Music Themed Names from “Crypt of the Necrodancer”
Mod Viktor here! I’ve been playing a lot of Crypt of the Necrodancer recently and I’m obsessed with the music-themed names! I’ve been feeling a little guilty about this blog not having any content as-of-late, so I’ve decided to make a list of names in COTN! They all have music meanings or associations, so these names will be listed again in our main Music Theme list when it’s made in the future. This also goes with the video game theme list that has also been in the works for some time.
Story Characters
There is a sequence of 3 characters (4 with DLC) who complete a full story, starting with Cadence, then Melody, then Aria. I used the entries from each character’s “trivia” section on their wikia to fill out the name description and fill in when needed. I tried my best to redact spoilers for the game past the first 2 cutscenes of the story.
Cadence - the default character. Act 1 of the story.
In music, a cadence is a progression of chords that ends a phrase, section, or composition (harmonic cadence) or a rhythmic pattern that indicates the end of a phrase (rhythmic cadence), with the purpose of creating a feeling of resolution. This may be related to how, in the game's story, Cadence is searching for her own resolution as to what happened to her father, Dorian.
In a more literal sense, the word cadence comes from the Latin word cadentia, which means "a falling". Cadence became cursed by the NecroDancer after he revived her from a lethal fall into the crypt.
Melody - Cadence’s mother. Act 2 of the story.
A melody, from the greek word melōidía, meaning singing or chanting, is a linear sequence of notes that are the main focus of music.
Aria - Melody’s mother, Cadence’s grandmother. Act 3 of the story.
In music, an aria is a self-contained piece for a single voice, possibly a reference to either Aria's sheer independence and determination or the fact that she may only use a single weapon, her dagger.
Furthermore, arias are specifically written to be difficult to perform, in order to provide expert concert singers with an opportunity to truly demonstrate their skill. (Within the game, Aria dies on hit, dies on a missed beat, and can only use the default dagger. The only run more difficult is Coda, who has all of that and moves at double time.)
In a more literal sense, aria is the Italian word for air, a possible reference to Aria being killed in one hit by anything, as if she could be killed by so much as a strong breeze.
Nocturna - Vampire. Prequel story added in the Amplified DLC.
A nocturne is a single-movement piece themed around the night, usually written for solo piano, and bats are a nocturnal animal, being mostly active at night.
Other Characters with Music Theme Names
Other playable characters that are unlocked as you progress and have names with music themes or connotations.
Choral - Choral is the name of the colorswap sprite for Cadence.
Choral is named after choral music, which is music written to be performed by an ensemble of multiple singers (called a choir or chorale). This fits her role as the character assigned to player 2 when there are multiple players.
Octavian (Bard) - his wiki page is all spoilers please don’t look him up
An Octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music," the use of which is "common in most musical systems." The interval between the first and second harmonics of the harmonic series is an octave. This rules for spoiler reasons! Beat Melody’s story!
From the Roman name Octavianus, which was derived from the name Octavius, derived from Latin octavus meaning "eighth"
Dove - Pacifist character
Doves are symbols of peace and also songbirds.
Dorian - Cadence’s father, Melody’s husband, Eli’s brother. Lover of wife.
The dorian mode is a minor mode (which are usually said to be sad and gloomy) with a major sixth interval (which is said to add a small amount of optimism), commonly used in jazz and blues.
Coda - Creature of unknown origin; most difficult character; the achievement "Impossible, Right?" is gained when beating all zones with her.
Coda refers to the concluding segment in a musical piece, reflecting her status as the game's final character.
Coda is also Italian for the word "tail", which is emphasized by her holding her dagger with her tail in her character portrait.
I honestly thought Coda was gender neutral or masc this entire time, I only saw her referred to as “she” on her wiki page and have never heard it in any gameplay or speedruns in my life. We love this energy though, Coda is my gender now.
Mary - She has a little lamb (little lamb, little lamb)
She is named after the nursery rhyme “Mary had a little lamb”.
Playing her is more stressful to me than playing Aria and I’m not joking.
Tempo - He’s a cursed creature who needs to get a kill every 16 beats or he dies.
"Tempo" is a term used to refer to the speed of a musical piece. Tempo is the Italian word for "Time", which refers to Tempo's timer curse and is emphasized by the clock he has on his chest.
Other Characters without Music Theme Names (but I want to include them)
Eli - Cadence’s paternal uncle
Eli didn’t have a name explanation in the trivia section and I’m not a music person, if someone has an explanation please let me know! Otherwise, here’s the Bible:
“Means "ascension" in Hebrew. In the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.”
Bolt - double-time character; canonically genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns.
Another character without a clear music theme in their name, but with time.
A bolt can refer to a lightning bolt or crossbow bolt.
Bolt moves twice per beat instead of once per beat. Their name and their achievement “Tachycardia” insinuates this.
Diamond - He moves diagonally! That’s it!
Diamonds have angles?? I think that’s the bit here?? His achievement “A Cut Above” was previously known as “Playing The Angles.”
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I am not a music person at all, so I literally ripped most of these from the Trivia section of their pages or wikipedia.
A lot of the enemies and bosses also have great names but I don’t know how someone would go about naming themselves “Deep Blues” or “King Conga” or “Frankensteinway” or “The Notorious D.I.G.”
If you have corrections or suggestions for any of these names, please send in an ask!
❤ Mod Viktor
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Related Posts:
Main Masterpost of Name Lists Video Game Themed Master Post Music Theme Names (WIP)
