Musical themes and motifs

Musical themes and motifs in the Game of Thrones soundtracks.

Game of Thrones main theme
The Game of Thrones theme is a theme appearing in the Game of Thrones Television Soundtracks. It has appeared the most out of any theme or motif on the Game of Thrones soundtracks and is the main theme of the entire series. The theme most commonly plays and is most known for in the title sequence but also plays throughout other parts of the series (usually during important moments such as finales).

Composition
Ramin Djawadi began composing the music for the show after he had watched the first two episodes of the series that the showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss sent him, and discussed the concepts of the show with them. According to Djawadi, the show creators wanted the main title theme to be about a journey as there are many locations, characters in the show and involves much traveling. After Djawadi had seen the preliminary animated title sequence the visual effect artists were still working on, he was inspired to write the piece. Djawadi said he intended to capture the overall impression of the show with the theme tune. Cello is featured strongly as Benioff and Weiss wanted to avoid the flutes or solo vocals found in many other productions in the fantasy genre so as to give the show a distinctive sound, and Djawadi chose cello as the main instrument for the music as he thought it has a "darker sound" that suited the show.

Djawadi started with a riff and he built the title theme around the riff. The tune begins with the riff played on strings in a minor key, then changed to a major key after 2 bars, and back to minor again. Djawadi said that he wanted to reflect the "backstabbing and conspiracy" and the unpredictability of the show: "... I thought it would be cool to kinda do the same play with the music. So even though the majority of the piece is in minor, there's that little hint of major in there where it kinda switches and then it changes back again." The main melody is then introduced with the cello, joined later by a solo violin that may suggest an interplay between different characters. The melody is then repeated with the entire orchestra. The next section introduces a change in melody, described by Djawadi as giving "a sense of adventure", and continues with a repeat that involves a choir of twenty female voices - recorded in Prague, like the instrumental parts. The title theme ends with a combination of dulcimer and kantele, producing a "shimmery quality" in its sound that Djawadi thought would give a sense of mystery and anticipation for the episode.

The title music is reprised as a global theme in the soundtracks for the series. It may be played occasionally on its own in fragments, sometimes as part of the theme of individual characters or in combination with other pieces of music, and may also be played in large section during particularly important scenes.

Variations
Variations on the Game of Thrones theme include "Main Title" (Season 1), "The Kingsroad", "Jon's Honor", "Game Of Thrones", "Kill Them All", "Victory Does Not Make Us Conquerors", "The Night's Watch", "Finale", "Main Title" (Season 2), "Don't Die With a Clean Sword", "Stand and Fight", "Mother of Dragons", "I Will Keep You Safe", "Three Blasts", "Main Title" (Season 3), "Dark Wings, Dark Words", "I Have to Go North", "The Lannisters Send Their Regards", "Mhysa", "For the Realm", "Main Titles" (Season 4), "Breaker of Chains", "You Are No Son of Mine", "Let's Kill Some Crows", "The Children", "Main Titles" (Season 5), "Blood of the Dragon", "Hardhome, Pt. 1", "Hardhome, Pt. 2", "Dance of Dragons", "Throne For the Game (feat. Bradley Hanan Carter)", "Main Titles" (Season 6), "Blood of My Blood", "Light of the Seven", "My Watch Has Ended", "Hold the Door", "Khaleesi", "Maester", "Trust Each Other", "Winter Has Come", "The Winds of Winter", "Main Titles" (Season 7), "Dragonstone", "Truth", "The Army of the Dead", and "Winter Is Here".