The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Tab)


The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (midi)

As well as inspiring a gaggle of ukulele orchestras, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain also have a habit of inspiring reviewers. The Independent called them the, “anarcho-syndicalists of the ukelele world,” and John L Walters referred to them as a, “band that appeals to the dispossessed, alienated audience stranded between the Scylla of crass commerciality and the Charybdis of half-baked obscurantism.” No wonder the audience are stranded; neither ‘the Scylla of crass commerciality’ nor ‘Charybdis of half-baked obscurantism’ could be found by my SatNav.

The UOGB’s performance of Ennio Morricone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly appears on their live DVD Anarchy in the Ukulele. I haven’t tabbed out the tune exactly as they play it – I felt you might not have half a dozen uke players and a bassist to hand. This version is arranged for solo ukulele.

The most challenging part of the piece is bars 19 and 20. The version I’ve gone with in the tab is the one I like. It sounds great (I like close harmony notes ringing into each other) and is the smoothest transition down the neck. But it isn’t easy. The fingering suggestions under the tab should help you out a little.

A (slightly) easier way to play it is this:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain tab

It’s still tricky.

Buy Anarchy in the Ukulele

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17 Comments

  1. Brian W January 5th, 2008 7:42 pm

    Great tab – so easy to get going on this one and sound good. Thanks!

    Brian W
    London

  2. Woodshed January 5th, 2008 8:01 pm

    Thanks, Brian. Glad you like it.

  3. Brian W January 11th, 2008 12:28 pm

    A discussion on this tab is underway at
    http://www.ukulelecosmos.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=57000#57000

    Some specific suggestions for fine tuning it have been made. Can we work on a ‘version 2’ ?

    Brian W

  4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Redux) | Uke Hunt January 13th, 2008 8:35 pm

    […] Anyhoo, the new version is much better. You can grab it up there and read more about it and get a variation on the original post. […]

  5. Ron J July 23rd, 2008 7:38 pm

    Woodshed,
    i love the great work you are doing on these tabs.
    especially on the UOGB
    i’m pretty sure the next song the need to do is Shock The Monkey by Peter Gabriel

  6. HeavyJay December 4th, 2008 1:54 am

    Great tab! I’d love to see the UOGB’s “Fly Me Off the Handel” tabbed out, if you ever have the time and energy.

  7. James Frazer December 25th, 2008 11:49 am

    I saw this song live when they played at Darlington earlier in 2008 – absolutely amazing. It’s hard to believe the ukulele can produce such sound.

  8. Peter December 17th, 2010 12:35 am

    I saw their video playing the good the bad and the ugly using ukelele and they rock! Great performance

  9. Eleanor Russell March 2nd, 2011 2:29 pm

    The Good and the Bad and the Ugly song is the best I have ever heard anyone play. I liked it when the one on the end started laughing. Cute. Why was he laughing??? You guys are so good. I downloaded it and have it saved forever so I can show and play to all my friends. Would like to hear more about them and do they ever come to America to play . They belong in Vegas.

  10. Woodshed March 6th, 2011 11:16 am

    Eleanor: They have done a couple of joints to New York. They were a big success so I think they might have a more extensive tour at some point.

  11. Erika April 16th, 2011 12:49 am

    This is a great tab! :D It was easy to learn from and I was able to play it quickly. Thanks for making it!

    Is there a way you could make a tab for “Wuthering Heights” by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain? I love that song and really want to learn to play it!

  12. Lucas March 9th, 2012 11:55 pm

    Hi, great tab, can you please do Psycho Killer, which the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performed at the BBC Proms.

    TY

  13. Mouli March 10th, 2012 12:03 am

    Hi, awesome job at the tab! Can you please put on The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain’s version of Teenage Dirtbag?

    Thanks

  14. kat March 30th, 2012 8:32 am

    I got so mesmerized by the performance, I didn’t even look at the chords till after they were done! (I normally switch between chords and video)

  15. pspiersy February 18th, 2015 3:34 am

    i agree with brian w. excelent sound and video. good job.

  16. Marylyn Sachleben June 18th, 2016 11:13 pm

    I don’t play the ukulele, but I know a masterpiece when I hear one. This is so artfully done and just a pure pleasure all around. Great job!

  17. Rebecca April 6th, 2017 7:11 am

    Can someone please do a tutorial of this? I love this song but I’m not entirely sure how to read the sheet music even after learning how to on other websites. A tutorial posted to youtube would be great, with a link in the comments please.

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