First and foremost, Gustavo Santaolalla is a craftsman of music. Whether it’s Brokeback Mountain, The Last of Us, or The Book of Life — he perfectly adapts his music to every circumstance. I’ve been a fan for a long time. After his score for Babel, […]

“I love playing instruments that I don’t know how to play – or that I’m not familiar with. I like the idea of danger and innocence that comes from it. As an artist, I feel I should be able to do something with anything I […]

“We’re like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.” ― Jerry Garcia With the release of The Last of Us last year, I finally feel as though the rest of the world has caught up to my Gustavo Santaolalla […]

“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss So, what are you doing 3 years from now? Compared to others, I have only a tiny smigin of internet success. But at 1,400,000 views on YouTube, and roughly 15,000 people on the blog […]

The Last Of Us music has yet another life with Volume 2. I’m not familiar with the game, but I remember an interview with Gustavo Santaolalla where he explained the music was interactive — in that, different boards unlock different elements of the music. So […]

This has been a busy few weeks for me, so I apologize for not having more substantive posts –other than the August: Osage County score. Even still, Gustavo Santaolalla offers a few short and nifty riffs that are perfect for beginner and intermediate guitarists. Also, […]

(Note: Riding is my premium material. Please comment to let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.) How to Play Riding by Gustavo Santaolalla from the August: Osage County original score. Riding is an excellent song to practice your (finger picking) […]

At the exact same time that my teaching career and website are doing great, a loved one’s career is in doubt. Their company unexpectedly let go of dozens of employees, and they’re transferring this person to another office farther away from home.  A situation that […]

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” -Freidrich Nietzsche The attitude of gratitude The single most difficult thing for me to harness is: gratitude. As artists, musicians, and creators — we mourn the process of creating.  No matter what the result — […]

I posted a version of Gustavo Santaolalla’s The Last Of Us theme in January of 2012. At that time, the only thing I had to go on, was an unmixed, un-mastered, and ultimately incomplete “leaked” version of what we now know as The Last Of […]

I’ve been so busy with my blog in the past few months, that I haven’t had the desire to write new music at all.  However, as I post the final The Last Of Us transcriptions (there’s probably one more), I’ve been inspired to play my […]

I am not a great guitar player; I’m merely a good guitar player. I would only consider myself “great” at transcribing and arranging music for the guitar — but only within my capacity to do so. For the most part, I’m a musician who happens […]