Kettlebot

Thanks so much for putting in the effort, Peter! So many people start AMAs, answer a couple questions, plug their new film and get out. It means much and more to us that you're responding to the more obscure questions!

Pay those people no mind. A lot of them have just had bad experiences in the past with AMAs. They can be pretty awful sometimes.

thrum

Hey Ramin! I've been a huge fan of your work on Game of Thrones since before I even started watching the show. One night I was browsing reddit and found a video that used the main theme. I was entranced by it, so I went searching for the source. When I eventually found HBO's video of the Main Theme on their youtube channel, I was so intrigued that I decided right then and there that I must watch Game Of Thrones. Without your music, I may not have investigated the world of Westeros when I did, and for that I thank you!

Now, to the questions:

1. Every character's musical theme seems to be in some way related to the main, overarching theme of Game of Thrones. How much work did that take to put together, and is each theme building up to something?

2. Similarly, what is your process like for creating a character's theme, and how much research do you do for that process? For example, do you read a character's chapters, or do you read the scripts beforehand? Do Dan Weiss and Dave Benioff give you any direction in regards to a theme?

3. In the first question, I asked you if any of the music would be building up to anything, so my final question here is (and I want you to skip it if you need to) are there any talks of actually hearing the Song of Ice and Fire?

Thanks again for the amazing music, Ramin!

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EDIT: Maybe this isn't the place but this AMA has reminded me of another cooler moment with Ramin's music. Those of you who have finished Game Of Thrones Season 3 know of the final scene with Daenerys where the song named "Mhysa" is used? Only a few days before that last episode aired, the soundtrack for Season 3 was released. I love the music so I bought it immediately. I was also in the process of my first readthrough of the books. Well, I was very excited to catch up to the show in the books, so I read and read and read until finally I started reading new material. One of the first new moments I read was the scene where people were calling "Mhysa" out to Daenerys. I thought it was a touching moment and read on.

Fast forward to the Sunday of the finale of Season 3. I was in my car, bored, waiting for the person who I was with to run their errands, so I put on the new soundtrack! I go from song to song, listening for ones I had already heard, as well as finding ones that I hadn't, trying to "spoil" the music in the last episode for myself essentially. Finally I came across this very moving, beautiful track. I didn't know it's name and I hadn't heard it before in the show, but I loved it immediately. Curious, I looked at the track name and it was named "Mhysa", that chapter I'd only just read! Having just read the chapter, the music gave me a major sense of how the scene would play out, and that realization honestly almost moved me to tears. When I finally saw the "Mhysa" scene later that day, the frisson was overwhelming, and I couldn't help but cry.

It usually makes an appearance towards the end of the season, to help build up to the climax.

I am very much looking forward to how the new song The Children will be used in the show! Us book readers have a couple theories and I can't wait to finally see!

3) No comment at this time.

^{Get HYPE?}

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Thanks so much for answering my questions, Ramin! I look forward to hearing more (can't wait to hear those Dornish themes)!