Music is important to any media. Whether it’s a film, a TV show, video game or whatever, the music will help to create atmosphere, world and character.
Get more on the Music of Game of Thrones…
A well written score with strong leitmotifs can become as familiar as the stories and characters it accompanies and Game of Thrones is no exception.
The success of the Game of Thrones TV show is immense. It’s broken viewership records, received high critical acclaim, attracted legions of fans and become a cultural phenomenon. With the show wrapping up its sixth and no signs of its popularity diminishing, the franchise will be with us for some time to come. This means that the familiar tunes and musical themes found within the show will be sticking with us too.
The Game of Thrones theme has become a phenomenon in itself. The now iconic opening is one of the most popular aspects of the show. Everyone knows the tune and can hum along, resulting in it being one of the most reused, parodied and tributes parts of the show. Many bands and musicians have covered the song in their own way, bringing their style or genre to the theme. It has also been lampooned in numerous ways by the likes of South Park and Weird Al. It’s likely that long after the show has ended the song will stick around in pop culture consciousness.
Composer Ramin Djawadi was the second choice for the show, replacing Stephen Warbeck a couple of months into the production of the first season. Djawadi was asked to avoid flutes or solo vocals for the soundtracks to refrain from similarities with other fantasy scores. He claims difficulties writing the score amidst a dialogue-heavy show, as his music would often have to be omitted. Djawadi has worked with the Czech Film Orchestra and Choir, rock band
The National, indie group The Hold Steady and Icelandic band Sigur Rós for some specific tracks.
As the Game of Thrones universe expands into new areas, the soundtrack is going to naturally follow. As the music became an integral and recognizable part of the franchise, it has to be included in other media ventures, most notably the games. There has been various video game based on the series such, with two games simply titled Game of Thrones, one from 2012 by Cyanide and one by Telltale in 2014. Game of Thrones: Ascent is a 2013 Facebook browser game and Red Flush casino provide Game of Throne themed online slots, with all of them featuring the music from the show.
Wherever the Game of Thrones franchise goes in the future, whether it’s more games, movies, plays and who know what else, it’s likely the soundtrack will always be there, playing along with it.
