Composition

This theme took the longest of the six tracks of Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros.

is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...

 to compose, according to its composer Koji Kondo

Koji Kondo

is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for scoring numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series.-Early life:...

. He stated that he would write one piece, and the team would put it in the game. If it did not accentuate the action, did not time up with Mario

Mario

is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...

 running and jumping, or did not harmonize with the sound effects well enough, he would scrap it. He used only a small keyboard to compose the music. The first theme he made for Super Mario Bros. was based on an early prototype of the game, which simply showed Mario running around a big empty area. Kondo described this early theme as a bit lazier, slower tempo, and more laid back. As the game underwent changes, he realized that his theme no longer fit, so he increased the pace and changed it around to fit better. In an interview, Kondo explained that when coming up with music compositions, they come to him during everyday activities.

Kondo was given complete creative freedom over the soundtrack of Super Mario Bros., and would collaborate with Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto

is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....

, the game's director, through their daily interactions. Miyamoto would share his records and music scores of the type of themes he liked with Kondo, but did not tell him exactly what he wanted. It was composed with a Latin rhythm. When the player allows the stage's clock to run down to less than 100 seconds, the tempo will accelerate. At the Game Developers Conference

Game Developers Conference

The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...

 in 2007, Kondo commented that the theme features rhythm, balance, and interactivity. He demonstrated this with a short clip of Super Mario Bros., showing the character's movements and players' button presses syncing with the beat of the music. He also added that the theme reflects the action-oriented gameplay of the series. Kondo states that he doesn't know if he could make a theme that is catchier than this one, but he would like to try.

Use in other games

The Super Mario Bros. theme has been reused several times. It was used during Subspace areas of Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...

, and in "secret" stages in Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine

is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan in July 2002, in North America in August 2002, and in Europe and Australia in October 2002...

, and also in Super Mario World

Super Mario World

, subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 for its original Japanese release, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fourth game in the Super Mario series...

 at its "Special World".

The theme has been featured in each installment of the Super Smash Bros. series. The theme was featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...

, titled "Ground Theme" and "Ground Theme 2." "Ground Theme" was arranged by Koji Kondo on the piano, and "Ground Theme 2" was arranged by Masaaki Iwasaki. The theme was remixed for Tetris DS

Tetris DS

Tetris DS is a Touch! Generations puzzle game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. THQ announced Tetris DS before E3 2005, and scheduled it to make an appearance at the show. However, the company decided to cancel the game, and Nintendo released their own make of Tetris DS in...

 during standard play, which displayed a Mario overworld design until ten lines are cleared. A version of it was arranged by Chiptune

Chiptune

A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...

 band YMCK

YMCK

YMCK is a Japanese Chiptune band. The band members are as follows; Midori , Yokemura , and Nakamura ....

 for the Nintendo DSi

Nintendo DSi

The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...

 video game Picopict

Picopict

PiCOPiCT, known as PiCTOBiTS in North America and as PiCTOPiCT in Australia, is a falling block/match three puzzle video game developed by skip Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare digital distribution service. It is one of seven games released for the DSi's Art Style...

. The WarioWare series

Wario (series)

The series is a series of video games created by Nintendo starring the character Wario. It started with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, the first game with Wario as a playable character, and gained many sequels. The Wario series includes mostly platforming video games and minigame compilations,...

 has featured the original version of the theme in its games. The Chihuahua and Friends version of Nintendogs

Nintendogs

is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America, Australia, Europe, and other regions. It was originally released in three different versions:...

 features a music box that plays the theme. The theme has been featured as a playable track in several rhythm games over the years. The GameCube game Donkey Konga

Donkey Konga

is a GameCube rhythm video game starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. Instead of the standard GameCube controllers, the game is intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums.Donkey Konga was developed...

 features it, allowing the players to play it using bongos. It is also featured in the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 game Daigasso! Band Brothers

Daigasso! Band Brothers

is a music video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in Japan on December 2, 2004 as a launch game for the Nintendo DS. The game features multiple songs, which include classical music, television themes, and video game music. The game...

 and Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 game Wii Music

Wii Music

is a free form music game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in Japan and North America in October 2008, and in Europe and Australia in the following month...

. Wii Music allows players to use any instrument, while Daigasso! Band Brothers allows players to only use specific instruments. It was also featured in the GameCube dancing

Music video game

A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...

 game Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix, known as Dancing Stage Mario Mix in Europe and Dance Dance Revolution with Mario in Japan, is a 2005 music video game by Nintendo and Konami for the Nintendo GameCube, and is the first Dance Dance Revolution game to be released on a Nintendo console outside of Japan...

. The theme made a cameo appearance in the Nintendo GameCube

Nintendo GameCube

The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...

 video game Viewtiful Joe

Viewtiful Joe

is a video game developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. Viewtiful Joe was later ported to the Sony PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the...

, featuring a character whistling a portion of it. It was also featured in Brain Age when the player gets a walking speed and the walking character is tapped. The theme was also featured in Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy

is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...

 and Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2

is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in North America on May 23, 2010, in Japan on May 27, 2010, in Europe on June 11, 2010, and in Australia on July 1,...

 as the theme for the Toy Time Galaxy and Supermassive Galaxy, respectively. The theme was also heard in Toad Houses in New Super Mario Bros.

New Super Mario Bros.

is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006 and in Australia and Europe in June 2006...

 and its sequel, New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

is a 2009 side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released on November 12, 2009 in Australia, November 15, 2009 in North America, November 20, 2009 in Europe and December 3, 2009 in Japan...

 and played in the Conservatory in Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion, known as in Japan, is an action-adventure game published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in Europe on May 3, 2002. The game was a launch title for the GameCube...

. It also plays on the opening screen of Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64

is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...

 and its remake

Super Mario 64 DS

is an enhanced remake of the 1996 Nintendo 64, platform game Super Mario 64, produced by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was a launch title for the Nintendo DS, released in North America and Japan in 2004; it was later released in Europe and Australia in 2005.Nintendo...

, the title screen of Mario Party

Mario Party

is a party video game for the Nintendo 64 game console, developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on December 14, 1998, in North America on February 8, 1999, and in Europe on March 9, 1999...

, the Mario Open course of Mario Golf, and the Mario Court in Mario Tennis.

Use in other media

The theme was reused in multiple other media, including an anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

  and a cartoon called the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. For the latter version, called "Do the Mario," lyrics were added, and the song was performed by Lou Albano

Lou Albano

Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....

, who also portrayed the character in the show. The song can be heard briefly during the opening credits of the Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. (film)

Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 American action film directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. Based on the Super Mario Bros.video game and its entire franchise, the film features Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper and Samantha Mathis. It tells the story of the Mario brothers, Mario and...

 movie.

CNBC

CNBC

CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...

-TV's morning program "Squawk Box

Squawk Box

Squawk Box is a business news television program which airs at breakfast time on the CNBC network. The program is currently co-hosted by Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Since debuting in 1995, the show has spawned a number of versions across CNBC's international channels, many of...

" used the theme on December 29, 2009 as its 8:30am ET bottom-of-the-hour block programming

Block programming

Block programming or television block is a strategy of broadcast programming and radio programmers. Block programming occurs when the television network schedules similar television programs back-to-back. The concept is to provide similar programming to keep the viewers. Radio stations use it...

 introductory music; a 2010 gaming industry news item aired inside the 8:30am time slot.

Nine Inch Goombas (really NIN columnist Meathead) created "Closer to Mario," a mashup of the Mario theme music with the Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...

 song "Closer."

Concerts and performances

The theme has been featured in many concerts, including "PLAY! Chicago", the Columbus Symphony, the Mario & Zelda Big Band Live, Play! A Video Game Symphony, and others.

The Video Games Live

Video Games Live

Video Games Live is a concert series created and produced by industry veterans and video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several...

 concert featured the theme performed by Koji Kondo.

The theme has also been popular amongst fans, with many fan performances of it. GamePro

GamePro

GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...

 did an article of the seven weirdest Super Mario Bros. theme performances, which included a theremin

Theremin

The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...

, two guitar

Zack Kim

Zack Kim Yong Woon , or simply, Zack Kim is a Korean guitarist who has become known for his mastery of technique called “free hands”, which involves tapping the guitar strings with both the left and right hands simultaneously...

s, an RC car, Tesla coil

Tesla coil

A Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils produce higher current than the other source of high voltage discharges, electrostatic machines...

s and stepper motor

Stepper motor

A stepper motor is a brushless, electric motor that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps. The motor's position can be controlled precisely without any feedback mechanism , as long as the motor is carefully sized to the application...

s.

The song has also been covered live on acoustic guitar by Panic! at the Disco

Panic! at the Disco

Panic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...

's Brendon Urie

Brendon Urie

Brendon Boyd Urie is an American musician and the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, pianist and singer-songwriter of Panic! at the Disco. He also plays drums, bass guitar, accordion, organ, cello, violin, and trumpet.-Early life:...

.

Sheet music

Nintendo has not published official sheet music

Sheet music

Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...

 for Koji Kondo's compositions, but high demand for Mario sheet music has led a number of fans to release their own arrangements online, often simplifying or interpreting the original version rather than accurately transcribing it. Quite recently there are two new official books with sheet music, one with piano solo and other with solo guitar. They both contain sheet music for the Super Mario Bros. Theme.

Reception and legacy

In an article about Koji Kondo

Koji Kondo

is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for scoring numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series.-Early life:...

, Wired.com editor Chris Kohler described the theme as one of the most famous in the world, and that it gets into your head quickly and won't leave. According to rumor, the theme was said to be slightly inspired by the sounds heard in the song "Jump

Jump (Van Halen song)

"Jump" is a song by the American rock group Van Halen. It is the only single the group released in their career to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was released in 1984 as the second track on the album 1984...

" by Van Halen

Van Halen

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...

. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com

1UP.com

1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....

 called it one of the most memorable tracks in video game history. Netjak editor Rick Healey commented that though MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 tried to make the identifying song of the '80s, Nintendo beat them to the punch with the Super Mario Bros. theme. Editors Jeff Dickerson and Luke Smith of The Michigan Daily newspaper commented that if you were to ask a random student to hum the theme, they would likely know every note. Sam Kennedy

Sam Kennedy

Samuel Edward Kennedy is a former professional American football Linebacker in the National Football League. He attended San Jose State. He would play with the San Francisco 49ers in 1988 and won the Superbowl with them, the highlight of his career.-External links:*...

, also an editor for 1UP.com, stated that anyone who lived through the 80's can hum the theme, and that most people remember it to this day.

Video game music composer Tommy Tallarico

Tommy Tallarico

Tommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live...

 cited Koji Kondo as his inspiration for why he got into music, commenting that when he first heard this theme, it was the first time he thought music in video games really existed. Mario

Mario

is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...

 voice actor Charles Martinet

Charles Martinet

Charles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Mario, the titular character in Nintendo's flagship video game franchise. He has held this role since 1994, longer than any other actor. He also voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth, and a select few...

 commented that "The first time I ever played a Mario game, I started at about 4 in the evening and played until daylight. I laid down on the bed, closed my eyes, and I could hear that music -- ba dum bum ba dum DUM!" Acclaimed Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy

is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...

 composer, Nobuo Uematsu

Nobuo Uematsu

is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...

, called Koji Kondo one of the best video game composers in the industry. He also commented that he was sure everyone in the world who has come across the Super Mario Bros. theme, regardless of borderlines or age, will never forget it. He also added that it changed Japanese culture, and that it should become the Japanese national anthem. In an interview with Koji Kondo, 1UP.com editor Sam Kennedy

Sam Kennedy

Samuel Edward Kennedy is a former professional American football Linebacker in the National Football League. He attended San Jose State. He would play with the San Francisco 49ers in 1988 and won the Superbowl with them, the highlight of his career.-External links:*...

 stated that Paul

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 and Linda McCartney

Linda McCartney

Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....

 visited Kondo and enjoyed the theme.

The ringtone version of the theme has proven very popular in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, having been on the top ten most downloaded ringtones for 226 straight weeks as of February 13, 2009. It sold approximately 747,900 in the United States in 2006.