Merry Christmas, Poet-With-A-Day-Job!
Poet commented on another post that this Christmas carol would be the best Christmas present ever, so here it is! Actually, it was quite easy for me to do, as the tab was already present on this website, only it was listed as Greensleeves. It's now also listed as, "What Child Is This?" The tab is the same, as there's no difference in the music. I apologize for not including the Christmas carol words for the second and third verses, but that would take more time than I have right now. You are welcome to print the tab and write in the proper words.
Poet also mentioned that he (she?) is a beginner. The song is published with complete instructions for playing all three verses, which are tabbed in order of increasing complexity. Of course, as a guitar instrumental solo, they need not be played in this order! But if you find arpeggios stuck in around the melody daunting, you can still do fine by playing the first verse or two, and learn the arpeggios later, when you have more confidence.
If you like this tab, you might also like A-Soulin', which is another very old, English Christmas carol. It was popularized in the 1960s by the folk group, Peter, Paul and Mary, but my version is a guitar duet in the form of a round. There are no difficult techniques or chords in it. In fact, there's only ONE strummed chord! It's so simple that I teach it to my first-year students. Nevertheless, it sounds absolutely stunning. Check out the video clip of two of my first-year students.
Before Thee, Lord, I Bow My Head-- for flat picking
Yes, you read that right. This version is in the key of C, and it is specifically intended for flat picking. If you want to get a similar effect on a classical guitar, strum all the chords with your thumb, which gives an easy, laid-back sound to the piece. And it CAN be played without barre chords!
The tempo is unusual, but you can play it just like a 6/8 tempo, only it'll come out twice as fast in 6/4. I strongly recommend that you learn each part of the song slowly first, before attempting to play it at speed. You can also give the piece a more "country" sound by turning all the strummed chords into Carter licks. A Carter lick is a quick strum down and then back up again, the whole lick counting one count. Carter licks sound really good with an alternating bass note, either before the licks or after them. For this song, though, to do this, you'll need to add an extra couple of notes to each measure, converting it into 8/4 or 8/8 time. More on this later.
To play the song as written, there are only a few comments that need to be made. The melody is carried in the bass line, which is unusual for a hymn, but not for country Gospel music. The song is also written in Hymns as a round in two parts. This is also unusual, though not unique. If you're going to play it as a guitar solo, or with just one singer, use the first ending, which I think sounds better. There won't be time enough for the second singing part in the last measure, so I've included an alternative ending for accompanying duets, as published in the hymnal. The rest of the song is as close to the hymnal as I could make it and still have it come out right for the guitar.
The hammer-ons and pull-offs called for are NOT quick. Each note is a quarter note, just as in the picked notes. In fact, you can pick the ligados too, if you have trouble with ligados, but the ligado notes sound better-connected. The chord symbols appear over the spot where you need to fret them with the left hand, not necessarily where the chord is strummed. This is done to make it easier to find the notes with the left hand; if you want to do it another way, by all means do what works best for you.
F/C is read, "F, with a C bass note" and is played like a regular F chord, adding the C note with the left pinkie. You can just play a normal F if you like, but the bass note called for in the melody line happens to be the C, so it works better, if you can do it.
For the Chorus, the music specifies that the tempo be played "Brightly," hence the increased metronome setting. In the Chorus, the melody is carried in the treble strings. Play the first part of the Chorus in rapid but complete phrases: "How sweet thy word I’ve heard this day!" should be played as a complete phrase, without pauses. Similarly, "Be thou my guide, O Lord, I pray," except remember that "word", "guide" and "Lord" each have two syllables: "wor-ord", "gui-ide" and "Lo-ord" respectively. CaddG is a regular C chord, with the little finger adding the G on the first string. It's not hard to play, but it may be difficult to do the pull-off with the little finger while holding the chord. If you have trouble, don't play the full chord, just the G note, and do the pull-off, which carries the melody. The second time, fret the first string in the second space with the first joint of the index finger, as if barring the strings. This makes for a super easy transition to the GIII chord.
Don't forget, you'll have to go back to the G7 position to do the bass run in the next measure. This is made a bit easier by the change in tempo, as the tune slows back down to the original 120 beats/minute. The melody switches back to the bass strings, too. " Seal thou the word upon my heart," is also to be played as a single phrase, for the guitar solo version. I think that after you get it up to speed, you'll really like it.
To play the piece in 8/8, as a country Gospel tune, you'll need to add a few notes here and there, to make the count come out even. It's easy to add a few extra bass notes to do so, and create an alternating bass line at the same time. You'll also need to play the final chord slowly, to contrast with the Carter licks, so it sounds like the piece is definitely ended.
The tempo is unusual, but you can play it just like a 6/8 tempo, only it'll come out twice as fast in 6/4. I strongly recommend that you learn each part of the song slowly first, before attempting to play it at speed. You can also give the piece a more "country" sound by turning all the strummed chords into Carter licks. A Carter lick is a quick strum down and then back up again, the whole lick counting one count. Carter licks sound really good with an alternating bass note, either before the licks or after them. For this song, though, to do this, you'll need to add an extra couple of notes to each measure, converting it into 8/4 or 8/8 time. More on this later.
To play the song as written, there are only a few comments that need to be made. The melody is carried in the bass line, which is unusual for a hymn, but not for country Gospel music. The song is also written in Hymns as a round in two parts. This is also unusual, though not unique. If you're going to play it as a guitar solo, or with just one singer, use the first ending, which I think sounds better. There won't be time enough for the second singing part in the last measure, so I've included an alternative ending for accompanying duets, as published in the hymnal. The rest of the song is as close to the hymnal as I could make it and still have it come out right for the guitar.
The hammer-ons and pull-offs called for are NOT quick. Each note is a quarter note, just as in the picked notes. In fact, you can pick the ligados too, if you have trouble with ligados, but the ligado notes sound better-connected. The chord symbols appear over the spot where you need to fret them with the left hand, not necessarily where the chord is strummed. This is done to make it easier to find the notes with the left hand; if you want to do it another way, by all means do what works best for you.
F/C is read, "F, with a C bass note" and is played like a regular F chord, adding the C note with the left pinkie. You can just play a normal F if you like, but the bass note called for in the melody line happens to be the C, so it works better, if you can do it.
For the Chorus, the music specifies that the tempo be played "Brightly," hence the increased metronome setting. In the Chorus, the melody is carried in the treble strings. Play the first part of the Chorus in rapid but complete phrases: "How sweet thy word I’ve heard this day!" should be played as a complete phrase, without pauses. Similarly, "Be thou my guide, O Lord, I pray," except remember that "word", "guide" and "Lord" each have two syllables: "wor-ord", "gui-ide" and "Lo-ord" respectively. CaddG is a regular C chord, with the little finger adding the G on the first string. It's not hard to play, but it may be difficult to do the pull-off with the little finger while holding the chord. If you have trouble, don't play the full chord, just the G note, and do the pull-off, which carries the melody. The second time, fret the first string in the second space with the first joint of the index finger, as if barring the strings. This makes for a super easy transition to the GIII chord.
Don't forget, you'll have to go back to the G7 position to do the bass run in the next measure. This is made a bit easier by the change in tempo, as the tune slows back down to the original 120 beats/minute. The melody switches back to the bass strings, too. " Seal thou the word upon my heart," is also to be played as a single phrase, for the guitar solo version. I think that after you get it up to speed, you'll really like it.
To play the piece in 8/8, as a country Gospel tune, you'll need to add a few notes here and there, to make the count come out even. It's easy to add a few extra bass notes to do so, and create an alternating bass line at the same time. You'll also need to play the final chord slowly, to contrast with the Carter licks, so it sounds like the piece is definitely ended.
The Lord Is My Shepherd
If you're a beginner, don't let the tab scare you. There's a very easy, strummed version shown as a cheat sheet at the end of the tab. Both are in the key of A, so you can play them as alternate verses, or as a duet, if you like.
To make this a bit easier, I've tried to use chords that lend themselves to easy changes. For example, you can easily change from Av to Dv by just flattening the fingers of the left hand across the strings. Same for D6v. To get from the (unbarred) A to the (barred) Av at the end of the song, use the first joint of the index finger (the one closest to the palm) to fret the first string, as it's already in position over the string, and just needs to be slid up to the IV space. Then, it's easy to hit the barre in the v space for the full-barre Av.
Counting this song is easy, if you remember that every two notes equal one count! I routinely recast 3/4 time songs like this as 6/8, as it rarely makes a difference. This is one of the rarelies, so I left it in 3/4. But remember the metronome setting of 70 is for two notes, not one, or the song will really drag.
I have to confess, I'm not entirely happy with this arrangement, but audiences seem to like it. If anyone knows a better one, I'd love to see it.
The cheat sheet at the end of the tab is for strumming, to accompany a singer. The chords are much easier, and you can even play it with a pick, if you want. I usually replace the high A note at the end with an Av chord, but if you aren't up to playing full barre chords, you can just tremolo the last note, and it'll sound great. Virtually any guitarist can play this version. My seven year old student Meilin picked it up and started playing it (while singing!) the first time she heard it.
To make this a bit easier, I've tried to use chords that lend themselves to easy changes. For example, you can easily change from Av to Dv by just flattening the fingers of the left hand across the strings. Same for D6v. To get from the (unbarred) A to the (barred) Av at the end of the song, use the first joint of the index finger (the one closest to the palm) to fret the first string, as it's already in position over the string, and just needs to be slid up to the IV space. Then, it's easy to hit the barre in the v space for the full-barre Av.
Counting this song is easy, if you remember that every two notes equal one count! I routinely recast 3/4 time songs like this as 6/8, as it rarely makes a difference. This is one of the rarelies, so I left it in 3/4. But remember the metronome setting of 70 is for two notes, not one, or the song will really drag.
I have to confess, I'm not entirely happy with this arrangement, but audiences seem to like it. If anyone knows a better one, I'd love to see it.
The cheat sheet at the end of the tab is for strumming, to accompany a singer. The chords are much easier, and you can even play it with a pick, if you want. I usually replace the high A note at the end with an Av chord, but if you aren't up to playing full barre chords, you can just tremolo the last note, and it'll sound great. Virtually any guitarist can play this version. My seven year old student Meilin picked it up and started playing it (while singing!) the first time she heard it.
Christmas! It's Coming!
Christmas IS coming, and SOON! I was going to put up a poll asking which Christmas carols you wanted me to post next, but the poll gadget seems to have disappeared. So, if there's a special Christmas carol you'd like me to post, you have two options:
1. You can comment on this post.
2. You can send me a message, if you are a follower, by clicking on my thumbnail photo. If you are not a follower, you can easily become one.
I'll do my best, but please allow me some time, as I may not already have your favorite carol tabbed.
1. You can comment on this post.
2. You can send me a message, if you are a follower, by clicking on my thumbnail photo. If you are not a follower, you can easily become one.
I'll do my best, but please allow me some time, as I may not already have your favorite carol tabbed.
Stats
For all those who think there are more folks viewing this blog than shown as Followers -- you are right! Thanks to those who recommended that I get a counter. Blogger now provides one. Here are the lifetime stats for this blog: (stats do not include my own visits)
Average usage: about 2900 visits per month
Nearly all are from the United States and Canada, but also from the Netherlands, Mexico, the UK, Australia, Honduras, Germany, Ireland, and Russia. There are others, but those are the top ten countries.
Top ten all-time favorite posts*:
# 1 I Am A Child of God 1001 page views
# 2 A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief 509 page views
# 3 Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing 313 page views
# 4 Lead Kindly Light 255 page views
# 5 I Know That My Redeemer Lives 235 page views
# 6 A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief MP3 101 page views
# 7 O Holy Night 98 page views
# 8 Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling 90 page views
# 9 Praise to the Man 88 page views
# 10 Teach Me to Walk in the Light 87 page views
* Sorry! I can't track downloads, as they are link visits to my hosting website, which is not equipped. I'm working on it.
About 80% of the searches that resulted in hits on this blog included the words "Mormon" or "LDS" and "guitar" in the search terms. About 80% of the searches were in some form of Google.
Your favorite operating systems were: Windows, Macintosh, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Linnux, Unix, Blackberry, Danger, and Nintendo Wii. Whoever you are out there who is reading the tabs on a Blackberry, your nickname ought to be "Hawkeye!"
Average usage: about 2900 visits per month
Nearly all are from the United States and Canada, but also from the Netherlands, Mexico, the UK, Australia, Honduras, Germany, Ireland, and Russia. There are others, but those are the top ten countries.
Top ten all-time favorite posts*:
# 1 I Am A Child of God 1001 page views
# 2 A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief 509 page views
# 3 Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing 313 page views
# 4 Lead Kindly Light 255 page views
# 5 I Know That My Redeemer Lives 235 page views
# 6 A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief MP3 101 page views
# 7 O Holy Night 98 page views
# 8 Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling 90 page views
# 9 Praise to the Man 88 page views
# 10 Teach Me to Walk in the Light 87 page views
* Sorry! I can't track downloads, as they are link visits to my hosting website, which is not equipped. I'm working on it.
About 80% of the searches that resulted in hits on this blog included the words "Mormon" or "LDS" and "guitar" in the search terms. About 80% of the searches were in some form of Google.
Your favorite operating systems were: Windows, Macintosh, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Linnux, Unix, Blackberry, Danger, and Nintendo Wii. Whoever you are out there who is reading the tabs on a Blackberry, your nickname ought to be "Hawkeye!"
Now Let Us Rejoice
At last, a relatively easy one! It's in the key of A, too, which many guitarists find easier than C. You'll have to play the Av, which is just an E barred at the fifth fret. C#m7IV and EIV are actually barred versions of Am7 and C, barred at the fourth fret. C#m7IV is actually one of the easiest barre chords to play. EIV is a bit harder, but if your fingers won't stretch that far, you can substitute C#m7IV. You can also use a regular E, though the melody line will suffer, as it will be going down when it should go up.
For those who do not like the "extra" notes, I've printed them in light face type, while all the others are in bold face. For those who like them, don't forget to put them in, just because they are printed in light face type! If you have trouble seeing them, let me know and I'll correct the problem in a future posting. The song was originally written in 3/4 time, but I've re-cast it in 6/8, to make counting easier.
The hardest part of the song is the slide-to-pull-off progression: -4-\-2_0- which occurs twice in each verse. It starts with a full-barre Av chord, so you only have to slide down one fret to hit the -4-. It's a bit tricky sliding down to the -2- while also shifting the index finger noiselessly across the strings, so you can do the pull-off. I have found that the easiest way for me to do this is to NOT slide across the strings, but to do the pull-off with the third joint of my left index finger. My third joint is rather fat, and provides enough of a "hook" to do an acceptable pull-off. If you have skinny fingers, I recommend ignoring either the slide or the pull-off.
Another place you might have trouble is in the next-to-last measure of the finale. You'll have to stretch the little finger of the left hand to hit the G# in the ninth fret on the second string. Alternatively, you can just hit the same note at the fourth fret on the first string, which requires a rather fast transition to get back to Av. My fingers are stretched out, so I find stretching easier, but you may not agree.
This song is in the public domain. It was included in the first LDS hymnal.
For those who do not like the "extra" notes, I've printed them in light face type, while all the others are in bold face. For those who like them, don't forget to put them in, just because they are printed in light face type! If you have trouble seeing them, let me know and I'll correct the problem in a future posting. The song was originally written in 3/4 time, but I've re-cast it in 6/8, to make counting easier.
The hardest part of the song is the slide-to-pull-off progression: -4-\-2_0- which occurs twice in each verse. It starts with a full-barre Av chord, so you only have to slide down one fret to hit the -4-. It's a bit tricky sliding down to the -2- while also shifting the index finger noiselessly across the strings, so you can do the pull-off. I have found that the easiest way for me to do this is to NOT slide across the strings, but to do the pull-off with the third joint of my left index finger. My third joint is rather fat, and provides enough of a "hook" to do an acceptable pull-off. If you have skinny fingers, I recommend ignoring either the slide or the pull-off.
Another place you might have trouble is in the next-to-last measure of the finale. You'll have to stretch the little finger of the left hand to hit the G# in the ninth fret on the second string. Alternatively, you can just hit the same note at the fourth fret on the first string, which requires a rather fast transition to get back to Av. My fingers are stretched out, so I find stretching easier, but you may not agree.
This song is in the public domain. It was included in the first LDS hymnal.
I Am A Child of God MP3
Another MJ Hufford MP3! And this time, it's even better than the last one. My stats show this is your all-time favorite of the tabs on this site, accounting for literally thousands of hits per month, so enjoy!
For those who wonder why I put in all those "extra" notes, this MP3 will show you why. About half the notes in the song are bass drones-- the same note repeated over and over-- done in counterpoint to the melody. They are easy to play, as they seldom change, and they add a richness to the sound that just makes the song.
A few words of warning:
1. Due to an apparent glitch in the program, some of the strummed chords may sound louder than the rest of the notes, depending on your computer. They are NOT supposed to be louder. This does not happen when playing an actual guitar, so not to worry.
2. I neglected to write instructions to slow down a bit for the finale, so MJ programmed the song exactly the way I wrote it. Trouble is, I can't play it that fast! It definitely sounds good that way, but don't worry if you have to slow down a bit at the end. Just don't slow down so much that it drags, and you'll be fine. MJ tells me he can't play it that fast, either. Hooray for computers!
3. Remember, this is not supposed to be an easy song to play, so don't feel bad if you don't get it down perfectly, right away. But do practice until you can make it sound easy-- audiences love it.
Go ahead and comment if you like the MP3, especially if it helps you learn the song. MJ is programming these MP3s for free, and I really want him to know how much his efforts are appreciated.
For those who wonder why I put in all those "extra" notes, this MP3 will show you why. About half the notes in the song are bass drones-- the same note repeated over and over-- done in counterpoint to the melody. They are easy to play, as they seldom change, and they add a richness to the sound that just makes the song.
A few words of warning:
1. Due to an apparent glitch in the program, some of the strummed chords may sound louder than the rest of the notes, depending on your computer. They are NOT supposed to be louder. This does not happen when playing an actual guitar, so not to worry.
2. I neglected to write instructions to slow down a bit for the finale, so MJ programmed the song exactly the way I wrote it. Trouble is, I can't play it that fast! It definitely sounds good that way, but don't worry if you have to slow down a bit at the end. Just don't slow down so much that it drags, and you'll be fine. MJ tells me he can't play it that fast, either. Hooray for computers!
3. Remember, this is not supposed to be an easy song to play, so don't feel bad if you don't get it down perfectly, right away. But do practice until you can make it sound easy-- audiences love it.
Go ahead and comment if you like the MP3, especially if it helps you learn the song. MJ is programming these MP3s for free, and I really want him to know how much his efforts are appreciated.
The Day Dawn Is Breaking
There are no hard chords in this song. Although G7addF may look odd, it's rather easy to play. It's just like a normal G7, except you have to add the F note on the fourth string, with your little finger. The only really difficult part is getting the whole song up to speed. It sounds OK played slowly, so you can play it anywhere from half speed to as posted, if you are playing it as an instrumental solo. If you intend to sing it or accompany singers, the guitar part needs to be played at the metronome speed listed on the tab.
This is the same speed called for in the hymnal, and it IS fast. I recommend that you practice it at half speed until you can play it perfectly, before attempting to increase the speed. That's how I learned it.
If you have trouble with barre chords, you may be tempted to substitute the regular F and G chords for the barred FI and GIII. If you do, the chords may not follow the melody, and, at the end of the verse, the alternate transition: F - G - C will actually be slower than the FI - GIII - C as written. An acceptable compromise, if you just cannot do barre chords at all, is to play the regular F, then slide it up two frets for an alternative G, thus: F = xx3211, G = xx5433. While this does not give as full a sound, or follow the melody perfectly, it is as fast as using the full barre chords, and does give an idea of the melody.
This song is in the public domain.
This is the same speed called for in the hymnal, and it IS fast. I recommend that you practice it at half speed until you can play it perfectly, before attempting to increase the speed. That's how I learned it.
If you have trouble with barre chords, you may be tempted to substitute the regular F and G chords for the barred FI and GIII. If you do, the chords may not follow the melody, and, at the end of the verse, the alternate transition: F - G - C will actually be slower than the FI - GIII - C as written. An acceptable compromise, if you just cannot do barre chords at all, is to play the regular F, then slide it up two frets for an alternative G, thus: F = xx3211, G = xx5433. While this does not give as full a sound, or follow the melody perfectly, it is as fast as using the full barre chords, and does give an idea of the melody.
This song is in the public domain.
For those who do not speak Spanish
The previous post was written in Spanish for the benefit of my many Latino readers. It tells them how to use this site to find the Spanish lyrics to the hymns published here. English is still the normal language of this blog, but I want to recognize that more than half of Church members worldwide speak Spanish. Rather than clutter the blog with links to each tab in both languages, I wrote a translation table. If you want to know the Spanish name of any of the hymns in the Spanish-language version of Hymns, you can look it up in the link, "Himnos y Hymns," or just click here. You may not find the hymn you are looking for, as over a hundred of the English hymns have not been translated, while 21 appear only in Spanish.
Himnos y Hymns
¡Bienvenidos! mís amigos hispanohablantes.
La mayoría de los himnos que les escriben en este sitio les escriben en inglés, pero la música no cambia mucho de una idioma a la otra. Pero, la programa buscadora de este sitio les buscara solo por sus nombres ingleses. Entonces, he provecho una lista de los nombres de los himnos en todos los dos idiomas. Para verla haz click aquí, o busca el link que se llama “Himnos y Hymns.”
La lista esta en dos partes: ordenado alfabeticamente por el nombe español, y también por el numero del himno.
Para el guitarista, se debe cambiar los nombres de las acuerdas de las letras (del estilo inglés) por los nombres del estilo español, de la siguente forma:
do = C, re = D, mi = E, fa = F, sol = G, la = A, ti = B
Todas las otras partes de los nombres de las acuerdas no cambian:
Do#m7 = C#m7, etc.
La mayoría de los himnos que les escriben en este sitio les escriben en inglés, pero la música no cambia mucho de una idioma a la otra. Pero, la programa buscadora de este sitio les buscara solo por sus nombres ingleses. Entonces, he provecho una lista de los nombres de los himnos en todos los dos idiomas. Para verla haz click aquí, o busca el link que se llama “Himnos y Hymns.”
La lista esta en dos partes: ordenado alfabeticamente por el nombe español, y también por el numero del himno.
Para el guitarista, se debe cambiar los nombres de las acuerdas de las letras (del estilo inglés) por los nombres del estilo español, de la siguente forma:
do = C, re = D, mi = E, fa = F, sol = G, la = A, ti = B
Todas las otras partes de los nombres de las acuerdas no cambian:
Do#m7 = C#m7, etc.
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