James Bond chords

It would be an exaggeration to call myself a fan, but I do watch the James Bond films: the latest adventures of agent 007 provide excellent entertainment. There is also always a great deal of attention around the theme song, which is usually performed by a current international star—although, in my opinion, some of those songs miss the mark entirely. But let us stick to the good ones: I think one of the best James Bond themes is Adele's Skyfall, on which she gives a fantastic performance.

The song has a sophisticated, well-developed and inventive structure, an atmospheric chord progression and sensational orchestration, so its writers and performers deserve plenty of praise. It also contains the little motif characteristic of James Bond themes. Recently I decided to “translate” that motif to the ukulele and see how the short melodic turn would sound on the instrument. I think it sounds very good, although these few chords alone are still a long way from accompanying Skyfall on the ukulele. What they are excellent for, however, is practising barre chords, strengthening the hand and warming up before playing. In fact they are so effective that you need to be careful: your hand and forearm can tire surprisingly quickly. I am curious whether you like the progression, whether you recognize the characteristic James Bond sound, and whether you can play it flawlessly for several minutes. Happy practising—and happy hand-tiring .

In the original song this little melodic figure can first be heard in the background at around 1:50 .