On the Nature of Daylight

The post-classical genre is a (popular but controversial) genre of contemporary music that combines classical and electronic music. Usually, the music is slower and emotive. The top composers of this genre have found a home for their music in modern film: Max Richter, the late Johann Johannsson, and Dustin O’Halloran.

However, from this genre, there is one piece of music that sets the tone of the whole movement – 2004’s On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter. Achingly beautiful is the only way to describe it. Daylight has been used extensively in modern film (most notably) Arrival, Shutter Island, and The Last of Us (HBO).

The Last of Us (HBO) used this piece to great effect in Ep. 3 during “Frank and Bill’s last day”. If you’re a fan of the series, it was a beautiful and heart-wrenching moment.

You might also like to play…

The Last of Us (HBO): Opening Titles | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

Johann Johannsson: The Theory of Everything | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

Depeche Mode: Never Let Me Down Again | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

How to play On the Nature of Daylight | fingerstyle guitar

The guitar tab for Daylight beautifully written across 4 pages, and played straight through without repeats. I recommend this song for intermediate guitar players and up.  I hope you enjoy playing this as much as I do.

Enjoy, the guitar tab is available below:

**On the Nature of Daylight | fingerstyle guitar

For this piece, I tuned my guitar down one whole step (from low to high): D G C F A D. I like the lower tone. However, you could just as easily play this in standard tuning.