The piano is such a timeless instrument.
— Ramin Djawadi
What I like about the piano is that it's a beautiful hybrid instrument in the sense that it can sound very warm but also very cold.
My task is to tell a story with the music. I always like to have themes in terms of characters or plots, and things that can tell a story always interest me the most.
You could argue that 'Game of Thrones' has been around longer than 'Westworld,' but honestly, either one - I don't have a side or anything - I love them both equally.
My dream that I followed and that I'm living now is that I actually always wanted to go to music college, play in a band, do a world tour, and then eventually get into film music.
When I work on my music, I always kind of just try to do my best work.
I love getting time to write a piece of music that can settle in and set the tone of the show.
The piano has a huge dynamic range that almost no other instruments have. It can play very low, and it can play very high.
With 'Game of Thrones,' the most dominant instrument would definitely be the cello. That's something I just felt really captured the mood of the show very well.
Most of the time, I'll be conducting the orchestra, but there will be some pieces that I'll be playing an instrument as well, just because I love playing. There's pieces where I want to grab an instrument and play with the rest of the group, like 'The Light of the Seven,' for example; I would love to play the piano for that.
I always really wanted to do film scoring, largely because I hate writing lyrics. I just won't do it. I need help with the words.
I listen to either romantic classical music, Brahms or Beethoven or something like Mozart, or I go all the way contemporary and listen to Metallica or Adele, Radiohead, jazz, whatever it is that is completely opposite.
I started out on an apprenticeship in Hollywood working as an assistant to Hans Zimmer and another composer Klaus Badelt. That's how I got my foot in the door.
I just always hear music in my head. I thought that was normal. My wife said, 'Ramin, that's not normal.'
Find your own style, whatever it is. Whatever is inside you, bring that out. I think that's when you have something unique.
Many times, the way I write my themes or melodies is that I hear it, and then I sing into my phone or something, or I'll scribble down on a piece of paper.
I literally work every day and weekends.
There is an emotional aspect to live players that, no matter how good the samples are, you cannot replicate.
The computer is limited in expression. It can't do what the human player can do. What's dangerous is that you fall for writing for the computer and what sounds good on it instead of writing something that actually sounds good when a player performs it. It's dangerous when you go down that road.
I always have a hard time describing myself.
I'm usually pretty good at remembering the melodies that I wrote.
When I work on a movie, I look at the script or watch the film, and I talk to my director or producers and make a plan: this is our main character; we need a theme for this plot. We need a love theme.
What's amazing about 'Game of Thrones' is that it's set in a fantasy world; it's a fantasy story. So I always say that with the score, we're open to do whatever we want.
What I love is that 'Game of Thrones' is always up for surprises.
The piano is not really in the language of the 'Game of Thrones' score.
In 'Westworld,' I really got to explore new areas, stylistically. We had the Indian world, we had Shogun world, so I got to play with new instrumentation - and also, a lot of new themes.
A lot of people have said, 'Do a Westworld tour!' I definitely have ideas, because we could do a whole concert from just the first season. The player piano plays such a huge role in that one, so it's a must-have as a centerpiece.
I was born and raised in Germany, so I was classically trained. Classical has been deep in me from a totally early age. Then, as a teenager, I picked up the guitar and was really into rock music.
In the case of 'Game Of Thrones,' I've been to set a couple of times, and it's really exciting and inspiring for me to see the set and the actors in action, meet them and talk to them, so it definitely helps. If I can go to set, I will.
What's so cool about 'Light of the Seven' - and what I love about 'Game of Thrones' - is you never know what's going to happen.
The music I wrote as a kid already was always instrumental. It was never based on lyrics.
I'll say, 'I really like Daenerys,' and then I go, 'Wait, but I like the Stark theme, too, and I like the Lannister theme.' I keep jumping around. But I think that's kind of the beauty of 'Game of Thrones,' that there's so many different ones, and they're all kind of different, and they do different things.
I think it's great to see that there is such a connection to film music and the way people react or connect to a character or scene.
I collect many ethnic instruments, and as a guitarist, I'm usually able to play any sort of instrument - as long as it has strings. That's why I like to experiment with different sounds.
The tonality of the flute almost has a mystic element to me.
I actually enjoy the fantasy world quite a bit. You have no boundaries.
When I grew up in the '80s, all of my favorite TV shows always had these great openings, and it always got me excited.
I've worked with Jonah Nolan on several projects. I really love collaborating with him.
What I love about 'Game of Thrones' is that the positioning of the music is so well done, because it's not overdone. When the music cuts in, it really has something to say.
It's always daunting to start from scratch, but it's exactly what I love about my job.
I love performing on my own scores. I do it quite a lot.
I feel choir just has a great sense of power when used with an orchestra, or even by itself.
What I love with 'Game of Thrones' is, every season, I get to continue to develop the existing themes; every season, I also get to write new themes.
I wanted to play in bands and get signed by a record label and tour the world and stuff, but that never really worked out.
What I love about film music is the variety. On one movie, you might be asked to do a completely electronic score, and then another might ask you to do orchestral only.
As a film composer, you have to be a good collaborator.
I associate colors with music, or music with colors.
One of the most fun parts about my job is that when the music gets recorded live at the end of the project and real musicians play it, I still get goosebumps every single time.
For me, always, the big inspiration really comes from talking with my creators, my showrunners and my producers, and seeing what is their vision for their project.
When I work on multiple projects, I'm really good at dividing my days, so I start in the morning with a clean slate.
