For new readers

All the tabs were arranged and tabbed (and copyrighted) by me. They are hosted on my "mission" website, so I can keep control, hence the links. Any that are based on music not in public domain say so in the related posting. I have permission from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to publish hymns with their copyright, under the same rules as the hymnal: they are for "incidental home or church use." You can print them, copy them, and play them, but not for money or for public distribution. Please follow these rules; I DON'T want to lose the Church's permission to publish their hymns!

Most of the tabs are intended to be used for instrumental solos in church. Contrary to popular opinion, there is nothing in the Bishop's Handbook forbidding the use of guitars for music in church, even in Sacrament Meeting, according to Elder Moody, who wrote the relevent parts of that handbook. He said, "We are a worldwide church, and do not discriminate against any musical tradition or instrument, as long as the music played is in keeping with the sacred character of the meeting." The bishop decides what is in keeping and what is not. I have heard brass, and even bagpipes, used for special numbers in Sacrament meetings; there is no reason why a guitar cannot also be used the same way. I have done so many times, sometimes playing hymns to accompany singers, and sometimes as an instrumental solo.

For those new to my tabs, please do not let the Roman numerals after some of the chords scare you off. That's just my way of indicating where the barre goes when playing barre chords. It's based on the way barres are indicated in classical guitar music. I  believe you'll find it handy and intuitive. If so, please spread the word. At present, there is no standardized way in tablature to indicate when a chord is a barre chord, and where on the neck it is to be played. I'm hoping this way of notating barre chords will catch on. All other chord symbols follow standard notation.

High on the Mountain Top in G (for beginners)

Actually, it's played a lot like the version in C. Most beginners find it easier to play in the key of G than in C, as there are no barre chords. This version includes a couple of minor chords, where the other version only has single notes, but they are very easy, common chords. If you already know them, you may find it easier to play the chord than to learn the melody line. The tab is simpler, too, without split measures, metronome count, etc. In the second line, there is one pull-off and one slide, but you can just play the notes without using those techniques, and it'll still sound good. No special instructions are needed to play this version, just play the tab as it is written.

High on the Mountain Top is in the public domain. The patriotic lyrics were taken from a poem by Joel Hills Johnson. Click HERE for the story of how this poem came to be written, including the fifth and sixth verses, which do not appear in the hymnal.

High on the Mountain Top in C (intermediate version)

Actually, it's easy, if you can do the barre chords.  Much as I hate to split measures between two lines, I've done so on every line, as that's the way it's written in the hymnal. About the only changes I've made from the hymnal have to do with the tempo.  If you try playing this as a guitar solo at the speed called for in the hymnal, it will really drag, so I've specified a much faster beat.  I've also recast it in 4/4 instead of 2/2.  The difference is almost imperceptible, and I find it easier to count "1-2-3-4" than "1-&-2-&".  If you want to be perfectly faithful to the original, emphasize the #3 beat, so it's equal to the #1. That's the only difference. 

In some ways, this song is easier than the "beginner" version in G, as there are no minor chords, and all the transitions are straightforward, if you are comfortable with barre chords. The only remotely difficult transitions are in the 5th - 6th measures and 9th - 10th measures, where you have to slide the whole GIII chord down to GbII to catch the F# on the first string with the index finger, then back again immediately  to GIII for the chord. This may seem a bit odd to you, but it's one of the things barre chords were invented for.

High on the Mountain Top is in the public domain. The patriotic lyrics were taken from a poem by Joel Hills Johnson. Click HERE for the story of how this poem came to be written, including the fifth and sixth verses, which do not appear in the hymnal.

How Gentle God's Commands, again

As promised, here's the C version.  Actually, it's played very much like the A version, but uses more chords and a slightly different pattern pick.  For a really dynamite sound, start with the A version, play through the first verse, then do a key change by switching to the first verse of the C version, then switch back to the second verse of the A version, play the arpeggios in A, minus the final chord, and then change keys back to C again, for the last verse. Switching keys three times makes it sound hard, but it really is no harder than playing the whole song through once in each key.

A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief MP3

A really nice guy named MJ Hufford has offered to create automated MP3 files of some of my tabs, so you can hear them exactly as written.  This is his first one.  I hope he does lots more!  MJ is also the creator and guiding light of an entire online guitar community called, http://www.guitarvoice.com  [Insert shameless plug!]  Actually, it's a great site for all kinds of guitarists, but especially those who don't like nasty stuff.  MJ is a cool dude.  If you like the idea of more MP3s, leave a comment on this post, or email me, especially if you have a particular favorite that you'd like to hear.