content: 
  ===Houses and characters===
  Djawadi composed an individual leitmotif or theme for each of the major houses, as well as for some locations and some characters. These themes are often played in scenes involving them and they can be used to tell a story.  Not all characters would have their own themes due to the large number of characters in the series. The theme for House Stark is the first theme to be composed and is played on a cello. Most of the Stark characters only have variations on the same theme on cello. Arya Stark is the first of the house to have her own theme, first heard when she started her lesson on swordplay in episode three of season one, with the music featuring a hammered dulcimer. A new theme for Jon Snow, previously using only the House Stark theme, was created in the sixth season and prominently featured in the episode "Battle of the Bastards".  It was first heard at the end of episode three when he said "My watch is ended", signifying a shift in the character after he had been resurrected.
  Due to the large number of themes, the introductions of different themes are also deliberately spaced over a longer period so as not to confuse the audience, for example, the theme for Theon Greyjoy or House Greyjoy was not introduced until the second season even though he first appeared in the first season. House Lannister has an associated song, "The Rains of Castamere", which became their theme.  The song was played at the Red Wedding, but first heard when Tyrion Lannister whistled a small part in the first episode of the second season.  When a theme has become established, different versions that are darker or lighter are then introduced, and concepts such as honor and conspiracy are also represented in themes.
  Djawadi chose distinctive sounds and instruments for different leitmotifs and themes, for example, didgeridoos are used for the wildlings, while the Armenian duduk flute is used for the Dothrakis. The duduk flute has a different sound from other flutes, which were deliberately avoided as they are frequently used in other fantasy films. The themes for the White Walkers and the Night King are more of sound designs rather than regular themes; the White Walker theme initially employed a glass harmonica for a "really high, eerie, icy sound", but became fully orchestral when the army of the dead was revealed in the season two finale.  The theme music for the White Walker extended over time into the music of the Army of the Dead, representing the gathering strength of Army of the Dead, which was only introduced in full in the finale of the seventh season when the Wall fell.
  The themes may evolve over time in the series.  The theme for Daenerys Targaryen started small, but became grander as she became more powerful. Her theme was initially played with a single instrument such as a processed cello, but later began incorporating more instruments, including Japanese taiko-inspired drums, Indonesian bedug drums, and an Armenian duduk flute.  Syllables and words in Valyrian, a fictional language of ''Game of Thrones'', are also used in her theme music, although not as whole sentences.  The instrumentation for her theme are also used for dragon attacks. For the dragons, the theme was first heard when they hatched at the end of season one as a quiet high-pitched melody, but developed into something more powerful by the time they became fully grown, for example it was played with French horns in the loot train attack scene in the seventh season.
  Different themes may also be combined in some themes and scenes. For example, in Season 5, the music for House of Black and White is an extension from the themes for Arya and Jaqen H'ghar. During the first scene of the fourth season, as Ice, the Stark sword, is reforged by Tywin Lannister, the Starks' and Lannisters' themes are clearly played simultaneously, to finally end with the Lannister theme only. In the finale of Season 6 with the shot of the armada at the end, at least five themes were combined – themes for Daenerys, Theon, the Unsullied, the dragons, and the main title.