That's an ice xylophone he has there.note
"This makes me remember lazy winter days when it's snowed over and no one wants to go outside."
— BeBop Deluxe, about "Morning Frost" from A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky
Wintry environments benefit greatly from ambient music. Oftentimes, these pieces will make use of "breathy" instruments like woodwinds to create the feeling of a blustery, windy climate. Or perhaps it's a more pleasant piece near the holidays, and so it will make use of sleigh bells. Then there are tracks that have a strong association with winter and ice that prefer to evoke the idea of an icy chime, like someone creating sound by hitting an icicle, usually through the use of keyboard instruments. This would be that trope in action.
In music, a keyboard instrument requires the player to press on a key or a collection of keys to generate sound. Possibly the examples that come to mind the most are instruments where the key itself is struck to create sound, such as a glockenspiel, where metal keys are struck to create chime sounds, or a xylophone, which involves striking wooden keys. Other similar instruments such as the vibraphone or marimba involve striking a metal or wooden key respectively, and the vibrations echo into a resonator pipe. All of these instruments are called ideophones, and they make up the bulk of what this trope describes, where the separate keys are struck, creating a distinct clink noise.
Sound may be created by striking or plucking a string, such as a piano or harpsichord, instruments known as chordophones, or by changing the way the air vibrates as it moves through the instrument, such as the accordion or pipe organ, instruments known as aerophones. These do not occur nearly as often due to the difference in sound and atmosphere, but they can occasionally appear, such as aerophones creating that windier sort of noise to pair with the chiming, or a Lonely Piano Piece being played on a wintry mountaintop, feeling as though the chimes are off in the far distance rather than close by. However, it should be noted that while an LPP can be an example of this trope, the atmosphere must be primarily the winter and the cold rather than the loneliness and isolation to apply.
Expect to see this trope used often in Slippy Slidey Ice Worlds, especially if they are full of Ice Crystals, where it can be imagined the crystals in question are what are being played. To a lesser extent, this may also apply to water-themed levels as well, given the strong thematic overlap of water and ice. As this deals more with atmosphere, expect to encounter this more in interactive media such as video games.
As a matter of fact, there is a literal keyboard instrument made of ice. It is called the pagophone
, and it sounds very similar to a xylophone when played.
Compare with sister tropes such as Snowy Sleigh Bells for sleigh bells being used to evoke wintry feelings, and one or both may indicate a Christmas Episode, Steel Drums and Sunshine for steel drums being used to evoke tropical and/or sunny locales, or Jungle Drums for tribal drums being used to create a feeling of being in the heart of a jungle away from civilization.
Not to be confused with a computer keyboard made out of ice.
Examples:
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Films — Animation
- Fantasia (1940) uses "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker, whose celesta part is prominent throughout, for an animation sequence themed around frost patterns.
- Frozen (2013):
- "Let It Go," which is set on a snowy mountain and even starts off with the line "The snow glows white on the mountain tonight," features very heavy use of piano for its instrumental track.
- "Whiteout" occasionally uses chimes along with windier instruments in its more wintry moments, as the climax takes place in the middle of a massive ice storm.
- Frozen II
- "Into the Unknown" again makes heavy use of the piano. Where the piano in "Let It Go" is used to emphasize Elsa's isolation, "Into the Unknown'' uses it to create a feeling of mystery and wonder about the voice Elsa is hearing.
- ''Show Yourself" once again relies heavily on the piano. Where "Let It Go" and "Into the Unknown" had a certain harshness to them, "Show Yourself" is much softer and more soothing as Elsa excitedly approaches the source of her cryokinetic power. Listening to "Let It Go", "Into the Unknown", and "Show Yourself" back-to-back and analyzing their use of the piano makes an interesting commentary on Elsa's state of mind and Character Development.
Films - Live-Action
- Ralph Vaughan Williams's score for Scott Of The Antarctic and its symphonic adaptation Sinfonia antartica uses mysteriously harmonized passages orchestrated with glockenspiel, xylophone or vibraphone, celesta and piano to symbolize the icy environment of the Antarctic continent and its surrounding waters.
Live-Action TV
- Power Rangers Operation Overdrive: The Leitmotif of the ice-based villain Flurious is a series of notes played on a xylophone.
Video Games
- Ape Escape: The level "Hot Springs", the third level of the Ice Age set of levels, features light bells forming an ostinato until MIDI flutes take over the melody.
- Castle Crashers: The "Ice Castle" track features a singular xylophone, giving a lonely and chilly atmosphere, as it's used for cutscenes.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33:
- "Follow the Steps of Monoco" plays in Monoco's Station, a snowy region, and features strong bells, a piano, and other chimey instruments in the background.
- In addition, "Tic Tacs", which plays in the snowy mountain peak Frozen Hearts, opens with a reversed chime and features a piano a few measures later.
- Copy Kitty: World 11, an ice-themed level, features the track "Physalis Phrost" which features low-pitched chimes and bells coupled with sleigh bells.
- CrossCode: The theme of Bergen Village uses a piano coupled with string plucks and a breathy flute to create the theme of a snowy village near a mountaintop.
- Donkey Kong 64: The Igloo section of the Crystal Caves features a marimba playing in addition to the level's usual chimes, heavily selling a theme of Ice Crystals to go with the level's crystal theme.
- Drawn to Life: "Snowy World" and "Snowy World 2" feature primarily steel drums, but sleigh bells and chime bells have prominent roles in setting the atmosphere for the Snow Gate levels early in the game, as does "Snow Fight", the theme of a snowball fight minigame, and "Frostwind", the theme of Snow Gate's area boss.
- Epic Battle Fantasy:
- Adventure Story: The 11 to 15th levels' theme, "The Frozen Journey", with snow and snow-covered trees, features a bit of a mysterious yet adventurous atmosphere with its chorus "Ahs", handpan, and the chimey glockenspiel.
- Bullet Heaven 2: The World 4, a.k.a Whitefall Glacier, a land of snow and snow-covered trees. Its theme is "Christmas Is Here!" and true to its name, it uses a piano and light percussion to create a festive atmosphere.
- Epic Battle Fantasy 3: The two "Sisters of Snow" tracks (Assent and Dissent) feature heavy xylophone use, mixed with Snowy Sleigh Bells.
- Epic Battle Fantasy 4:
- "Crystalis Fantasia", the theme of the Crystal Caverns, features heavy xylophone use, as though the musician is playing the Ice Crystals directly.
- Similarly, "A First Snow With Friends" also starts with heavy keyboard use while Snowy Sleigh Bells also kick in.
- Epic Battle Fantasy 5:
- "Return of the Snow Queen", the battle theme of the Ice Cave and Frozen Valley locations, features a strong glockenspiel with a lengthy echo to create the feeling of a deep, frigid icy cave.
- "积雪浮云端 (Snowdrift on the Cloud Edge)", the field theme of Frozen Valley features mainly a piano and a glockenspiel played with soft mallets, creating not just an atmosphere of a cold locale, but also one of anticipation as the player and party approach the final level.
- Fairy Bloom Freesia: "Dance of Snow Fairy" features prominent chimes to go along with a snowy forest stage.
- Final Fantasy:
- Final Fantasy IX: The Ice Cavern shortly after the game's opening uses marimbas and triangle dings to set the scene before other instruments come in, such as the orchestra hit.
- Final Fantasy XII: The Paramina Rift uses the piano for this purpose, as well as sleigh bells at strategic moments to create the feeling of a frozen rift in the side of Mt. Bur-Omisace that the party is traveling through.
- Final Fantasy XIV: The Heavensward expansion, which begins in the snowy lands of Coerthas, has several songs that feature tinkling keyboards alongside grandiose pipe organs. Examples include harpiscords in Nobility Obliges, one of the themes of the frostbitten and stately stone capital; pianos in Against The Wind, used as the Western Highland's day theme despite pianos primarily being reserved for night music; and a mixture of marimba, vibraphone, piano, and others in Descent, the theme for the snow-buried Dusk Vigil.
- Flower Knight Girl: Introduced in the Christmas-themed event "Bells of Friendship Ringing on Christmas Eve" is the song "Praise for an Investigation Well Done"Japanese Name, a slow piano piece that, in later uses, is attributed to the perpetually snowy nation of Winter Rose, along with the World Flower spirit representative Win.
- GoldenEye (1997): Grant Kirkhope gives Surface I a more artificial version of this trope with a MIDI chime forming the closest thing this track has to a melody as it plays a high-pitched minor key rendition of portions of the classic James Bond theme, as Bond explores the snow-covered, low-visibility ground-level buildings of the Severnaya Installation.
- I am Setsuna: The game takes place in a world of endless snowfall, and the piano is its most prominent instrument throughout all of its tracks to create that atmosphere.
- Khimera: Puzzle Island: "Winter Wonderland", the song of its titular stage, represented by snowmen and snow-topped trees, features bright chimes at the beginning to set a bright tone, wind chimes to create a magical feeling, and a synth keyboard and glockenspiel to create the wintry feeling.
- The Legend of Zelda: This series loves this trope.
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: The Ice Cavern makes heavy use of chime sounds in its minimal soundtrack to match the heavy icy theme of this mini-dungeon.
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap: The Temple of Droplets, a water/ice dungeon, features very prominent chimes in a quiet melody befitting a largely empty temple.
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess:
- Snowpeak Ruins features synthy notes and a glockenspiel to create a mysterious atmosphere as Link explores a chilly mansion inhabited by two yetis. The boss, Blizzeta, uses bells and a choir in the first half of the song to create a dangerous and icy-sounding track, but the second half uses a pipe organ, harpsichord, and bells to up the danger feeling.
- The snowboarding theme features icy-sounding bells to create a fun feeling as Link races Yeto and Yeta down Snowpeak mountain, even overriding the game's minigame begin and finish fanfares with the chimes to set the mood right from the outset.
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: The "Ice Ruins" track features a glockenspiel playing the Lorule dungeon theme for the icy dungeon at the top of the snowed-over Lorule version of Death Mountain.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild:
- Vah Ruta's theme makes heavy use of a xylophone, given it's a water dungeon where heavy emphasis is placed on the use of the Cryonis Sheikah Rune.
- The soundtrack for icy areas, such as the Tabantha tundra and Hebra mountains, makes use of light taps interspersed among the blowing of the wind to create a lonely, haunting atmosphere.
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: The entire set of music surrounding the ascent to and exploration of the Wind Temple, as well as the theme of the boss Colgera, is full of windy-sounding instruments, with chimes backing it. It is far more prominent in Colgera's boss theme, given that you are fighting effectively a sandworm but made of ice.
- Lies of P: The Overture DLC runs on this trope with several songs featuring prominent keyboards. The tone is set right from Lea's Theme in the main menu of the DLC, which features the P-Organ sitting in a snowy field and features a somber piano, creating a moody atmosphere and also making it an example of a Lonely Piano Piece.
- Metroid: Another series that greatly enjoys using this trope.
- Metroid Prime: Phendrana Drifts, the game's resident ice theme, very famously uses chimes with the reverb set extremely high, as well as a piano to evoke a chilly effect.
- Metroid Fusion: Sector 5 (ARC)'s main theme is a slow piece that uses a glockenspiel not just to create a wintry feeling, but also, like other tracks in the game, to create a nerve-wracking soundtrack full of eerie clinks and other sounds. After Nightmare messes the place up and it's no longer nearly as icy, the theme goes away.
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: The Phendrana chimes with heavy reverb are brought back for the planet Bryyo's ice biome.
- Myst IV: Revelation: The Age of Spire is a cold and barren Crystal Landscape, and the ambience is played on glass harmonica. This instrument produces pure, eerie tones similar to the resonant crystals all around. The melody is a sorrowful Dark Reprise of Big Bad Sirrus' theme, who spent years exiled here.
- Octopath Traveler: The field theme of the Frostlands features chimes and a piano to create an adventurous, chilly theme. The theme of Flamesgrace also features a soft piano to create a feeling of warmth and home while still having a winter feeling.
- Octopath Traveler II: The theme of the Winterlands features a piano combined with a violin by day or a feminine choir by night, evoking a more melancholy winter theme than its predecessor. Snowswept Town, the theme of almost all snowy villages features a set of bells combined with a piano as well, and "Without Hope, Without Warmth", the theme of the frigid northern town of Stormhail, features a piano by day and a glockenspiel by night to sell a completely hopeless and hostile city in the middle of a winter tempest.
- One Step From Eden:
- "Battle of Ice I" makes use of a piano to help create the atmosphere.
- "The Arctic", while just as synth-heavy as the rest of the soundtrack, features more prominent bells and chimes in its middle section.
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps: The themes surrounding Baur's Peak, a snowy mountaintop inhabited by a polar bear, feature chimes for rhythm more than melody.
- Pokémon: This series also loves this trope.
- Generation 4:
- Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum heavily used chimes, xylophones, and pianos to create atmosphere in the ascent up Mt. Coronet, a mountain beset by a heavy blizzard.
- Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver redid Generation 2's Ice Cave track to make it use a marimba and xylophone instead of 8-bit low and high notes. Interestingly, the same track also applies to the Dark Cave, where no ice is to be found. It also featured a slower-paced version of the same Mt. Coronet theme from Diamond and Pearl as the player explored the Sinjoh Ruins.
- Pokémon Black and White: Several of the location themes use a different arrangement based on the in-game season. For winter, most of the arrangements incorporate chimes.
- Pokémon Black 2 and White 2: Naturally, "The Frozen City" makes heavy use of chimes and a piano to set the atmosphere of a frozen Opelucid City.
- Pokémon Sun and Moon: The music as the player climbs Mt. Lanakila and arrives at its summit also makes heavy use of chimes and a piano to evoke the treacherous snowy mountaintop the player is scaling.
- Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra makes use of a piano and bells, especially in the quieter parts of its main locale's theme.
- Pokémon Masters: Ice-type trainers that share a theme, such as Lorelei of the Kanto Elite 4 or Glacia of the Hoenn Elite 4, will see their tracks use chimes or bells to set them apart from their others.
- Generation 4:
- RuneScape: "Stranded", the theme of the Ice Path, a place you visit when locating the Ice Diamond as part of the "Desert Treasure I" quest, starts with chimes to set the mood, before more synthetic noises take the forefront.
- Shantae and the Pirate's Curse: "Arctic Justice", the theme of Frostbite Island, is fast-paced and frantic, and while the glockenspiel notes are mostly quiet behind the synth and 16-bit soundtrack, they do help add to the atmosphere of a blustery ice-covered island.
- Starbound: Both Arctic exploration themes feature heavy use of chimes, glockenspiel, and piano, though one theme is brighter and more upbeat for sunny days versus the other being a bit more melancholy for overcast or snowstorm weather.
- Stardew Valley:
- Two of the three field themes for the month of Winter, namely "Nocturne of Ice" and "Ancient", feature bells and xylophones. The third theme is a more wind-themed piece.
- Both themes of the Ice levels of the Mines lean on this, although in different ways. "Marimba of Frozen Bones" is exactly what it says it is, but the other theme, "Icicles", uses synth notes to create this effect despite not being a keyboard instrument.
- Super Mario Bros.:
- Super Mario Galaxy: The "Ice Mountain" theme, the theme of the icy half of "Freezeflame Galaxy", features a steel drum and a xylophone played highly staccato in contrast to its fiery counterpart which uses lower instruments played far more legato.
- Super Mario Odyssey: The "Ice Caves" theme, which plays in any ice-themed cave puzzles, features several keyboards in the opening section of the track.
- Mario Kart 7: "Rosalina's Ice World" features a heavy piano and glockenspiel giving a heavy glacial track a sort of mystical winter atmosphere.
- Princess Peach: Showtime!: The Figure Skater Peach levels use an electric keyboard as the main instrument in their background music with faint synthey bell notes to create a sort of magical background effect, especially after Peach transforms.
- Terraria: The theme of the Snow biome features synthy chimes.
- Toontown Online: The theme of "The Brrrgh", the hub area for Pluto's frozen-over Brrrgh neighborhood, features a xylophone ostinato behind the other instruments forming the melody.
- Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil: "Beloved Tomboyish Girl", the theme of the ice fairy Cirno, doesn't use a xylophone directly, but it uses chimey synth sounds in the background to mimic and evoke the effect.
- Touhou Luna Nights: "Beloved Tomboyish Daughter", the boss battle theme for ice fairy Cirno, doesn't use a xylophone directly, but it uses chimey synth sounds in the background to mimic and evoke the effect.
- Undertale: The music around the Snowdin Village area makes use of a staccato piano with minimal reverb to create the feeling of a peaceful snowy field as the protagonist makes their way to the titular village, which is more pleasant and upbeat to add a sense of friendly warmth to the wintry cold.
- Vampire Survivors: The theme of the Whiteout and Ice Age stages, "Remedy in the Snow", features a harpsichord in a harmonic role, though later in the song, more crystalline sounds become pronounced to create that icy feeling.
- A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky: "Morning Frost", used when travelling in the snowy forest north of Dragon's Mouth, features bells and chimes to create the feeling of a still, frozen snowfield.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 1: The titular track of Valak Mountain, a frigid mountaintop full of Ice Crystals that glow yellow at night, starts off with a flute and oboe while a guitar strums in the background, but as the song really gets going, bells start chiming more and more prominently.
Web Animation
- Red vs. Blue: "Ice Fight", the theme of a portion of the fight between Tex versus Washington and the Meta on the Halo 3 map "Avalanche" in the climax of Season 8, begins with a glockenspiel before featuring chimes as more of a harmonic accompaniment behind the choir and orchestra. The opening isn't heard in the show proper, as it picks up right when the orchestral break happens, but the harmonic bells are still audible.
Web Videos
- This trope is analyzed by a musician in this video "Why Does Snow Level Music Sound COLD?"