Mary Goes to Jesus Mary Goes to Jesus is the most solemn and beautiful piece of music from The Passion of the Christ. It is also from the most poignant scene: The Apostle John, takes Mary to a better vantage point to possibly see, touch, […]

The American The American is a 2010 thriller film directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney. The screenplay is an adaptation of the 1990 novel, A Very Private Gentleman, by Martin Booth. The American is my favorite movie of all time. Director Anton Corbijn, […]

Zambita Zambita is pretty tune by Gustavo Santaolalla from The Motorcycle Diaries soundtrack. Although it’s played on a lightly distorted electric guitar, Zambita also sounds great on any acoustic guitar. Like much of Gustavo Santaolalla’s film score work, Zambita is a fun, dynamic, and doable […]

Annihilation Annihilation is a 2018 science fiction movie starring Natalie Portman and directed by Alex garland (Ex Machina). The ambient soundscape, by composers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, is punctuated and contrasted with a steel string guitar theme known from the soundtrack as: What Do […]

Mystery of Love Mystery of Love is the trailer song (and principle song) from Call me By Your Name; and academy award nominated film by Luca Guadagnino. In addition to Mystery of Love, indie-folk songwriter, Sufjan Stevens, has two more songs on the soundtrack: Futile Devices […]

Johann Johannsson This is my tribute to the late, Johann Johannsson (The Theory of Everything, Sicario). He was one of — if not the greatest living composer. His music was all at once: aching, melancholy, and extraordinary progressive. Johann’s passing is a major loss for […]

Visions of Gideon Sufjan Stevens is a multi-instrumentalist American singer-songwriter based in New York. His “indie-folk” style is more atmospheric and layered. Sufjan’s songs from Call Me By Your Name are beautiful. The soundtrack also features avant-garde classical works and music by composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto […]

The Shape of Water (and the Academy Awards) I’ve had a ton of requests to arrange music from The Shape of Water: a 2017 American fantasy drama film directed by Guillermo del Toro. The music must really be resonating with people. Composer, Alexandre Desplat, is also […]

The Deer Written by Carter Burwell, The Deer, is the sentimental theme from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. This theme is also known from the score as, My Dear Anne, and Can’t give up Hope. All three themes have a delicate guitar line as well […]

Phantom Thread III As a massive fan of both Jonny Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson, I could not wait to arrange the theme of Phantom Thread for my guitar. I had been working on another giant piece of music for this blog, but nothing was […]

Brokeback Mountain 1 Gustavo Santaolalla’s Brokeback Mountain 1 is my favorite piece of music ever. It informs, literally, all of my guitar playing. It’s the sole reason for this blog, and serves as a grounding principle for my musicality: minimalism. When in doubt, play less. […]

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish is a 16 year-old Los Angeles based singer/songwriter. Her older brother, Finneas O’Connell, is Billie’s songwriting partner and producer. Her song, ocean eyes, is just beginning to hit with my young guitar students. I’ve taught this song a dozen times already […]