Note

Rainbow Notes (sometimes called only Music Notes) are multicolored items that appear in Super Mario Galaxy. They will usually appear when Mario grabs a Question Coin, although the ones in Gold Leaf Galaxy appear if Mario rings a bell with the Star Cursor. Afterwards, they will line up, and Mario will need to grab all of them. Each note makes a different sound and together forms a short jingle or tune, typically from another game in the Mario series. If the Player gets every note, Mario will get a prize, such as a 1-Up Mushroom. The notes are also used in a few levels where they need to be collected to get the star, such as the Hurry-Scurry Galaxy, the Gold Leaf Galaxy, and the Sea Slide Galaxy.

Rainbow Notes also reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They appear in several galaxies throughout the game and have the same function as in the first game.

Themes that are Played by Musical Notes

 * The chromatic scale
 * Super Mario Bros. underground theme
 * Super Mario Bros. underwater theme
 * Super Mario World bonus area theme