Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Switch 2) Scarecrow Song Guide: How to Unlock It and Where to Summon Pierre
Beyond its six standard melodies and six warp tunes, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time hides a thirteenth, fully customizable melody: the Scarecrow Song. Completely optional for beating the main story, this secret tune becomes essential as soon as you aim for 100% completion on Nintendo Switch 2, allowing you to summon a wooden anchor point for the Hookshot and Longshot to reach high ledges that would otherwise remain out of reach.
The Nintendo Switch 2 remake also introduces two major quality-of-life upgrades over the 1998 Nintendo 64 original: a dedicated slot inside your Song Book menu and a brand-new visual cue in the overworld and dungeons. Here is the complete step-by-step walkthrough to composing your melody at Lake Hylia and every major location where you can summon Pierre.
1. How to Unlock the Scarecrow Song at Lake Hylia (Child and Adult Link)
Unlocking the Scarecrow Song is a two-part time-travel process involving the two scarecrow brothers stationed along the shores of Lake Hylia: Bonooru (in the lower soil patch near the water) and Pierre (on the upper hill). While you are exploring Hyrule as Young Link, make sure to check our Happy Mask Shop trade quest and Mask of Truth guide to clear those Child-era side quests along the way.
Step 1: Compose Your 8-Note Melody as Child Link
Travel to Lake Hylia as Child Link. You can ignore Pierre on the upper ledge for now (he simply wants to dance while you improvise) and head straight to Bonooru in the lower garden patch by the shore. Pull out your Fairy Ocarina (or the Ocarina of Time) directly in front of him: Bonooru will ask you to play an original tune that he promises never to forget.
For Bonooru to accept and memorize your custom melody, it must follow three simple rules:
- Play exactly 8 notes in a row on the Ocarina.
- Use at least two different notes: repeating the exact same button eight times in a row (such as pressing
Yeight times) will cause Bonooru to reject the tune as too dull. - Do not match any existing song from Hyrule's soundtrack (Zelda's Lullaby, Saria's Song, Epona's Song, etc.).
The easiest trick to remember your song: simply alternate between two buttons like Y and X (for instance, Y - Y - X - Y - Y - X - Y - X or Y - X - Y - X - Y - X - Y - X). You can also press the Capture button on your Nintendo Switch 2 controller as soon as Bonooru confirms he has memorized the melody.
Step 2: Play It Back as Adult Link to Register It in the Song Book
Once Link awakens seven years in the future after pulling the Master Sword in the Temple of Time, return to Lake Hylia (which will be drained until you clear the Water Temple). You will notice that Pierre has left his post to travel across Hyrule as a wandering scarecrow, while Bonooru remains right where you left him near the shoreline.
Stand in front of Bonooru, pull out the Ocarina of Time, and play the exact same 8 notes you composed as a child. Bonooru will immediately recognize your tune and pass it along to his brother Pierre. Thanks to a welcome Nintendo Switch 2 quality-of-life improvement, your custom Scarecrow Song is now permanently added as the seventh icon in your Song Book radial menu, where you can review the sheet music with R or listen to the melody with A. If you ever forget the notes before unlocking it as an adult, simply return the Master Sword to its pedestal, visit Bonooru as a child to overwrite the tune, and travel forward in time again.
2. How to Use the Scarecrow Song: Musical Straw Swirls and Hookshot Anchors
You can only summon Pierre as Adult Link, as his entire purpose is to act as a wooden grapple target for the Hookshot (found in Dampé's grave in Kakariko Graveyard) or the Longshot (found inside the Water Temple). If you need extra arrows, bombs, or hearts before tackling Adult Link's dungeons, check out our Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 amiibo rewards and retro N64 masks guide.
- New visual cue on Nintendo Switch 2: In the N64 original, the only hint for a Scarecrow Song spot was Navi flying over to a seemingly empty ledge and glowing green or yellow. In the Switch 2 remake, you will now see a distinct swirl of straw and floating music notes inside a small updraft wherever Pierre can be summoned.
- Summon Pierre and grapple across: Stand within range of the musical straw swirl (while Navi hovers near it), pull out the Ocarina of Time, and play your 8-note Scarecrow Song. Pierre will pop out of the ground immediately, giving you a reliable target to lock onto with your Hookshot or Longshot.
3. All Major Scarecrow Song Locations (Pieces of Heart, Gold Skulltulas, and Shortcuts)
There are over a dozen musical straw swirls scattered across Hyrule's overworld and Adult dungeons. Here is the complete breakdown of the most important locations where summoning Pierre unlocks Pieces of Heart, Gold Skulltulas, and time-saving shortcuts:
| Region or Dungeon | Exact Musical Straw Swirl Location | Required Item | Reward or Shortcut Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Hylia (Fishing Hole) | On the wooden balcony right above the Fishing Pond entrance | Hookshot | Early Shortcut: Lets Adult Link grapple into the Fishing Pond while Lake Hylia is still drained (before clearing the Water Temple). |
| Lake Hylia (Lakeside Laboratory) | On the upper wooden walkway on the roof of the Lakeside Laboratory | Hookshot or Longshot | Piece of Heart: Grapple up to Pierre, then climb the lookout ladder to the very top of the roof. |
| Zora's River | On the high rocky pillar near the waterfall leading to Zora's Domain | Hookshot or Longshot | Piece of Heart and quick access to the upper river ledges. |
| Dodongo's Cavern (Adult) | In the eastern Beamos corridor, inside the high wall alcove | Hookshot | Gold Skulltula: Lets Adult Link grapple straight into the elevated alcove without needing the boomerang setup. |
| Fire Temple (3F to 4F and 5F Secret Rooms) | At the top of the large rolling boulder maze room (3F), along the northeastern ledge | Hookshot | 2 Gold Skulltulas + 200 Rupees: Unlocks the chain elevator leading to the hidden 4F and 5F upper sanctuary. |
| Water Temple | Across the chasm in the eastern hallway beneath the central tower, and in the river whirlpool room | Longshot | Gold Skulltula behind the gate and a fast traversal shortcut over the water currents. |
| Shadow Temple | In the guillotine blade room leading toward the ghostly ship (high ledge on the left) | Hookshot or Longshot | Gold Skulltula tucked inside the upper alcove without crossing all the falling blades. |
| Spirit Temple | In the Adult-side rolling boulder room, on the elevated upper ledge | Hookshot | Gold Skulltula: Lets Adult Link reach the token directly without backtracking through time. |
| Sacred Forest Meadow | On top of the maze walls patrolled by the Moblin guards | Hookshot | Shortcut and Fairies: Lets you bypass the Moblin corridors from above and spawn recovery fairies. |
Keep an eye out for these floating straw swirls whenever you enter a new dungeon chamber or spot a high ledge in Hyrule Field and Gerudo Valley: having your custom 8-note melody registered early in the Song Book saves plenty of backtracking on the road to 100% completion.
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Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
