An interview with The Walking Dead composer Sam Ewing

The Walking Dead composer Sam Ewing talks about how music helps drive the show’s narrative and what it’s like to create music for the dystopian drama.

Music has always been an integral part of The Walking Dead. Throughout the ten seasons of the show, the original music composed for the show and the songs chosen to highlight certain scenes have added the depth and emotion that made the show so much more than a genre show about zombies.

Effectively using music on a TV show can help viewers connect more fully to the characters and engage in the suspension of disbelief necessary to really enter the world that the show is set in. That’s especially important on a show like The Walking Dead where viewers need to be able to visualize themselves in the dystopian world that looks familiar but totally unfamiliar also.

There are a lot of elements that need to be considered when creating music for a specific scene. Original music created for a show needs to reflect the tone of the show as well as the spirit of the characters in the scene. Whatever the composer feels the audience will feel as they watch the scene and listen to the music.

But what is it like to create original music for The Walking Dead? Recently The Walking Dead composer Sam Ewing took the time to answer my questions about the process, the impact of music, and how music can wordlessly create tension, mood, emotion, and how it can turn the show into an immersive sensory experience.

Creating The Music On The Walking Dead

Can you tell us a little about your musical background and how you got into composing for film and TV?

"Like many young musicians, I just picked up an instrument one day and fell in love. I was 10 years old and it was the guitar. Fast forward some time, I’m a first semester student at Berklee College of Music and asking myself “what can I do with my *highly valuable* jazz guitar chops?” And I swear there was a poster staring me in the face right then for a “Film Scoring Contest!” I thought, okay this sounds fun. I gave it a whack, got a great response from the judge panel and I was like “ok, I’m doing this.” I didn’t think I had it in me – turns out it’s an incredibly good fit for me. You basically just need to be musical and have some dramatic instincts, and not mind working in isolation for long stretches."

How did you join the show?

"Fast forward again to my last week at Berklee, I ran into my friend and teacher at the time, Michael Sweet, in line at a burger joint. Long story short, he says “you should work for Bear McCreary. You’d be a good fit.” Jump ahead, I’m in L.A. interning for Bear’s small scoring operation. He started taking off with his movie scoring at the time and The Walking Dead Season 5 had just started up. The show needed some real managerial help and a bit of creative support. I blinked and before I knew it, I was writing some little cues and helping Bear run the show operationally. I’d been doing that for seasons 5-9. Season 10 rolls around and he tells me, “alright, I want to give you co-credit.” I was so happy."

Were you a fan of TWD before you started working on the show?

"Yes, I was a fan. Again, back to Berklee. In between work-study shifts, I was sitting at the table in the student-teacher lounge, and The Walking Dead Season 1 had just come out. I would watch season 1 on my laptop. I loved the style, the 16mm film look, the unnerving Bernard Herrmann-esque main title music. I never would have guessed that I’d be working on this show let alone have my name next to Bear’s. It’s crazy and awesome. I’m very grateful."

You’ve worked on a lot of episodes of The Walking Dead. Has the style of the music that you write for the show changed over the years as the show has changed direction and changed looks? 

"Absolutely. The show has had a few different show runners over the years, and with them has come slightly different flavors and directions. When I started in Season 5 led by Scott Gimple, the direction was to go a little more synthy, John Carpenter. I was excited about this because I had recently really gotten into analog synthesis and sound design. Any show that is around for 10 seasons will have some shifts. So inevitably in Season 9, when Angela Kang became show runner, the direction musically was to go a little bit back to our roots and use more organic and acoustic instruments. I think it’s been a really appropriate evolution and de-evolution for the music, and the challenge has been keeping it all unified and sounding coherent from season to season. I genuinely love all styles and flavors of music so it’s kind of a dream come true to do that. Season 10 I’m especially have fun playing and recording lots of solo instruments myself to get that rustic, modern western sort of vibe, which I was doing a bit of in season 9 too."

Music is always important on the show because it does so much to set the tone and feel of the show, but it seems like music played an even larger role in season 9 and coming up in season 10 because as the narrative gets darker the atmosphere of the show is getting darker. I noticed particularly in episode 1003 there’s almost no dialog at all in the opening scenes and music is really what sets the tone and pace for the episode. What’s your process like when you’re composing for a scene like that where the music is so vital in setting the tone and pace of the episode?

"I love that you pointed out that episode and that opening! It’s been one of my favorite’s this season. So much of the musical vibe is already decided for you when scoring a scene like that. Jack Colwell edited this one and had those bold title cards timed out in these intervals that sort of decided my tempo map. But I’ll tell you, for a scene like this, and many scenes, I pick up my electric bass, hit play, and just start playing music. Usually my first instinct is the backbone of the cue. So I might say, ok that’s my pace and that’s my general vibe. I’ll put down the bass and set up the tempo map in Cubase (digital audio workstation) and have the beats land evenly on each one of those cuts, and I’ll make a point to speed up the tempo as the scene goes on to add on the tension. So it takes a minute to get that tempo map set up. Then I hit record and start committing. I add some guitar, percussion, add some violin, some analog synth dirt in there, and before you know it there’s a finished cue. I try to work quickly and use my first take or second take of everything so it feels raw."

What was your favorite episode to compose for?

"Well, 1003 of season 10 has been my favorite so far. Partly because of the dialogue-less opening you pointed out and the great classic horror atmosphere throughout. I do think though that 915 has a special place in my heart because Bear and I (though I was not a credited co-composer at the time) got permission to go very dramatic and bring in the string players. The heads on the pikes scene in particular, I’m very fond of. I really sweat over that composition and I just love that it was received well by everyone."

I don’t think anyone could ever forget, but the score for the victim reveal scene was indeed haunting:

What is your favorite original music from The Walking Dead, TWDFamily? Tweet us your favorite @SonyaIryna and @UndeadWalking and be sure to follow Sam Ewing @SamJEwing. Thank you, Sam, for taking the time to answer my questions!