ballad of the Wind Fish goes from low A♯ up to high F. A 6-hole ocarina cannot reach low A♯ and high F, and a 4-hole ocarina cannot reach low A♯, high D, high E and high F, so play it on a 12-hole ocarina in C.
The 13 notes here, on a 12-holeHoles in words, with a picture
| Note | Holes to cover | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| A | Cover the left pinky, left middle, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| B | Cover the left pinky, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| high C | Cover the left pinky, left thumb and right thumb | |
| E | Cover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky | |
| G | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky | |
| high F | All holes open | |
| high E | Cover the left pinky | |
| high D | Cover the left pinky and right thumb | |
| F | Cover every main hole but the right middle, right ring and right pinky | |
| D | Cover every main hole but the right pinky | |
| low A♯ | Cover every main hole, plus the left sub-hole | |
| C | Cover every main hole | |
| G♯ | Cover every main hole but the left ring, right index, right middle and right pinky |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
Is this the Ballad of the Wind Fish from Majora's Mask?
No. Zelda Wiki says the song the Indigo-Go's play in Majora's Mask "is vastly different" from the one in Link's Awakening. This page has the Link's Awakening tune.
Where does the Ballad of the Wind Fish play in Link's Awakening?
Zelda Wiki says Marin sings it in Mabe Village's square, and that Link learns it from her once he has the ocarina. Played near where the Walrus was, it earns Link a Secret Seashell, and it is the song that opens the Wind Fish's Egg and wakes the Wind Fish. Some notes of it play in the background of the opening scene, part of it plays when Link gets one of the Instruments of the Sirens, and it plays during the final scene and the credits. Wikipedia credits the music of Link's Awakening to Kazumi Totaka, Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa.