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Game of Themes: Musical Leitmotifs for the Screen
The Titular Game of Thrones Theme
In Game of Themes we have a closer look at how composers, through their scores, represent characters, ideas or situations in moving pictures.
The Game of Thrones Theme is the theme that viewers hear over the opening or the main title credits. Except for the pilot episode where we have a prologue first, every episode of Season 1 starts with the main title.
In its basic setting, the theme is composed in C minor or Cm. Although it starts in this key, the beginning riff shifts to its parallel key C major after only a few measures into the piece. In Western music C major is the most basic key signature; there are no flats and no sharps. It is the simplest key and is used to evoke simplicity and pureness.
As we know from experience, life can turn around in a split second, a notion that the composer Ramin Djawadi was attempting to draw attention to with this abrupt key change. The change is short-lived and only last four measures before going back back to Cm. Yes, indeed, like life, this story is unpredictable. Because in the…
