Game of Thrones music experience

What is the most popular music theme in the history of television? Bonanza, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, Mash, SWAT? Maybe Sesame Street? Not anymore. All of these tunes that have helped shape the viewing habits of generations have all now been relegated to the back seats. The new champion, which I expect will remain so for a long, long time, is the theme from The Game of Thrones (GOT).

As a TV series, GOT was an ambitious undertaking that truly paid off. Based on the A Song of Fire and Ice series of novels by Georg R.R. Martin, the fantasy adventure from HBO has taken the world by storm. The results of excellent production work and superb acting now have viewers engrossed on what is happening to the embattled families of the Starks, the Lannisters and the Targaryens. They are now all awaiting with bated breath the conclusion of the saga which commences with the airing of the first episode of Season 8 on April 15. 

As it ends, Game of Thrones is credited with having put together the biggest cast ever for a series in the history of television. I also say it showcased the most spectacular of settings, most of them real. Expect a rise in tourists in Malta, Ireland and those other locations. And who can forget those epic battles, I thought Gone with the Wind had the largest body count. Not anymore. And all the violence and the sex. HBO pushed the envelope the furthest for the show and it won big.

So big in fact that although Game of Thrones was actually created for television, it is now being talked about in the same breath as those blockbuster series on the big screen. Not the superheroes from Marvel, because GOT is no science fiction. The Harry Potter films perhaps because of the mysticism, but please keep the kids away, or maybe closer to The Lord of the Rings save for excessive violence and the sexual content. 

Somewhere I have a feeling that some film producer is regretting not having made Game of Thrones for the big screen. I say don’t make the attempt anymore as HBO has already done it masterfully. And that includes the music.

A memorable theme can make or break a film’s legacy. You hear My Heart Will Go On and you see Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on the prow of the Titanic. You hear the theme from Forrest Gump and you see this single feather borne by the wind. You hear the theme from Game of Thrones and you see that compelling three-dimensional map of the seven kingdoms located in the continents of Westeros and Essos, which opens every episode. It is a simple tune arranged with strings and synths but oh how it has grown since Season One.

 The man behind the music of Game of Thrones is Ramin Djawadi who is of Iranian and German parentage. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Berkeley College of Music and got his big break as assistant to the famed film scorer Hans Zimmer.  He also scored the movies Iron Man, A Wrinkle in Time, Clash of the Titans and Pacific Rim, and the TV series Westworld and Person of Interest. But it is his work in GOT that brought him massive success. 

I say that Djawadi is also most fortunate that he was chosen to score Game of Thrones. The interesting characters, the arcs of the story, the settings, actually everything about the show can set creative juices flowing in prodigious amounts. Unencumbered by specific time periods, he went from baroque to rock and jazz and folk, etc., etc. and with no definite music styles to consider he went from synthesizers to the piano, organ, the duduk or the dulcimer and other instruments. And with such gorgeous images to create music for Djawadi rose mightily to the challenge.

The music from all of the seasons of the GOT is available on digital platforms and individual albums. Tunes from popular episodes have also made it to the hit charts. Djawadi has performed in packed arenas on tour in the Game of Thrones Musical Experience. He conducts the orchestra while images play on the screen. And his work is now mentioned in the company of John Williams and Howard Shore and even his former boss Hans Zimmer. No question about it. Djawadi has taken TV theme music to a whole new level. 

And so there are now only five more days to go before we find out if Jon Snow is really a Targayen, if Sansa and Arya are going for each other’s throats or hair, what will happen to the Lannister siblings, etc., etc., all happening, of course, with the complex but so compelling music by Djawadi.