James Bond Theme
October 26, 2008
Quantum of Solace? What of what?
I’m flabbergasted that Bond is still going. The whole idea is outdated and they ran out of ideas decades ago. The theme tune, on the other hand, still sounds fantastic.
I’ve been working on this arrangement for an age (I think Sean Connery was Bond when I started) and it’s tough to play – I cock it up a couple of times in the mp3. I’ve tried to cram as many parts of the original onto the uke and there’s a great deal of changing between picking and strumming.
Bar 2: Not a triplet, but I use a triplet strum in this bar: down, up with index, up with middle.
Bars 3 – 6: The bass line crops up on the G string played with the thumb along with strums (up, down, up) on the other three strings.
Bars 7 – 14: This is where it starts to get really tricky. You’ve still got the bass line on the G string and the strums on the E and A strings, but now you’ve got the guitar part on the C string as well. A good rule of thumb (and fingers) is to pluck the G string with your thumb when there are no other notes and strum when there are other notes. There are also quite a few rolls in this section.
Bars 19 – 26: Another step up in difficulty with the brass section. The bass line is still going, but this time it’s moving over the strings.
Bars 28 – 33: Finally a bit of a rest. You can just strum out this section.
Outro: My favourite part of the tune. I love the last chord: Cm6add9.
This is an awesome arrangement and an excellent interprétation, congratulations !
That was brilliant! Great job, Woodshed.
I can’t wait to tackle this one!
You just won’t quit.
Nice work.
:O
You are a legend…
Sounds Great!!
One day, after I’ve tried a million other things, I may get round to attempting the first flourishes of the arrangement, so this is one for the sock drawer. A desert island undertaking.
But, for now, you should know the following (i.e. my reaction) about the mp3 I’ve just listened to: THAT is amazing.
Awesome arrangement!
Bertrand: Thanks!
Paul: Good luck with it.
Lonna: I just can’t quit. It’s an affliction. I need help!
Connor: Legend? I don’t think so, but thanks.
Cheeky: It’s definitely one you need to set plenty of time aside for.
Julia: Thanks.
James Bond theme par Woodshed…
Alors qu’il parait que le cĂ©lèbre thème musical de l’agent le moins secret du monde est de moins en moins voire plus du tout utilisĂ© dans ses films ou sa promotion, Mr. Al “Uke Hunt” Wood le sauve de l’oubli pour la postĂ©ritĂ© avec un arrange…
That is a fantastic arrangement! I’m not so foolish as to attempt it – currently leagues above my current skill level and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Nice work tho!
Thanks, John. I think the riff will probably turn up next time I do a ‘guitar riffs for uke’ series.
To second all the above, that arrangement, tab and the playing on that MP3 are all fantastic!
Acording to the Guardian newspaper on Sat’…”experts” at various disciplines have spent an average of 10.000 hours practicing….I’m gonna spend a few of those l have left practicing this!
It’s brilliant, cheers!
Thanks, Jimmy. It feels like I’ve spent 10,000 hours practicing this tune and I still can’t get it right. But I am a bit simple in the head.
[...] in the series of Easy Themes is a reworking of the James Bond Theme. And it’s still not all that easy. I’ve tried to reduce that amount of switching [...]