What’s ridiculous about the bond franchise
is that after 5 decades there’s still a clearly defined bond sound. 24 films, countless rip offs and parodies
– it either sounds like bond or it doesn’t. So what makes Bond sound like Bond? What makes James Bond really interesting as a franchise is its patterns. Because it’s a film series that’s been
running for decades without a super strong overarching narrative we can see its themes
and variations. It frequently repeats itself. No fewer than TEN bond films end with bond
about to have sex on a boat [“If you’re havin’ a good time, let the captain know and I’ll have him steam around in circles”] …and sometimes being interrupted. [“Bond, what do you think you’re doing?”] [“Keeping the British end up, sir”] But it also constantly reinvents itself [“This never happened to the other fella”] It’s a film series about [“resurrection”] Its music is absolutely no different. [“Let me show you something”] At the heart of the James Bond musical sound
is a very simple idea. It’s not this [brass fanfare]. It’s not even this [guitar rhythm]. It’s just these three chords – where one
note rises and falls in semi-tones. This rising and falling is more than anything
else the Bond musical sound – not just for the scores, but for the songs, too. It’s actually referenced and developed in
FIFTEEN of the Bond title songs. It’s like a literal musical through line
for 007 from the 60s to today. Some songs completely deviate from this model,
of course, but every so often, Bond’s music needs to return to this rising and falling
motif – especially for moments where Bond’s essential Bond-ness needs to be restated. Take the first three songs of the Daniel Craig
era, for example. This was the ‘reboot’ era, where more
than EVER, the 007 franchise tried to capture the original, core essence of the character
and his world. What all three songs do is quite interesting. They’re all based around this rising and
falling idea – the musical heart of Bond – but they do it subtly. Instead of this [keyboard] we get different
chords that allow the same idea to be played It gains in movement what it loses in suspense. It’s no longer a spy creeping around, it’s an anthem But the fundamental idea is still there Watch this This is the key to how you write Bond music
– you gesture towards the musical heart of 007, but you do it a little creatively. [‘Resurrection’]. Each of these tunes are contemporary in their own way, but by using the 007 harmony
they sound fundamentally part of the James Bond universe, even if we don’t consciously
notice why or how. And for whoever writes the song for the next
bond film – and the next, and the next – the choice will be as it always has been. You can try and do something new, or you can
work within and maybe change the pattern a little. This is why Bond is so perfectly of its time
and timeless simultaneously You follow the theme you make variations… and later, you
return again.