Ground BGM (Super Mario Bros.)
- "Mario's Theme" redirects here. For other musical themes associated with and/or named after Mario, see Category:Mario's themes.
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- “Dooo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo! Hey, I love this tune!”
- —Mario, Fortune Street
"Ground BGM",[1] also known as "Ground Theme",[2] "Ground Background Music",[3] "Overworld Theme",[4] or "Main Theme",[5] is a recurring musical theme composed by Koji Kondo, first appearing in World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. The theme has become one of the most recognizable and iconic themes in the Super Mario franchise, as well as the video game industry as a whole, having made numerous appearances in games and media associated with Mario or the franchise itself and been arranged many times by musicians and in symphonic concerts.[6][7] In 2023, it became the first piece of video game music to be inducted into the National Recording Registry.[8]
Set in the key of C major, the theme uses a periodic structure and calypso rhythm and plays at an andante moderato tempo in cut time.[9] Sheet music for "Ground BGM" was used in the background of Super Mario Orchestra Concert promotional material.
Composition[edit]
"Ground BGM" is a calypso,[10] jazz fusion,[11] and Latin-styled theme,[11] with a rhythm that Koji Kondo wrote alongside the rest of the music for Super Mario Bros. while watching and playing the game as it was being developed.[12] Kondo has cited works by Japanese fusion band T-Square and musician Sadao Watanabe as influences in the music.[13] The first bar after the introduction to "Ground BGM" shares a melody with a bar from T-Square's "Sister Marian",[14] which predates the original release date of Super Mario Bros. by over a year.
Upon seeing the overworld levels in an early prototype of Super Mario Bros., Kondo initially wrote a "laid-back, relaxing" piece that would invoke the feeling of a "carefree walk", but he thought it did not fit the game. Kondo decided instead to create a new piece whose tempo would match the game's speed and the rhythm of Mario's movements, though a triplet rhythm from the original piece was retained in the final composition.[15][16] He continued to scrap versions that did not time up with Mario's actions or harmonize with sound effects. "Ground BGM" was the second theme Kondo created for the game, after the underwater theme,[17] and took the most time to compose.[18]
In Super Mario Bros., "Ground BGM" is used as the background music of all levels except underground, underwater, and castle levels. This includes level themes that would be given separate music in later games, such as athletic and night levels. As the game is for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System, the theme is orchestrated as chiptune, using two pulse wave channels for melody and harmony, a triangular wave generator for bass, and a noise channel for percussion. After the introduction, a rhythmic contrast emerges between the tonal parts, which play with straight eighth notes, and the percussion, which plays a swing rhythm. The theme uses mode mixture, borrowing the A flat and B flat chords from the C minor scale.
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[edit]
- Main articles: Player Down (Super Mario Bros.), Game Over (Super Mario Bros. theme)
Super Mario Bros. marks the first appearance of "Ground BGM".
Both "Player Down"[1] and "Game Over"[1] are arranged excerpts of "Ground BGM". The former is taken from the last several notes of the theme before it loops, and the latter is taken from the first few notes that follow its opening bar. Koji Kondo's idea behind these themes was to motivate players to try again, rather than using sounds that would otherwise discourage them.[19][20]
The soundtrack for Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is almost entirely made up of the unmodified version of the soundtrack Super Mario Bros., including "Ground BGM".
 Player Down - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. | File info 0:03 |
| Game Over - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. | File info 0:04 |
Super Mario Bros. Special[edit]
Super Mario Bros. Special features a much choppier version of "Ground BGM". It is used for the same purpose as in Super Mario Bros. Like other themes in the game, the bassline is one octave lower. In addition, the tempo fluctuates depending on how many entities are on-screen at once. It also plays during the game's staff credits.
| Ground BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. Special (PC-88) | File info 0:30 |
| Ground BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. Special (Sharp X1) | File info 0:30 |
VS. Super Mario Bros.[edit]
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- Main article: Gyōmu-yō Mario Namae-ire
In VS. Super Mario Bros., a remix of "Ground BGM" interlaced with sound effects plays on the name registration screen. It is titled「業務用マリオ 名前入れ」(Gyōmu-yō Mario Namae-ire) in the Super Mario World album.
| 業務用マリオ 名前入れ - The remix heard in VS. Super Mario Bros. | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Bros. (Game & Watch)[edit]
In 1986, an arrangement of the first six notes of the theme in D major was made for Super Mario Bros. (Game & Watch, Crystal Screen series), with its first note being a D instead of an F♯. It can be heard at the start of each level. This arrangement would reappear unchanged for the Special Edition (1987) and New Wide Screen (1988) versions.
| Ground Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. (Game & Watch) | File info 0:01 |
Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
In Super Mario Bros. 2, an arrangement of "Ground BGM", titled "Sub-Space BGM" in the Nintendo Music app, plays in Sub-Space, replacing an original tune in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic. This arrangement is noticeably shortened, only including two excerpts from the original piece.
| Sub-Space BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. 2 | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
- Main article: Music Box (theme)
In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Music Box item plays a soothing arrangement of an excerpt of "Ground BGM" when used. The theme is transposed to a higher range and features a delay effect. It is titled "Music Box" in the Nintendo Music app. The music has the in-game effect of lulling all Hammer Brother, Fire Brother, Boomerang Brother, and Sledge Brother Enemy Courses, as well as the Piranha Plant stages in Pipe Land, to sleep.
| Music Box - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. 3 | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Land[edit]
In Super Mario Land, the last bar of "Ground BGM" is incorporated into the theme of the Marine Pop and Sky Pop levels. It is titled "Shooting Area BGM" in the Nintendo Music app.
Additionally, the second bar of "Ground BGM" is incorporated into Super Mario Land's ending theme. It is titled "Ending" in the Nintendo Music app.
| Shooting Area BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Land | File info 0:30 |
| Ending - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Land | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Bros. (Nelsonic Game Watch)[edit]
In Super Mario Bros. on the Nelsonic Game Watch, a very short arrangement of the theme can be heard at the start of each game.
| Ground BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. on the Nelsonic Game Watch | File info 0:01 |
Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
- Main article: Special World (Map Screen)
In Super Mario World, "Ground BGM" is incorporated into the Special Zone map music after the main rhythm plays for two minutes. This arrangement uses synth brass and steel drums, which exchange to play specific melodies. It is titled "Special World (Map Screen)" in the Nintendo Music app.
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 features a slightly altered arrangement of the Special Zone theme.
Another arrangement of "Ground BGM" can be heard in the cutscene that plays after finding every goal in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2. In this game's international releases, this arrangement also incorporates "Course Clear" from Super Mario Bros.[21].
The title theme for the Mario Bros. mode in Super Mario Advance is reused in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, with slight differences between instruments, but is otherwise the same.
| Perfect Clear - International releases | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario All-Stars / Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World / Super Mario Advance / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition[edit]
Super Mario All-Stars, as well as it's reissues, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition, feature three 16-bit arrangements of "Ground BGM" with some note additions and changes.
The first arrangement is similar to the Special Zone arrangement from Super Mario World, as it uses brass, steel pans and orchestra hits in the respective segments, but an octave lower. It is used in ground-themed levels in both Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, as well as in Subspace in Super Mario Bros. 2, though only the sections heard in the original version are heard.
A new arrangement of "Ground BGM"'s sixth to eighth bars plays on the main game selection screen, and a new arrangement of the second bar plays in bonus areas in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
Super Mario Advance uses an arrangement of the Subspace theme very similar to the one heard in Super Mario All-Stars. This arrangement plays in a slightly higher pitch, aside from the drums and percussion.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 features two arrangements of "Ground BGM". An arrangement of the theme's B section plays during the opening when Princess Peach receives a letter from a Toad. Another arrangement based on the Super Mario All-Stars version is used for above-ground areas in the e-Reader levels Classic World 1-1, Classic World 1-2, Classic World 1-3, and Classic World 2-2, albeit compressed and with the orchestra hit being an A# note as opposed to G.
An arrangement of the first seven notes of "Ground BGM" is incorporated into the title theme for the remake of Mario Bros. featured in the Super Mario Advance series. As with the rest of the entries in the series, the arrangement features slight differences between instruments in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, but it is otherwise the same.
| Ground Theme (Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario All-Stars | File info 0:30 |
| Game Select - The arrangement heard in Super Mario All-Stars | File info 0:12 |
| Bonus Area (Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario All-Stars | File info 0:30 |
| Subspace - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Advance |