Link’s Ocarina Playing In The Remake Is So Accurate You Could Learn From It

Music has been a major part of The Legend of Zelda almost from the beginning, from the flute in A Link to the Past to the Wind Fish instruments of Link's Awakening. It played a titular role in Ocarina of Time, as a magical object tied to both the narrative and several gameplay elements. You would learn several different songs during your adventure, and for the Ocarina 2026 remake, Nintendo has taken it up a notch with finger movements so accurate you could use them to actually learn how to play the ocarina yourself.

For an expert perspective, we turned to Eric Bernard, manager of Songbird Ocarina. For you longtime fans, this is the same company whose ads were ubiquitous in Nintendo Power magazine for years following the original release of Ocarina of Time. And Bernard said that based on the videos of Link in pre-release trailers, the playing was extremely accurate--with one minor caveat.

"What we noticed from the animations of Link playing the Ocarina in the remake, is that he is always playing the song in the exact same key signature that each song was originally written in the original Ocarina of Time game," he said. "The fingering pattern when Link plays each song is also surprisingly very accurate, with just one general exception due to the physical limitations of the instrument." 

Bernard said the one exception is a product of the note range of the actual instrument being depicted. That range isn't quite large enough to capture all of the notes needed for some songs, so Nintendo had to get a little creative. 

"A standard 12-Hole Alto C ocarina such as the one depicted in the remake has a musical range of almost two octaves from A4 - F6," he said. "However, some songs that Link plays on the ocarina in the original key have notes that surpass the possible range of the actual ocarina.

"For example, when we see Link play the Sun's Song, the highest note that the song ends on is a high G. However, an ocarina can not normally possibly reach a high G. The highest note possible is a high F. So technically in cases such as these, the true 'correct' fingering to produce the 'correct' note does not actually exist. What they have done in the animation in this case is that Link plays the G one octave lower. So we see Link playing a low G on the ocarina fingering animation, but the note we hear is a high G one octave higher (which is outside of the normal possible range of an ocarina)." 

All that said, the movements are accurate enough that you could generally emulate the songs just by watching Link's finger movements. "If a fan had a standard 12-Hole Alto C ocarina, they could absolutely imitate what they see Link playing on screen to correctly play any song that he plays," Bernard said. 

That's not too surprising, given that Nintendo is officially licensing an electronic ocarina accessory from Hori that imitates the finger placements of a real instrument. You can also hum a melody into the Switch 2 microphone to cue up Link's various songs.

“For fans, to play this remake is to remember over and over again why you fell in love with Ocarina in the first place, and to see the brilliance with fresh eyes," I wrote in our The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time review. "For newcomers, this is now the definitive way to experience this all-time classic."