The Shawshank Redemption

Written and directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption, is a 1994 drama film based on the 1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.  The film tells the story of a banker who is (despite his claims of innocence) sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover. Over the following 20 years, he befriends fellow prisoners, and becomes the key figure in a money-laundering operation led by the prison warden and guards. The musical score is by venerable composer, Thomas Newman.

The Shawshank Redemption is a legendary film, and will usually be in the top 5 of any film buff’s list. It’s on the level of The Godfather. Script writer/director Frank Darabont was only 34 years old when he made the film. His follow up was the next greatest Stephen King adaptation, The Green Mile.  Darabont seems mostly interested in writing screenplays, but I hope he directs again. At 61, he’s still very much a young man.

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How to play The Shawshank Prison (Stoic Theme) | fingerstyle guitar

The guitar tab for The Stoic Theme is beautifully written across 3 pages. I would characterize this piece as easy to play, as the chord shapes are relatively easy. However, you will need to move through those shapes quickly.

Enjoy, the guitar tab is available below:

My order of play looks like this, in accordance with the guitar tab:

Intro 2x, Verse, Bridge.

Verse, End.

**The Shawshank Redemption: Stoic Theme | fingerstyle guitar

My tuning for this arrangement (from low to high) is C G C F A D. You just as easily play it in a standard drop D tuning as well: D A D G B E.