This is an original composition prompt inspired by the recent 8BMT video:
The latest 8-Bit Music Theory video analyzes Colgera’s boss theme from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a piece that famously builds and builds until it finally bursts into a quote of the beloved “Dragon Roost Island” melody. It’s a powerful example of how a well-placed musical reference can heighten emotion, deliver surprise, or connect themes across time. This week, compose an original piece of music that includes a short quote from another piece of music.
The quoted material can appear anywhere in the piece, but it should be short, and the majority of your work should be original (this is a composition week, after all). Just consider how you’ll incorporate the quote and make it a memorable moment. You might, like in the aforementioned boss theme, use it as an emotional climax. Or you could foreshadow the quote by hinting at its elements throughout the composition before its big reveal. Maybe the quote brings contrast, such as dropping a dark, foreboding quote dropped into an otherwise cheerful tune. Or be a bit cheeky with your choice as your very serious, dramatic piece goes on to quote "All Star" or some other meme-worthy melody.
Entries will be due Thursday, 17 April, 2025 9:00 PM EST.
Entries will be rated by you, the people, on the following:
Use of prompt
Score
Overall
To submit your entry, please DM the message vote!submit to @8Bot via Discord. This will give you a special link that will take you to a page where you can upload your music (in discord-embeddable format like mp3 or link to streaming site like soundcloud or youtube) and score (in pdf format). If you have any trouble using this system, please don't hesitate to ask an 8BMT staff member.
