Some film themes are so instantly recognisable that a single bar is enough — and Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbusters theme from 1984 is firmly in that club. In this video, Valeria Galimova and Justus Bien play their own two-guitar arrangement of the tune on a pair of Siccas Luthiers Recital Traditional guitars — with obvious joy.
From Synth-Pop to Six Strings
Arranging a 1980s pop-funk track for two classical guitars is trickier than it sounds. The original lives on a driving synth bassline, punchy brass stabs and that famous call-and-response hook. In a duo arrangement the roles can be split naturally: one guitar takes the groove — muted bass strings doing the work of the rhythm section — while the other delivers the melody and the stabs, and the players swap roles as the arrangement develops. Percussive techniques like golpe and muted strumming, borrowed from flamenco and modern fingerstyle, fill in the drum kit.
The result is more than a novelty: it shows how complete the classical guitar duo is as an ensemble. If you enjoy this kind of crossover, we have a tutorial on playing the Ghostbusters theme with Karlijn Langendijk, and a closer look at the theme's history in our article on the Ghostbusters theme on classical guitar.
The Performers
Valeria Galimova is a classical guitarist we have featured many times on the channel; you can read about her career in our artist profile of Valeria Galimova. Justus Bien partners her here with the tight rhythmic interplay that duo arrangements of groove-based music absolutely depend on.
The Guitars: Siccas Luthiers Recital Traditional
Both players perform on the Recital Traditional from our own Siccas Luthiers line — a cedar-top concert guitar in the Spanish tradition. Matching instruments help a duo blend, and the model's quick attack and warm mid-range suit funk grooves surprisingly well. You can find the Recital Traditional Cedar here in our shop, along with the whole Siccas Luthiers collection.
Watch the Performance
For more familiar melodies on classical guitar, browse our overview of famous classical guitar pieces.
