Parting Ways

Gustavo Santaolalla’s iconic guitar motifs, which are essential to the The Last of Us games, form the backbone of the HBO series’ score. While many of the original tracks have been adapted—often revised, shortened, and retitled—Santaolalla has also woven in brand new compositions. One such new piece, “Parting Ways,” stands out as an over five-minute fingerstyle guitar ballad nestled within the soundtrack of The Last of Us season 2.

For my rendition of Parting Ways, I’ve trimmed some of the repetition, distilling the piece down to a more concise 3:35. Much like…