Composer Ramin Djawadi on the Game of Thrones concert experience, writing for the show

Ramin Djawadi has been composing the music for Game of Thrones since the beginning—his main title theme has since become iconic. To bridge the gap between Seasons 6 and 7, HBO is sending Djawadi on tour with the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, where he’ll travel the United States (with a few stops in Canada) with a full orchestra and an extremely elaborate set.

Today, Djawadi took to Facebook Live to discuss the tour, and to give insights into how he writes for the show. Watch what he has to say below.

The first question is from Sam Coleman, the guy who played Wylis (Young Hodor) in Game of Thrones Season 6! Or at least he says he’s Sam Coleman. In either case: good times.

Other points:

• Generally speaking, before writing music, Djawadi watches each episode with showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. Then they talk about each scene in detail. It must be odd to watch the show without music.
• There are, however, times Djawadi without having seen the episodes first. That’s how he wrote the melody to “The Rains of Castamere,” for instance. Benioff and Weiss knew that be an important one ahead of time, so they filled him in on it.
• “I’m really not sure what’s coming next. I’m very excited about Season 7.” It sounds like he doesn’t know anything about the plot yet. Apparently music is one of the last things that gets added into the mix.

Then, Djawadi showed off a new concept video from the Concert Experience. This one gives us a preview of what to expect when he and his musicians play “Light of the Seven,” his banner song from Season 6.

That’s pretty intense. Also, I imagine a concert hall full of fans would be nervous when that song came on, given what happened to the last group of people who gathered in one place while it played.

Below are the concert dates. Head to Ticketmaster for tickets.

• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017: Kansas City, Missouri, Sprint Center
• Friday, Feb. 17, 2017: St. Paul, Minnesota, Xcel Energy Center
• Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017: Chicago, United Center
• Monday, Feb. 20, 2017: Detroit, Palace of Auburn Hills
• Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017: Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Arena
• Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017: Buffalo, New York, First Niagara Center
• Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017: Uncasville, Connecticut, Mohegan Sun
• Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017: Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center
• Wednesday, March 1, 2017: Washington, DC, Verizon Center
• Friday, March 3, 2017: Montreal, Bell Centre
• Saturday, March 4, 2017: Toronto, Air Canada Centre
• Monday, March 6, 2017: Boston, TD Bank Garden
• Tuesday, March 7, 2017: New York, Madison Square Garden
• Thursday, March 9, 2017: Charlotte, North Carolina, Time Warner Cable Arena
• Saturday, March 11, 2017: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, BB&T Center
• Sunday, March 12, 2017: Tampa, Florida, Amalie Arena
• Tuesday, March 14, 2017: Atlanta, Philips Arena
• Thursday, March 16, 2017: San Antonio, Texas, AT&T Center
• Friday, March 17, 2017: Houston, Toyota Center
• Sunday, March 19, 2017: Denver, Pepsi Center
• Tuesday, March 21, 2017: Salt Lake City, Maverik Center
• Thursday, March 23, 2017: Los Angeles, The Forum
• Saturday, March 25, 2017: Las Vegas, MGM Grand Garden Arena
• Sunday, March 26, 2017: Phoenix, TalkingStick Resort Arena
• Wednesday, March 29, 2017: San Jose, California, SAP Center
• Friday, March 31, 2017: Seattle, Key Arena
• Saturday, April 1, 2017: Vancouver, Rogers Arena
• Sunday, April 2, 2017: Portland, Oregon, Moda Center