Isolated System I love this instrumental piece by Muse. It worked perfectly as the theme song for Brad Pitt’s World War Z in 2013. Using it was a brilliant stroke — as it set a tenor of unease, right from the beginning of the film. […]

A Lannister Always pays His Debts I’ve always loved this piece from Games of Thrones Season 3. It’s really a classic motif from the series called, The Rains of Castamere. The Lannister variant is an extended more melodic version. I paired down the piece to something […]

Lily’s Theme Lily’s Theme, by composer Alexandre Desplat, is one of the most poignant pieces of music from the Harry Potter films. The song was composed by French composer, Alexandre Desplat, who scored both parts of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” The haunting vocals […]

If Beale Street Could Talk If Beale Street Could Talk is a 2018 romantic drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins. The film follows a young woman in early 1970s Harlem — who seeks to clear the name of her lover, charged with a […]

Hedwig’s Theme I love the Harry Potter music by John Williams, and I know the music has a lot of special meaning to the fans. I created this arrangement of Hedwig’s theme (specifically) from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I’ve lowered the key […]

Uninvited I know, this was an odd choice for me. However, having worked out this rendition for a guitar student — I just had to post it on on this blog — it turned out great. City of Angels (Nick Cage, Meg Ryan) is one […]

Prospector Arrives In the American classic, There Will be Blood — a ruthless oil prospector, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) moves to oil-rich California. Using his adopted son HW to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for […]

The Wings The Wings completes my arrangements for the Oscar winning Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla. This song is what initially drew me into Gustavo Santaolalla’s film score work, way back in 2005. The film was very controversial then, and I remember cleaning my […]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs I’m a huge Coen Brothers fan, and the The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix) is one of their best. It’s really the Coen Bros unleashed — as Netflix doesn’t have the same constraints as a Hollywood studio. My favorite of […]

Revelation I love this song. Revelation is so minimalist — specifically the “vinyl” version from the Boy Erased soundtrack. I used the vinyl version as a template for this guitar arrangement. The power of Revelation is in it’s subtlety; the unprocessed (unproduced) delicate way Troye Sivan sings. […]

Billie Eilish My job as a private guitar teacher keeps me young. I’m 41 at the moment, and long past the age where most people take in new music. My peers have retreated to the music of the college years, only popping their head above […]

The Landing First Man, is the first-person account of Neil Armstrong’s moon landing. The movie explores the cost, sacrifice, and danger of the NASA mission from 1961 to 1969. The Landing, by composer Justin Hurwitz is arguably best piece of music from First Man. It’s essentially the same tense motif […]