Yael Naim - New Soul

February 24, 2008 · Print This Article

Yael Naim - New Soul (Chords)

Yael Naim’s New Soul is best known as the music accompanying the MacBook Air ad, but the first time I came across it was on Le Soir’s ukulele sessions. That part of the session has since been replaced by the second half, but you can still enjoy the ukulele version of New Soul thanks to Dailymotion.

In the ukulele version, she seems to be playing tuned down half a step (one fret) with the chords half a step higher than the original. To keep things simple, I’ve written up the original version.

I do get paranoid sometimes when I’m writing up chords. What I’ll usually do is find the lyrics, work out the chords, then have a look online to see what other people reckon the chords are. I almost always disagree with them. In the other versions online, no one else makes any mention of an Ebmaj7 but just play a C chord in its place. Try it both ways and see which you think is correct.

One difference I’m sure I’m right on is the chords at the end of the middle section. Even though the lyrics and melody of the, “I’m a new soul…” are the same as before, the chords are different. It creates an interesting effect and it’d be a shame to miss it out.

For the strumming, I like to use down, down, up, down, up, down, up for most of the chords. But for the shorter chords (Am and G), I go with just down, down, up for each. It sounds like this slow:

And this up to speed:

Comments

10 Responses to “Yael Naim - New Soul”

  1. Nelson on February 25th, 2008 12:01 am

    YES! Great song…man, you just know exactly what to tab up.
    I’m gonna repay you one o’ dese days.
    You know, when being a college student isn’t so F@#$ING EXPENSIVE!!

  2. Joe on February 25th, 2008 4:19 pm

    Nice Choice.

    Brilliant Voice!

  3. Woodshed on February 25th, 2008 5:34 pm

    Nelson: Don’t worry about it. I know how it is.

    Joe: She does have a great voice. She does some crazy singing in the Le Soir Session.

  4. Anna on March 2nd, 2008 1:33 am

    I’m just starting out on the uke. Any tips on the strumming for this song?

  5. Woodshed on March 2nd, 2008 3:22 pm

    Hi Anna.

    I like to use down, down, up, down, up, down, up for most of the chords. But for the shorter chords (Am and G), I go with just down, down, up for each. It sounds like this slow:

    http://ukulelehunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/newsoulslow.mp3

    And this up to speed:

    http://ukulelehunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/newsoulfast.mp3

    Hope that helps.

  6. Eddie on March 30th, 2008 11:16 pm

    I like the real chords you’ve supplied; it has eluded me, all the time, the correct chords. I thank you.

  7. Woodshed on March 31st, 2008 5:21 pm

    You’re welcome, Eddie.

  8. Eric on May 28th, 2008 3:34 am

    For the middle part what is the strum pattern i have a hard time understanding what chord to use, it says F chord right next to the Fm chord i dont know which one to use lol.

  9. Nicolè on May 31st, 2008 8:29 pm

    Where can I find the chord to the lyrics of “New soul”?

    Really love this song!

  10. Woodshed on May 31st, 2008 9:46 pm

    Nicole: Just click where it says “Yael Naim - New Soul (chords)” or here:

    http://ukulelehunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/newsoul.pdf

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