Unbroken

It took me all of two seconds to recognize that Unbroken occupies the same emotional space as The Choice from the first game — that same quiet, aching poignancy that Gustavo Santaolalla does better than anyone. It also appears to great effect in Episode 4 of the HBO series.

Lately I’ve been going back to the original source material and building my own arrangements from the ground up — and that’s exactly what I did with Unbroken. My goal is never to alter the original piece. Instead, I’m adding bridge sections that feel like a natural extension of Santaolalla’s intent. One of my favorite moments is when the piece opens up an octave higher at 1:12.

On a related note: Unboxholics created a short film set in The Last of Us universe — an alternate story, independently produced, and honestly remarkable. The production, direction, and performances are way beyond what you’d expect. I had the privilege of performing Santaolalla’s The Last of Us Part II as the closing theme. Watch it here — you won’t regret it.

You might also like to play…

Gustavo Santaolalla: The Last of Us Part II | theme for guitar + TAB

The Choice (a variation) | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

All Gone (No Escape) | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

How to play Unbroken | fingerstyle guitar

The guitar tab for this arrangement is beautifully written across three pages. You’ll play the piece straight through — while taking care to repeat sections within the brackets. You’ll end the piece with the Refrain / End on page #1.

I recommend this piece for intermediate guitar players and up. I hope you enjoy playing this as much as I do. Enjoy, the guitar tab is available below:

[guitar tab] **The Last of Us Part II: Unbroken | fingerstyle guitar

The tuning for the original piece is absurdly low: 3 1/2 steps down in A standard. Yikes. I have this guitar strung with super high tension strings and it still wouldn’t hold that tuning.

I settled on C standard. My tuning looks like this from low to high: C F  A# D# G# C. That is still relatively low for most guitars. You can get a perfect vibe on this song by tuning your guitar one whole step down: D G C F A D. I think that would work well for most guitar players.