COPYRIGHT NOTIFICATION

COPYRIGHTS & PERMISSIONS: All arrangements and tabs in this blog are the original work of the blog owner, unless otherwise noted. They may be downloaded and copied at no charge, only for non-commercial church or home use. All other rights reserved. Ask for permissions-- I intend to be generous. Copyright information for each song is listed in its commentary. Arrangements and tabs of public domain songs are still covered by these copyright restrictions. Your cooperation is appreciated.

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.

No comments: