Picture me in my car, trying to get some ideas to write this article by listening to the Hogwarts Legacy soundtrack. I can notice the references to the movies, and also how it develops a certain identity and uniqueness for an original entry in the Wizarding World franchise. I think about modes, I think about dissonance and resolution, I think about interpretation and orchestration. Then, I pick up my wife from work, and, without any input on my behalf, she hears the music and says: “hey, are you watching Harry Potter?” I immediately throw away any idea I had about music theory. And that’s how this article begins.
Meeting an Old Friend
I mean, don’t get me wrong, my wife loves music, but she doesn’t know any music theory or has a degree like her husband does, but she correctly identified the music in less than a second. It was like meeting an old friend of hers, or even seeing me after a long day’s work. You can identify someone immediately by looking at their face, by hearing their voice, or even reading someone’s writing style.
So, for my wife, hearing the Hogwarts Legacy soundtrack was like meeting an old friend. An old friend that has been present in 8 movies that she has seen and enjoyed. That got me thinking and allowed me to contemplate about the title of this article. Music in the Wizarding World is magical, yes. The use of the Celesta to play Hedwig’s Theme, all the way to hearing big choirs with strings and horns blazing away the Harry Potter soundtrack around Hogwarts.
Yes, it sounds magical, thanks to the constant use of alterations and notes outside the “norm” of each tonality (every single piece of Harry Potter music has this). This is all used in Hogwarts Legacy as well, by the way. But music can also be magical, in a sense that it can bring us back to specific places across our lifetime, to remember or re experience trauma or beloved times.
Healing the Soul with Memories
Have you heard the phrase “this is our/my song”? Have you ever heard “this is our/my painting”? Or even “this is our/my novel”? Well, perhaps you do have a favorite painting and novel, and you identify with them. But I bet you that they don’t have the same effect as hearing the song you heard a while ago that made you cry, or the song that was played during your wedding. Or even, the song you heard when you picked up your first controller and played your first console when you were young.
One of the best video game songs (or technically, piece of music, since it isn’t sung) that I can remember is the Song of Healing, from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. I remember hearing it playing back and forth whenever I met the Mask Salesman, but I also remember it playing when healing several characters in the game, specially the ones we get the transformation masks from.
Then, 20 years later, while being restricted due to the severe lockdown that took place in my country, I heard an orchestrated version of Song of Healing. I balled my eyes out. The feeling of solitude, the uncertainty, the “what could have been”, but mainly, the memories of a much simpler time, when finishing the Water Temple was my main concern or when beating Gyorg felt impossible. When I heard the song, I felt that it healed me. I felt release, resolute, self-determination, closure, love. Magic.
Related: All Voice Actors Involved in Hogwarts Legacy
The Double Magic of Music
What I mean to say in this article, ridden with emotions that surpass me, is that, being it the Hogwarts Legacy soundtrack, the Harry Potter franchise, or Majora’s Mask as a whole, music is a powerful means of communication. In HL, you can experience the magic of dueling with its music, you get rewarded with a little throwback tune each time you discover a secret or get a page for your Field Guide. You can feel the magic and wholesome vibe of Hogsmeade, or even the sense of loss and desperation when one character dies for a cause, specially if said character is very close to us.
Those are powerful scenes, that become timeless thanks to the individual notes that make up the melody, the group of chords that become the harmony, and the instruments that give the Hogwarts Legacy soundtrack a double magical feeling. Magical because it sounds like the Wizarding World, with all its music theory and instrumentation. But magical as well because it brings us together to help us reminisce when we were kids and were in line to see the new Harry Potter flick. Oh, those were the times, but we still have some time to enjoy new things, new memories, new friends, new music. After all this time? Always.
Hogwarts Legacy is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. Please check out Gamer Journalist on Facebook to join the discussion and keep up to date with our content. You might also like to check out or guides on Best Random Encounters in Hogwarts Legacy or Can you Replay Quests in Hogwarts Legacy? Answered.
