Into the Score - March 4, 2008

Final Fantasy VI

1) Intro
2) Contact Info
3) 1994 in Gaming
4) FFs move to SNES
a. OverClocking the SNES for FF6
i. Mode 7
ii. 60-piece Score
5) Story of the Game
a. Tons of Characters
6) Legacy
a. Awards
b. 
7) Effect of the Game on the World
a. The Rise of the Fighter Genre
8) Composers
a. Nobuo Uematsu
9) The Music
a. Leitmotifs
i. 


INTRO

(TERRA)

I'm Kenley Kristofferson... and this is Into the Score.

Good evening listeners, musicians, gamers, scholars or simply those who just dig video game music! You are listening to "Into the Score", the only podcast solely devoted to the academic study of video game music.  My name is Kenley and I am your host of this monumental 19th Episode of the show, where we will be covering Nobuo Uematsu's earth-shattering score to Square's 1994 release, Final Fantasy VI.  Right now, we're listening to "Terra" and it is the overworld theme to the game; in other words, when the player is walking on the map.  I hope that you dig it.  In this episode, we will tackle pretty much every big idea that has come up in the show to date, including leitmotifs, eclecticism, the use of ethnic instruments and styles as well as many other techniques used in the game's score.  However, the actual big idea for the episode is "Opera", as there is a scene in the game, containing opera and it is one of the most memorable in the Final Fantasy series.  To help us out with such a big idea, our guest on the show is one of the most popular video game remix vocalist in the world, the wonderful, Jillian Goldin, aka "pixietricks."   Some of you might be thinking "wow, this sounds like such a great show! How can I find more episodes!" First we need the shaker to get you pumped (CUE SHAKER), then we need some bongos (BONGOS) then now that you're all ready, we cue the contact info music!

(CONTACT INFO)

CONTACT INFO

The address for Into the Score is www.intothescore.com, as always.  If you would like to reach me, you can always send me a note at Kenley@intothtescore.com, so k-e-n-l-e-y@intothescore.com! We're also on iTunes, so you can subscribe through the site or through iTunes! Also, there is a comment section on every post, so if you want to leave your ideas, comments, criticisms, debates... you name it! Definitely do it! I always reply as well, so if you leave a comment, always come back and check out the response, it's all about discussion in the comment section! NED, I replied to your posts on Episode 9, really thoughtful stuff! 

So, the format is going to be largely the same in this show but with a few tweaks.  The most noticeable one will be that the section that we usually have for "arrangement" is now going to be an actual section, not just one or two pieces and the reason for that is because there are SO many outstanding arrangements from this game.  It is the third-most remixed game on OCReMix (which is at www.ocremix.org) , with the top two being Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII... both games have been featured on this show... what are the odds.  The interview section is also featured in this episode and there is a whole lot of analysis, so get ready.  To get us psyched up, this is the boss battle theme from FFVI, it's called "The Decisive Battle" and it's written by the revolutionary composer and the man who is responsible for getting me into VGM, Nobuo Uematsu.

(DECISIVE BATTLE)

1994 IN GAMING

In what Nintendo calls "The Year of the Cartridge", 1994 brought many things to the world.  The "North American Free Trade Agreement" or NAFTA was brought into existence as well as the death of Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain on April 6th, the election of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the OJ Simpson trial gets into full-swing.  Ironically, or rather; just unfortunately, the Rwandan and Burundi presidents are shot down in their jet and the Rwandan genocides begin.  What makes this ironic, is that it's the same year that Steven Spielberg's "Schlinder's List" wins seven Academy Awards just two weeks earlier.  I know that this isn't a political or world issues podcast, but how does that happen? ... I don't know, this world baffles me sometimes... In other sad news of that year, The New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals that year... good effort team.  I know that genocide and hockey playoffs are not the same magnitude of intensity, but it's suppose it's worth noting.  Oppression, defeat, failure... these are all themes in FFVI, so how about we get onto what happened in 1994 in gaming before we tackle the immense impact of Final Fantasy VI.

March 19th, 1994, Nintendo releases Super Metroid which Electronic Gaming Monthly heralds as the best game of all-time.  Blizzard also releases Warcraft for the PC and Mac platforms and Nintendo makes another big release for the SNES in Donkey Kong Country.  Tekken sees the light of day for the first time and sadly, the Commodore company sees the light of day for the last time in 1994, finally closing its doors on April 29th of 1994.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_in_video_gaming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_International


In which case, 1994 would also be the stage on which one of the most important role-playing games of our time would be released.  GamePro gave it a 5/5 upon its release and gaming magazine has suggested that it may be "the best Final Fantasy ever"... I wonder if that's because all of the others were released on PlayStation... aaaaaanyways.  I would agree with that.  

Netjak.com had this to say about some of the overlying themes of the game:

"...the game is not afraid to tackle issues with resonance in the real world. Terra's origin, a major focus of the first half of the game, is a story about interracial relationships and teen pregnancy. The game doesn't simply tell you what happened and move on, either - it goes into some detail about how the situation came about and the repercussions, all the way to the present day. Questions involving despair and suicide are also tackled in this game, and, though not discussed directly, genocide and human rights issues are also touched upon.

Despite the heavy issues that make appearances in the title, the game maintains a balance between actions of grave consequence and more light-hearted matters. The game's sense of timing is impeccable, refusing to interrupt the most intense scenes, but willing to break the tension which builds over the course of the game. The lecherous octopus Ultros makes a number of amusing appearances over the course of the game, and any situation in which Gau calls the wrong ally "Mr. Thou" is entertaining. The humor is never overpowering, but it does provide some balance to a story which could otherwise grow too heavy for many players."

http://www.netjak.com/review.php/1298

Personally, this is my favourite video game soundtrack ever...One of the reasons that I like it so much is that it works hand-in-hand with the story, which is our next segment.  A good place to start our story would be at the beginning - both plot-wise and music-wise, so this is the first music we hear.  It's called "Opening," and it acts like the beginning of an opera or a musical, or an "overture" - it's from the Final Fantasy VI OST and it's by Nobuo Uematsu, this is "Opening."

(OPENING)

STORY


That was "Opening" by Nobuo Uematsu and it sets the stage for Final Fantasy VI.  At this point, some of you may be thinking: "That's not Final Fantasy VI! That's Final Fantasy III!" That's a half-truth, really.  The game was renamed Final Fantasy III for its North American release because Final Fantasy V wasn't released in NA, just Japan.  You may be thinking: "Ummm... Final Fantasy V, you say? You must be mistaken because I own both Final Fantasy I for NES AND Final Fantasy II for the Super Nintendo..." Again, it was the translation team just trying to fix up a few things.  There are three Final Fantasies for the NES, Final Fantasy IV, V and VI were released for the SNES and Final Fantasy IV is the same as our FFII.  Square then corrected the numbering discrepancy in Final Fantasy VII for the Sony PlayStation, that's why us North Americans have FFII, III and VII all in a row.  In which case, Square Enix has re-released them all for a great many systems - go pick them up, they rule.  

Now, we heard "Opening" just a little while earlier.  As the music is playing, we read the following:

"Long ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to a scorched wasteland, and 
Magic simply ceased to exist. 1000 years have passed... Iron, gunpowder and 
steam engines have been rediscovered, and high technology reigns. But there 
are those who would enslave the world by reviving the dread destructive power 
known as "Magic". Can it be that those in power are on the verge of repeating 
a senseless and deadly mistake?"

So right now, we know that was an utter catastrophe in which magic has set the world back hundreds and hundreds of years.  The next scene that we see involves three characters, all of which are imperial soldiers, but one of them looks quite different from the others.   There are two men, Biggs and Wedge (or Vicks and Wedge, depending on your translation) as well as a lady with a crown sitting on her head.  That girl's name is Terra and she is being controlled by the Empire.  In which case, these three individuals are on the way to a town called Narshe, where rumours of a mythical and magical being called an Esper have been reported.  After an magical incident between Terra and the Esper, she wakes up the guest room of a rebel who has removed the crown and returns Terra to her own free will.  Terra then meets up with another rebel named Locke, who is a treasure hunter and vows to get her out of Narshe.  They escape to a castle in the Kingdom of Figaro, led by the suave, or not-so-suave ladykiller named Edgar who appears to be siding with the Empire, but in reality, is a rebel sympathizer.  

While the larger scale of the plot seems to deal with the dispute between the Empire and the Rebels, the story is truly a tale of characters and how each character walks an internal path that changes who they are.  In literature, a character who changes or evolves through the course of a story is called a round or dynamic character and Final Fantasy VI is full of them.  That's what I think makes the story so grand - every character has a bit of a struggle that they have to overcome and as a result, each character changes.  

Often, the change in a character is measured by placing them in a similar situation with a character who doesn't change at all, called a flat or static character.  When that happens, the static character allows us to see the radical development of the round or dynamic character by contrast to the flat one... who really doesn't change at all.

The marvelous thing about Final Fantasy VI is that the writers and directors of the game don't allow us that luxury.  Rather, they do the opposite of that - they make all of the characters develop at the same time, so in actuality, the entire plot, world, characters and events of the story become innately dynamic and that makes the game incredibly exciting and also allows the player to focus on the characters ALL THE TIME.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_character#Round_vs._flat)

Thankfully, there is one other means that focus on the character exists - and that would be music.  While the central cast consists of 15 characters with two main antagonists and some characters that you aren't really sure of, musical themes help characterize each party member and highlight his or her importance in the game.  In fact, one of the characters is so important that her theme is actually the theme of the game.  The character's name is Terra and this is the music while walking on the world map, aptly titled "Terra," by Nobuo Uematsu.

(TERRA)

According to the wiki on "The Music of Final Fantasy VI", "Uematsu was personally very pleased with the way that the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI turned out, and has said in interviews that he felt that "with the satisfaction and excitement I felt after finishing that project, I thought I had reached my primary goal, and could quit doing game music with no regrets."[20] He stated in the liner notes for Piano Collections Final Fantasy VI that he intended the music to be emotionally moving, and entreated the listener not to think about the music, but to feel it.[21] As for Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale, on the other hand, Uematsu has said that he was "not satisfied with this album at all", due to the deviation it took from his original visions for the music due to his lack of personal involvement in the arrangements.[22] Although he did not feel that the album was a poor one, saying that if he said nothing no one would ever know of his dissatisfaction, he felt that it was not what he would have created if he had "defend[ed] the image of each song".[22]"

And that's the end of the quote with the website in here in the shownotes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Final_Fantasy_VI

Let's learn a little bit about this Nobuo Uematsu character. He was born on March 21, 1959 in Kochi Prefacture, Japan and naturally, is a composer of video game music.  He is self-taught, meaning that he doesn't have a music degree and has little formal training - he does play the piano and that started when he was twelve years old. After finishing high school, "Nobuo graduated from University of Kanagawa and his major was surprisingly not music!  In 1985, one of Nobuo's friend, who was working at a video game company called Squaresoft, asked Nobuo if he wanted to write music for some of their video game and the rest is history."

http://www.nobuouematsu.com/bio.html

His influences range from Elton John and Emerson, Lake and Palmer to Simon and Garfunkel to Tchaikovsky, as well as tons of world influences with Celtic music in particular.  

"In his spare time, Nobuo enjoys listening to Irish music, watching Japanese pro wrestling, drink/make beer and learn how to play the Fiddle." (also taken from the nobuouematsu.com/bio page).  Every morning the composer, who lives in Tokyo, walks along the river Tama with his dog, Pao, musing on new ideas: "I feel a tranquil environment is necessary so that one can feel the slightest stirring of emotions." 

Lines quoted from his bio at www.nobuouematsu.com, which was written by video game pianist and arranger, Michael Huang.  In the past few months, 1UP.com did a terrific video interview between James Mielke and Nobuo Uematsu at his summer cottage in Japan and it MUST be checked out, because it is incredible.  It's half an hour long, but I'll put links on the intothescore webpage.  

Anyways, so we know that nature plays an important role in the writings of Nobuo Uematsu, so it is definitely fitting hat he called the world map theme for FFVI, "Terra."

MUSIC

And that brings us to the "Music" segment of the show.  "Terra" is the Latin word for "Earth," so it could be conceived that the game revolves around her, or rather; her music could be played while one is traversing the earth... or the Overworld, which in fact, it is.  We've said in episodes before that the music while walking on the Overworld is, more often than not, the theme of the game and this is definitely the case in FF6.  However, this is one of the few early RPGs where we actually don't get on the world map for until about half-an-hour-to-an-hour into the game, so Uematsu has to actually set up the audience for that realization and that sort of climax, when our feet first touch the overworld, and here's how he does it.

There's another rule that is also followed in many movies and video games, which is that the theme is often played at the beginning of the game - often, not always.  Some arrangers make that common mistake when they don't know the source material that well, and when we get to our "music education" and "video game music in wind ensemble or concert band", expect a good rant about this.  Anyways, in the beginning, we hear some scary imperial type music, which we heard earlier.  One thing that you may or  may not have noticed is that the Imperial music (which we'll dive deeper into, later in the show) has a sense of unrest and a sort of tension that doesn't seem to resolve.  The listeners and players feel this it gives them a dark feeling inside their soul and they wait for resolution.  The resolution does come, and we associate that resolution with importance, finally unraveling that knot from the imperial motive.  The beauty of Uematsu's work here, is that he resolves the tension by introducing the theme of the game - "Terra."  We see three soldiers in magitek armour descend into Narshe, roll credits... it's beautiful.  So here's the scene, this is "Opening."

(OPENING)

Do you hear that? That resolution? But now, if that wasn't enough to convince you that the music we just resolved to, Uematsu continues to set the theme throughout the first through hours of the game.  After Terra is rescued from the caves by Locke, she wakes up the bed of Arvis, a returner and this music plays, called "Awakening."

(AWAKENING)

Then from there, we move southward to Figaro Castle and we finally get to see the World Map.  The next natural decision is to confirm the theme by using the convention we heard earlier - play the theme of the game as the player is walking on the map.  Uematsu's eclectic style really comes out in this piece, with a soaring tin whistle playing the melody, a snare drum and an electric bass playing the ostinato (or the repeating groove underneath the melody) and strings that sustain and pull through each bar.  During the repeat, the French horns and timpani come in to convince the audience of the epic journey that they're about to take on.  This is "Terra."

(TERRA)

So this is definitely the central theme and he uses the melody from it in other places too - seeing as the piece is called "Terra," meaning both "earth" and is the name of our main character, she's usually involved whenever this theme plays.  Before we dive into her involvement in the music, let's dissect this melody a little bit.

Most of the character themes in the games revolve around the first five notes of the scale, which we will call "1-2-3-4-5."  "Terra" is in minor, so here are the first five notes (SAMPLE).  We first here "1-2-3-5-3" then "2-1-2-5."  Together, it sounds like this (SAMPLE).  The next two bars are almost exactly the same, except the last note is now an octave higher - instead of being (HERE) it's up (HERE), so it sounds like this (SAMPLE).  Let's put those two together (SAMPLE).  The next part of the melody actually goes into the key's relative major, which means that it has a happier sound, but the key signature doesn't change - no added sharps or flats in this food, guys.  It's kind of like a glimmer of hope without too drastic a change, and the beauty of it is, it's the same pattern of numbers that we already know, just in major: (1-2-3-5-3-2-1-2-5) Same as before.  But just when we start feeling hopeful, it goes back to minor: "3-2-1----3-2-1----"

So the whole melody sounds like this: (SAMPLE) Now that we know how it works, let's hear it in "Terra."

(TERRA)

Just a couple of minutes ago, we said that she usually has something to do with the story when this music is playing.  My favourite involvement of hers in the music is when she goes crazy.  The strings start up with the melody 8 bars in and then the horns get it in this demonic sort of way 8 bars after that, quite scary.  This is called "Metamorphosis."

(METAMORPHOSIS)

While Terra's theme is the theme of the game, it is also her character's theme.  For some fun and listening enjoyment, let's play a few other character themes.  As we do this, think of what type of person the character is just by what the music tells us.  The first is "Locke's Theme."

(LOCKE)

The next is "Relm."

(RELM)

And our last one is "Shadow."

(SHADOW)

MUSIC

So what we've just heard are three themes of three different characters - Locke, Relm and Shadow, in that order.  Some of the things we notice are obvious: They are all different from one another and, if you've played the game, you'll notice that they all exemplify the attributes of each character.  Locke is a fearless adventurer, Relm is a child-like artist that paints beauty, while Shadow is a mysterious ninja who comes and goes as he pleases.

To make the picture even more obvious, we can envelope this idea and expand on it a bit more.  These themes pertain to characters and if we remember from Episode 2, any musical idea that pertains to a character, theme or motive in a work is called a leitmotif and this idea isn't really new.  The master of it was Richard Wagner and we're going to talk about him right now with our big idea of the episode... (MARIO CLIP)... the leitmotif.

LEITMOTIF


A leitmotif is a musical idea that is used to represent a person, a place or a theme in any sort of music, film or literature.  It began in the Romantic Era of music, which was largely the early 1800s until the beginning of the 20th-century and the effect that it had on the production was one of cohesion and binding.  So now, our opera or our drama got this sense of unity throughout work, instead of a string of pieces put together.  With regards to classical music, the wiki on the article has this to say:

"The use of characteristic, short, recurring motives in orchestral music can be traced back to the late eighteenth century. In French opera of this period (such as the works of GrŽtry and MŽhul) "reminiscence motifs" can be identified, which may recur at a significant juncture in the plot to establish an association with earlier events. Their use is however not extensive or systematic. The power of the technique was exploited early in the nineteenth century by composers of Romantic opera, such as Carl Maria von Weber . Indeed, the first use of the word "leitmotif" in print was by the critic F. W. JŠhns in describing Weber's work, although this was not until 1871. Motives were also important in purely instrumental music of the time: the most famous example is the opening movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, whose central motif was said by Beethoven's friend and biographer Schindler to represent "fate knocking at the door". The related idea of the idŽe fixe was coined by Hector Berlioz in reference to his Symphonie Fantastique, a purely instrumental work that has a recurring melody representing the love of the central characters."

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitmotif) And the link  for that quote is in the shownotes.  If you'll remember, we had this as the big idea for the show in Episode 2 and we played a little bit of Berlioz's idŽe fixe from "Symphonie Fantastique."  Quite a good time... I love Hector Berlioz.

In which case, the man who would push the extreme of leitmotifs in this era was the late-Romantic composer, Richard Wagner.  One of the defining characteristics of Romantic music is that of grandiose and hugeness, almost to the point of absurdity.  Wagner's most famous work "Der Ring des Nibelungen" or the "Ring of the Nibelungen" is an opera cycle - meaning that it's not just one opera, it's four of them.  He couldn't just tell it in one night, he needed four.  

Seeing as I don't know how to explain it in a short verse, I'll quote the wiki... man, I'm quoting the wiki a lot in this episode:

"The plot revolves around a magic ring that grants the power to rule the world, forged by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold stolen from the river Rhine. Several mythic figures struggle for possession of the Ring, including Wotan (Odin), the chief of the Gods. Wotan's scheme, spanning generations, to overcome his limitations, drives much of the action in the story. The hero Siegfried wins the Ring, as Wotan intended, but is eventually betrayed and slain. Finally, the Valkyrie Brźnnhilde, Siegfried's lover and Wotan's estranged daughter, returns the Ring to the Rhine. In the process, the Gods are destroyed"

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen)

For further study and reference, the addy... in the shownotes.

So yeah, it's long.  The opera itself is 12 Cds long! It took him 26 years to finish it! If that's not grandiose, then I don't know what is... Not only that, but his orchestra was massive, including 8 horns, two tubas, one contrabass tuba, three bassoons and a 62-piece string section... that's a lot of people.

Anyways, in order to make these four nights into a cohesive unit, he had to devise a way to make sure that the listener could closely associate with the characters, story and themes through four different performances.  So, whether he'll admit it or not, there are several themes that come up during pivotal times in the story, often referring to places, themes or characters - Siegfried's Theme, the Rhine river theme, The Spear Theme, the Ring Theme, the Seduction theme... and it goes on and on and on.  

In which case, it worked and history has dubbed this practice as using leitmotifs.  Lots of movies now use leitmotifs, Star Wars (EXAMPLE), Lord of the Rings (EXAMPLE), yeah... LOTR is straight leitmotifs, we're actually studying the score in my grade 9 music classes right now.  What else... oh yeah, I've got one...

(COIN SONG)

This is "Coin Song" and it is the theme of Edgar and Sabin from Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VI.  It is also a variation on the "Figaro Castle" theme.  What is the most incredible about leitmotifs in Final Fantasy VI is the sheer magnitude of them that are employed throughout the game.  Some other games have character themes, but they are either sporadic or highlight recurring characters, or important ones... sometimes both, sometimes neither... it is often a "picking-and-choosing" with this mechanism.  For example, in Square's Secret of Mana, the main character doesn't get a theme, nor do a lot of the supporting characters... but "Undine," a being of water, gets her own theme.  For the record, it sounds like this:

(UNDINE)

Now, that's cool and it's a beautiful piece of music, along with the rest of the score, which is absolutely spell-binding, but why Undine? 

This is a thread in many movies, TV shows or games and what takes Final Fantasy VI to the level beyond is that is the sheer magnitude that Uematsu has applied this concept.  Remember how we said before that the game has 15 playable characters? Well, each one has a leitmotif that is unique to him/herself with the exception of Edgar and Sabin... they kind of share one.  But that doesn't stop there, there are still more themes to go around.  For example, the villain named Kefka, also has one and as we listen, try and imagine what type of character he is.  Is he dark and brooding? Is he comic? Is he the soul of all evil? Only one way to find out, this "Kefka" from the Final Fantasy VI OST and it's composed by Nobuo Uematsu.

(KEFKA)

So, what kind of villain is our "Kefka?" Is he dark and brooding? Comic? Evil? Well... he's kind of all of those things, but it takes him a while to get there.  He's a bit like the joker in that way, or Stephen King's it, where the writers have taken this lackey named Kefka and throughout the story, had him overcome everyone in his way, essentially lose his mind and take control of the entire world.  And musically, it starts, with this:

(KEFKA - OPENING)

It's almost like he's fighting to be taken seriously, but as the game progresses, that music gets more ominous and more meaningful - the fact that it's light and bouncy is what makes it terrifying.  I mean, Kefka belongs to the Empire and the Imperial theme is muuuuuch more terrifying than his "circus-from-hell."  We actually only hear this theme three times in the game: The beginning, the exact middle and in the final battle.  The first time that we hear it is in the opening, where Emperor Gestahl is on top his tower in Vector and orating down to his followers, this is "Overture"

(OVERTURE)

The next scene is on the floating continent when the three magical statues of keep the world in balance are suddenly moved.  While the emperor is there, the statues are actually moved by Kefka and the world is violently dismantled.  The piece we hear the Imperial leitmotif is called "Catastrophe"

(CATASTROPHE)

Now that the world is gravely changed into what is commonly called "The World of Ruin," among gamers and scholars, the ultimate goal is to defeat Kefka, who now reigns atop a tower in the center of the world.  When the party does all that it needs to do in the world, they know that defeating Kefka is the final step.  The four-movement final battle theme during this epic squall is called "Dancing Mad," and wouldn't you know it, it starts with the Empire's leitmotif.

(DANCING MAD)

So this theme essentially frames the story of the game and in particular, frames the movement of power from one individual to another.  "Dancing Mad," we're coming back to you, don't get to comfortable there.  To recap, it starts with Gestahl speaking down to his minions, then at the moment when the party, Gestahl and Kefka are on the floating continent and Kefka takes control of the moment and moves the statues, then finally, we hear it as we're fighting Kefka for the last time.  Very nice work, Nobuo... you are a clever man.  So the next question could be "is the Imperial theme the theme for the Empire, or rather, is it the theme of power and control?"

Composers think of things like this, because it allows our minds to make connections throughout the game, often without even realizing it.  Let's take another shot at this and have a listen to Locke's theme, the music of our proud treasure-hunter.

(LOCKE)

So heroic, as though that is all his character is meant to be.  And you know what? Until about halfway through the game, the player is meant to think that - Locke speaks it, the characters around him support that notion (and usually make fun of him at the same time)  and his music speaks it.  

In order to understand what Uematsu does with his theme in variation, we must first understand the original source material itself.  Let's take the big picture and work inwards.  "Locke's Theme"  is divided into three sections and uses a standard form for a lot of video game music.  In this case, it's ABC, with "A" being a the first melody, "B" being a melodic section that's different from "A" and "C" acting as a transition back to "A" to complete the loop.  We studied this theme in Episode 2 with Metal Man's Stage from Mega Man 2 and with I believe with the music from Shadow Man's level in Mega Man 3, which was Episode 11.  In which case, here is the "A" theme from "Locke"

(LOCKE - A)

The A section is 8 measures long, and repeats twice, that's why we say that the form is AABBCC, because each section repeats twice.  The main tune is in G major and starts by using the first five tones of the key (which we've talked about earlier - SING THE TONES).  It changes after the first few bars, but that's what we have to know for right now.  So let's use what we've learned in analyzing the A section, which repeats twice, here it is:

(LOCKE - A x2)

Now, let's have a listen to the "B" section.

(LOCKE - B)

The "B" theme modulates to the key of Bb, so the key of the bIII, which is kind of strange, but it works.  It's only 8 bars long and it happens fast.  The first two bars state the B section melody, then the next two do something else.  The fourth and fifth bars restate the B theme and then the next two set us up for the C section.  So really, it's two bars the same, then two different, then the first two again, then two different.  Have a listen one more time.

(LOCKE - B)

Okay, so now that we know how it's organized, let's take a look at the tune.  The main thing that our ears wants to hear is this descending pattern (SAMPLE), but the real device that makes this work musically called the four-note prime embellishment, which is a four note motive that starts with a note, then goes down a second, down a second, then up a third.  It sounds like this:

(SAMPLE)

See how many times you can hear that little melodic figure in the B section, for the third time, here it is:

(LOCKE - B)

If you said, "four times", you would be correct.  That is the main unifying device of that section and we'll hear how important it is when we get to our next piece in just a few minutes.  

The "C" Section is just a crazy section altogether because it moves into a key isn't in the key of either the A section of the B section.  It's in Ab Major, but it never actually finds its way to that chord, giving it a sense of unrest and lending it a sort of dynamic quality, like it's looking for somewhere to go, but isn't quite sure where -  good quality for a transition section, have a listen.

(LOCKE - C)

Anyways, we have a nice little suspension in there and then we're back to the A section and into G major.  Let's have a quick listen to the whole thing before we see where else his theme turns up.  The form is ABC, so three sections, see if you can differentiate between each one.

(LOCKE)

Very epic, there's just no other type of person that Locke could be.  It is not until we arrive at Kohlingen that we hear of Locke's past and learn otherwise.

The Final Fantasy Compendium explains is quite eloquently: (Prior the game's beginning) "A thief/treasure hunter named Locke falls in love with Rachel, a girl from Kohlingen. However, while taking her to see a nearby treasure cave, a cave-in is started and Rachel saves Locke only to put herself in danger. An old man nearby, knowing the secrets of certain herbs, keeps Rachel in suspended animation. Locke vows to search the world to find a way to bring Rachel back."

http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/ff6story.shtml

That quote was taken from the "Final Fantasy Compendium - FF6 Story" and the link can be found in the shownotes.

When we hear the story, this music is playing: It's written by Nobuo Uematsu, taken from the Final Fantasy VI OST and it's called "Forever Rachel."

(FOREVER RACHEL)

It's a beautiful piece of music, I must say.  I hope that you agree, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you may be thinking "while yes, this is quite an exquisite piece of music, what does it have to do with Locke."

There are three sections to this piece, but the whole work only uses two musical themes.  The sections are A, B. and B`, meaning the it's like B, but it isn't exactly B.

The first section, called the A Section, is this:

(FOREVER RACHEL - A SECTION)

Hmmm... a string of descending notes, does that sound familiar?

(LOCKE - B)

(FOREVER RACHEL)

See what's happening here? Uematsu has used a pattern from the B section of Locke's Theme and used at as the opening theme to "Forever Rachel?" Why could he have done this? I know what you're thinking - "Kenley, you're looking way too deeply into this, there are only so many patterns of notes that a composer can use and he just HAPPENED to use the same two for some people that are sort of related..."  

Okay, that's fine.

(FOREVER RACHEL - B)

(LOCKE - A)

(FOREVER RACHEL - B)

Yep, just a coincidence.  Fortunately, it's not a coincidence and Uematsu is a brilliant man.  He's taken the A theme from Locke's Theme and made it minor for "Forever Rachel."  Major is happy, minor is sad.  So he's inverted the A and B sections of Locke's Theme to make this tune - maybe because Locke is heroic and being remorseful could be its antithesis? I don't know... but one thing I do know for sure is that these two themes are related.  Here is all of "Forever Rachel."

(FOREVER RACHEL)

Is Locke unique with this situation? A seemingly excitable adventurer who is confident, a little bit pompous and seems like he has NOTHING to hide? Well, I suppose the first question would be, is there any other character in the game who matches that criteria? Well... Terra has some issues already, so it can't be her, Celes's theme is quite emotive in the first place... what about... Setzer?

Indeed, Setzer is the over-confident gambling airship-pilot in Final Fantasy VI.  His theme, will tell you the same thing - running strings, big and boisterous brass melody... here it is, this is "Setzer"

(SETZER)

Could he be hiding a deep secret? Indeed, he is and like Locke, it also pertains to a fallen friend.  The Final Fantasy Compendium has this to say about it: "A debutante gambler named Setzer has an airship race with his close friend, Daryl. However, Daryl's airship, the Falcon, malfunctions and crashes. Setzer restores the Falcon, then buries it and Daryl both in a grave near Kohlingen."

In order for the moment to get the strongest emotional effect, the music has to pertain to Setzer to remind the audience, but his theme is way too adventurous for a scene where he gets in touch with his softside.  So Uematsu crafts a soft and delicate piece Setzer's thematic material.  This piece is played when the party claims the Falcon and resurrects it from its earthy grave.  It's called "Epitaph," and it's written by Nobuo Uematsu.

(EPITAPH)

What's happening musically and plot-wise reinforces the concept that the story revolves around the characters, or rather; the story is told through the characters.  By have elaborate backstories like this one, these two seemingly stereotypical characters now become dynamic and complex players in the story.  


(OPERA HOUSE)

One of the amazing things in the game is the story within a story aspect of it, which resulted in one of the most famous scenes in the series - The Opera House Sequence.  The general reasoning for a "story within a story" is to showcase an inner theme, motive or the inner workings of a character by removing the focus from themselves and putting it somewhere else.  The wiki on the subject explains it much better:

"The inner stories are told either simply to entertain or more usually to act as an example to the other characters. In either case the story often has symbolic and psychological significance for the characters in the outer story. There is often some parallel between the two stories, and the fiction of the inner story is used to reveal the truth in the outer story."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_within_a_play

The address for that quote is in the shownotes.  We see this happen in both classic literature and in pop culture.  In Shakespeare's " A Midsummer Night's Dream," the mechanicals tell a story of Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe," the Simpson's have "Itchy and Scratchy" and South Park has "Terrance and Philip."  The point of all of these things is to draw different themes into the story by the means of another story.  

At this point in the story, we'll say that Terra is "out of commission" so that we don't spoil anything, but the party thinks that there may be some way to help her in the imperial capital city of Vector.  The catch is that it's on another island and they're a bit short on transportation.  

Upon arriving in the art-house community of Jidoor, they meet the Impresario of the Opera House just south of the town.  He's got some trouble, he can't find the leading lady of his upcoming opera! Her name is Maria, it's true, she's a looker.  In fact, being the looker that she is, she's found the attention of the high-flying gambler, Setzer... and wouldn't you know, Setzer is the owner of the only airship in the world.  You know, funny story... there is one member of the party that kind of looks like Maria... in fact, she's a perfect copy of the opera diva... and it's our former imperial general, Celes.  After much reluctance, Celes eventually agrees to put down her rank for one night and sing in the Impresario's opera and maybe lure the pilot into a ride into Vector.

It's opening night, the curtain draws, and we start with the Overture.

(OVERTURE)

During the Overture, we read this: "The West and East were waging war... Draco, theWest's great hero, thinks of his love, Maria.  Is she safe? Is she waiting?"

After the overture happens, Celes sings and one of the most beautiful moments of the game takes place.  Her voice is synthesized because of the limitations of the SPC700, which is the soundcard of the SNES.  However, her lyrics are as follows:

Oh my hero, so far away now.
 Will I ever see your smile?
 Love goes away, like night into day.
 It's just a fading dream...
 I'm the darkness, you're the stars.
 Our love is brighter than the sun.
 For eternity, for me can there be, only you, my chosen one...
 Must I forget you?
 Our solemn promise?
 Will autumn take the place of spring?
 What shall I do?
 I'm lost without you.
 Speak to me once more!"


This is Celes's aria.  For the record, a basic aria is a song for solo voice - this is "Aria di Mezzo Caraterre."

(ARIA DI MEZZO CARATERRE)

I love it, such good memories.  You know that this song is yearning to be performed by a vocalist, perhaps an opera singer? Well, it has been.  In fact, it's been performed in three different language - Japanese, Italian and English.  

This is the one in Japanese.  It's from Orchestral Game Concert IV and was recorded in 1994 by the Toyko City Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kousuke Onozaki. Baritone: Hiroshi Kuroda; Mezzo Soprano: Wakako Aokimi; Tenor: Tetsuya Ono.

(ARIA DI MEZZO CARATERRE - 6:10)

Beauty, that's my favourite recording of it.

The reason why this is so important in the game is because I think that it's the first time we see Celes drop the General's uniform.  It's true that she's quite weak when Locke finds her in South Figaro, but she really develops into a caring and compassionate woman and I think that this is the first time that we see that.  I think that that's the true importance of the "story within the story" aspect in the game here - to highlight Celes as a major character.  The beauty of this scene is that this is really the first time that we hear her theme. the whole "World of Ruin" section of the game starts, who is the first person that we see? It's true, it's Celes.  This gives us a further glimpse into her soul, especially because we've only heard her theme once - whether we know it or not.  The melody that she sings during the opera house sequence is her theme, but her musical theme comes to an absolute fruition much later in the game - during the World of Ruin section when the game takes a sudden dark turn.  We find Celes at the top of a cliff as she leaps off in an attempt to take her life and at this moment, we hear her theme in a dramatic, yet unquestionable purity.  This is "Celes." 

(CELES)

Absolutely spell-binding.  We've already heard one arrangement tonight, but let's have a bit more here...

The first is a the winner of the 2008 Uematsu Arrangement Competition put on by Squaresound.com by Andrew Aversa and it's called "Dirt Devil."  It remixes the "Devil's Lab, Umaro, Kefka and Terra" themes! He got to meet Uematsu from this remix... nice work, zircon :)

(DIRT DEVIL)

The next is a collaboration by two fantastic arrangers, both Jeremy Robson and Derek Oren for their epic cantata, "Cantata for Dancing," which remixes the final boss theme of FFVI, called "Dancing Mad."  This is the first movement, "Mors Ego Sum Mortis."

(CANTATA FOR DANCING 1)

Our third arrangement is one by Jiggin' Jon T and it is a solo piano arrangement of "Setzer's Theme."  It's got a very cool Gershwin feel to it, I hope you enjoy it, it's called "A Day in the Life of a Gambler."

(DAY IN THE LIFE OF A GAMBLER)

And you can get all of those remixes from http://www.ocremix.org.

And the third is a big band arrangement that I submitted to the Uematsu Arrangement Competition and won second for.  It's a jump swing of Kefka's theme, hope you enjoy! It's called "Hundreds of Voices, Swinging in Unison."

(HUNDREDS OF VOICES)



And now, for our final part of this epically long show.  Without further adieu






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