H3

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Ｈ３
Setting Score Waterfall near Goku's home.
Tonality	D Minor
Length	0:39
BGM Data
Catalog Number	K-3
Composition	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Theme Groups	Chinese traditional
Debut and Release
Debut Year	1986
First Appears	Dragon Ball Episode 1
Last Appears	Dragon Ball Episode 31
Debut Release	Ongakushū (1986 vinyl) Daizenshuu (1994 CD)

H3 is the official catalogue number of a piece of background music (BGM) composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi for the Dragon Ball anime in 1986. The piece debuted in Dragon Ball Episode 1 which was broadcast on 26 February 1986.

Overview

H3 is a short piece in a vaguely Chinese traditional style. The full composition is part c of the suite entitled "A Great Wilderness", which is track #7 on both the Ongakushū record and disc #2 of the Daizenshuu.

H3 is a piece with the image of the serene landscape of China, where Goku lived [sic]; it was used in the opening narration of the first episode, where it matched well with the scenery in the style of Chinese ink paintings.
— Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z Daizenshuu

H3 is given the title "The Rolling Log" on The Suburbs of kenisu's Magicant, the most common source for fan titles of Kikuchi's compositions. The piece was assigned the Kanzenshuu catalogue number of K-3 based on its placement in the series.

Compositional Analysis

H3 begins with a full bar of the guitar ostinato that persists throughout the entire piece. An English Horn melody enters in the second bar and continues for two four-bar phrases. These phrases are nearly identical; the melody descends to the dominant at the end of the first phrase, and returns to the tonic at the end of the second phrase.

The parallel fourths of the guitar and the minor pentatonic movement of the English Horn are both characteristics associated with Chinese music in the popular consciousness.

Usage and Variations

For further information, see Dragon Ball Music.

Below is a table of every usage of H3 in Dragon Ball.

Scene	Length and Variations	Setting
Dragon Ball Episode 1: Goku walks on a rolling log that he has cut for firewood.	0:25: Begins with a fade-in. The first melodic phrase is complete. The first bar of the second phrase is cut. The second bar of that phrase is complete, but the third bar is cut off after the first half. (K-4 begins after a short pause as Goku rolls down the hill.)
Dragon Ball Episode 3: Robotoriyama informs the audience that this is not Penguin Village.	0:07: The introductory bar is cut. The first melodic phrase fades out on the half note in its second bar. (M10 begins almost immediately.)
Dragon Ball Episode 5: Chinese-style paintings depict the countryside that Goku and co. are traveling through in Bulma's motorboat.	0:15: Starts at the beginning. Ends abruptly after the first half of the fourth bar (i.e. third bar of the melody's first phrase) as the motorboat comes on screen.
Dragon Ball Episode 6: Yamcha and Pu'er plot over tea.	0:38: Starts at the beginning. After the second bar of the first melodic phrase, the phrase repeats from the beginning. The BGM fades out beginning in the second melodic phrase, ending after its second bar.
Dragon Ball Episode 31: The Ox Demon King's subjects prepare for the wedding of his daughter Chi-Chi and Goku.	0:27: The introductory bar is cut in half. The BGM fades out beginning in the second melodic phrase, ending after its second bar.