# The Instrumentation Behind Vivi's "Sorrow"

An episode of [Gamer’s Kingdom - the Video Games Music Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1753021055), 1 Feb 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/f116cfa0/podcast/play/114537971/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-25%2F416812465-44100-2-59d545d30b2dd.mp3

This episode is best experienced on YouTube where you can follow the score analysis and audio examples — youtube.com/@emigiaquinta When you first meet Vivi in Alexandria, his theme sounds like a clumsy, happy waltz. But how does the Theme relate to his "Sorrow" virtue?In this deep dive, I will deconstruct Nobuo Uematsu’s masterpiece instrument by instrument. Checking the different sections of the theme, I believe we can observe his progression, from curiosity, purity and power.We also check the relation with the actual Japanese virtue "Aishou" (Sorrow) assigned to Vivi by Hironobu Sakaguchi and the impact on the composition.00:00 Introduction - Black Mages in Final Fantasy01:10 Theme Introduction: "String Quartet"03:50 Theme Section A: The Curious Vivi07:30 Vivi's Virtue "Aishou"08:15 Theme Section B: The Pure Vivi10:30 Theme Section C: The Powerful Vivi15:30 Wrap UpInterested on the book I wrote on FFIX?Check https://emigiaquinta.com/collection/all"Vivi's Theme", "Black Mage Village" and "A Place To Call Home" are composed by Nobuo Uematsu and property of Square Enix.#finalfantasyix #ViviOrnitier #videogamemusic #musictheory #nobuouematsu #ffix #finalfantasy

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.