As written in Hymns, this song is in 2/2 tempo; each measure consists of two half notes. It’s appropriate to a very slow, solemn song like this, but it makes counting really difficult, as there are numerous points where you have to play 16th notes. That’s not bad in standard music notation, but in a tab where everything is a fraction of a half-note, you’d end up counting something like: “and-a-one-uh and-a-two-uh,” etc. Clumsy and confusing. Much better to recast it as 4/4 and eliminate the 16th notes. Eighth notes are bad enough.
This song has been transposed to the key of C. I tried to transpose it to G, which is musically closer to the original, but it was impossible to play, so C it is. That does require the use of a few “unusual” chords, but they are not difficult ones. C/G (pronounced C over G) is just a normal C chord, with a G bass added on the #6 string.
C and Am are played normally, but GaddD is another interesting variation. It is played exactly like a normal G, except the #1 string is not played, and the ring finger frets the #2 or B string in the third space, instead of the #1 string. This chord is sometimes written as Gadd3, because D is the third note in the G scale. It is dead easy to play, even easier than a normal G.
The rest of the chords are all easy barre chords. GIII, CVIII, and FI are all barred E-shapes. The only difference is their position on the guitar neck. G7III is even easier, as it’s just a barred E7-shape.
The words to this hymn were written by Edward P. Kimball, who was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir organist for more than thirty years. He was the organist when Music and the Spoken Word was begun. His son, Ted Kimball, was the first announcer for the show. Edward P. Kimball also wrote the music to "Great God, To Thee My Evening Song" and "The Wintry Day Descending to a Close", two other hymns included in the “green”hymnal. He died in 1935.
The music for this hymn was written by Alexander b. Schreiner. Copyright is held by the LDS Church, Used by permission. This song is NOT in the Public Domain. You may use it for personal or church use, but may not distribute it or charge for it, without written permission of the copyright holder.
An old friend...
I received an interesting email the other day, in connection with this blog. With the permission of the sender, here it is.
Hello Don.
How are you doing? Well, I hope.
I don’t know if you will remember me or not. My wife, Katherine and I lived in your ward in West Valley for a short while before moving to Midvale. We came to your house for dinner one Sunday and played a board game. You also stopped by as a home teacher and told me about your experience with reconciling your belief in evolution with a creationism religion.
Since those days, Katherine and I have had two beautiful children and I have joined the Navy. We are now living in the Fresno, California area and I am currently on board the USS Carl Vinson on a deployment in the west pacific.
I had been looking for simple chords to play the song ‘Love One Another’ on my little ukulele and stumbled across your web page. (I’ve been trying to learn how to play the ukulele out here) I saw your name and wondered if it was the same guy I knew from West Valley, so I clicked on the picture and lo and behold…
Unfortunately, the internet out here on the ship is so slow that your web page does not load fully and I can’t see chords. I was wondering if you could email me just a simple beginners arrangement or perhaps even just the simple chords for that song. I would greatly appreciate it.
I wish you and your family the very best,
Glenn
So, I used to be his home teacher, and he is now serving our country. Naturally, I wanted to send him what he requested, but I didn't have it. for one thing, I don't play the ukulele. For another, I only have a pdf of the guitar tab. So, I created a cheat sheet for him, in Microsoft Word, found the uke chords he would need, and sent it to him as an attachment to my email reply. It worked.
Glenn wanted to thank me for it, but I ended up thanking him, as much as you can thank someone for risking his life to protect you. So, as a tribute to Glenn, and all the others who are risking their lives in defense of their country, I am posting a pdf version of the cheat sheet, plus the original Word document, for those who may not have good internet access. Thank you, Glenn!
The pdf version is called, "Love One Another for ukulele".
The Word version is called, "Love One Another 4 ukulele".
Enjoy! and while you're enjoying, please think of our servicemen and -women who are risking their lives to protect you, and say a little prayer in their behalf. Thanks.
Don
Hello Don.
How are you doing? Well, I hope.
I don’t know if you will remember me or not. My wife, Katherine and I lived in your ward in West Valley for a short while before moving to Midvale. We came to your house for dinner one Sunday and played a board game. You also stopped by as a home teacher and told me about your experience with reconciling your belief in evolution with a creationism religion.
Since those days, Katherine and I have had two beautiful children and I have joined the Navy. We are now living in the Fresno, California area and I am currently on board the USS Carl Vinson on a deployment in the west pacific.
I had been looking for simple chords to play the song ‘Love One Another’ on my little ukulele and stumbled across your web page. (I’ve been trying to learn how to play the ukulele out here) I saw your name and wondered if it was the same guy I knew from West Valley, so I clicked on the picture and lo and behold…
Unfortunately, the internet out here on the ship is so slow that your web page does not load fully and I can’t see chords. I was wondering if you could email me just a simple beginners arrangement or perhaps even just the simple chords for that song. I would greatly appreciate it.
I wish you and your family the very best,
Glenn
So, I used to be his home teacher, and he is now serving our country. Naturally, I wanted to send him what he requested, but I didn't have it. for one thing, I don't play the ukulele. For another, I only have a pdf of the guitar tab. So, I created a cheat sheet for him, in Microsoft Word, found the uke chords he would need, and sent it to him as an attachment to my email reply. It worked.
Glenn wanted to thank me for it, but I ended up thanking him, as much as you can thank someone for risking his life to protect you. So, as a tribute to Glenn, and all the others who are risking their lives in defense of their country, I am posting a pdf version of the cheat sheet, plus the original Word document, for those who may not have good internet access. Thank you, Glenn!
The pdf version is called, "Love One Another for ukulele".
The Word version is called, "Love One Another 4 ukulele".
Enjoy! and while you're enjoying, please think of our servicemen and -women who are risking their lives to protect you, and say a little prayer in their behalf. Thanks.
Don
We’ll Sing All Hail to Jesus’ Name
Not much information about the author (Richard Aldridge), composer (Joseph Coslett), or history of this hymn, but it’s a pretty one, popular in Sacrament Meetings, and not hard to play.
Basically, there are only three chords: C, F, and G7, plus a couple of easy variations. For example, F/A is just a regular, four-string F chord, but you also play the open A string. F/C is similar, but you have to fret the A string in the third space with your pinkie, to include the bass C note. C/G is a regular C chord, with the pinkie fretting the G note on the bass E string, third space. Not a hard one in the lot!
There are a few spots in the tab where the techniques are not dead obvious. The first occurs in the fourth measure. Unless your hands are unusually flexible, it’s going to be much easier to PUSH OFF the ligado on the third string, than to pull it off. This technique is not difficult, but may be unfamiliar to you. Repeat in the fourth measure of the second line.
In the first measure of the last line, you’ll have to play the F/C chord, then immediately release it, to play the sequential pull-offs on the second string. In the third and fourth measures of that line, strum the notes indicated, for a ligado effect. Pinch the chord in the next-to-last measure, for contrast, and end with a strummed chord.
You don’t have to strum or pinch the chords as shown, of course, if changing between strumming and pinching seems difficult. The song will still sound good if you just strun, or just pinch. But this is an instrumental solo, and it’s an easy way to add interest to the music, without having to learn any new techniques or chords.
The last note of the song is shown in parentheses (0) because you only play it if you are going to repeat the verse. It replaces the first, partial measure of the next verse. The final time, you do not play this last note, but just let the chord ring.
This song is in the public domain.
Basically, there are only three chords: C, F, and G7, plus a couple of easy variations. For example, F/A is just a regular, four-string F chord, but you also play the open A string. F/C is similar, but you have to fret the A string in the third space with your pinkie, to include the bass C note. C/G is a regular C chord, with the pinkie fretting the G note on the bass E string, third space. Not a hard one in the lot!
There are a few spots in the tab where the techniques are not dead obvious. The first occurs in the fourth measure. Unless your hands are unusually flexible, it’s going to be much easier to PUSH OFF the ligado on the third string, than to pull it off. This technique is not difficult, but may be unfamiliar to you. Repeat in the fourth measure of the second line.
In the first measure of the last line, you’ll have to play the F/C chord, then immediately release it, to play the sequential pull-offs on the second string. In the third and fourth measures of that line, strum the notes indicated, for a ligado effect. Pinch the chord in the next-to-last measure, for contrast, and end with a strummed chord.
You don’t have to strum or pinch the chords as shown, of course, if changing between strumming and pinching seems difficult. The song will still sound good if you just strun, or just pinch. But this is an instrumental solo, and it’s an easy way to add interest to the music, without having to learn any new techniques or chords.
The last note of the song is shown in parentheses (0) because you only play it if you are going to repeat the verse. It replaces the first, partial measure of the next verse. The final time, you do not play this last note, but just let the chord ring.
This song is in the public domain.
The Iron Rod
I had thought to fancy this up, with cool chords and lots of fill, but after trying to do so, I decided this simple and easy version sounds better. This is one of the easiest hymns I've ever published. It's in the key of C, so you can easily transpose it into D, as shown in the hymnal, just by using a capo in the 2nd space, which makes it even easier to play. There are no barre chords, and only three basic chords, though a couple of times you'll want to alter the C chord to a C/G by adding the G note on the #6 (bass) string with your pinkie.
There's also an alternate G7 chord voicing labelled G7*, which requires you to add the F note on the 4th string, III fret. If you're not used to it, and you're not using a capo, this may be slightly difficult for you. If so, you can play it as a three-finger chord by not playing the #1 string, which isn't needed for the melody at that time anyway. In the chord diagram, I have shown this by printing the 0 on the first string in light-face type, and placing an X above the nut over that string. Musically, there is no difference between the two ways of playing this chord; use whichever is easiest for you.
Other than those two slight differences, there are no unusual chords at all. My only other departure from my usually tabbing is to list "strum all chords" at the beginning of the tab, then leave off all the "strum" signs as unnecessary. Let's keep it simple!
There are a couple of techniques that make the song easier to play and nicer to hear. There are a few slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. These are not strictly necessary to play the melody. You could play them as individual notes, but they sound very much nicer as written. And, unless the techniques are just impossible for you, they actually make the song easier to play. One is written a little strangely. In the first measure of the Refrain, the second note (over the word, "to") is plucked and allowed to ring briefly, before hammering-on the next note. This follows the normally sung rhythm,
"Hold__to__the-rod__...." It shouldn't take much practice for you to get it right, as even children have been singing that rhythm for years.
There's also an alternate G7 chord voicing labelled G7*, which requires you to add the F note on the 4th string, III fret. If you're not used to it, and you're not using a capo, this may be slightly difficult for you. If so, you can play it as a three-finger chord by not playing the #1 string, which isn't needed for the melody at that time anyway. In the chord diagram, I have shown this by printing the 0 on the first string in light-face type, and placing an X above the nut over that string. Musically, there is no difference between the two ways of playing this chord; use whichever is easiest for you.
Other than those two slight differences, there are no unusual chords at all. My only other departure from my usually tabbing is to list "strum all chords" at the beginning of the tab, then leave off all the "strum" signs as unnecessary. Let's keep it simple!
There are a couple of techniques that make the song easier to play and nicer to hear. There are a few slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. These are not strictly necessary to play the melody. You could play them as individual notes, but they sound very much nicer as written. And, unless the techniques are just impossible for you, they actually make the song easier to play. One is written a little strangely. In the first measure of the Refrain, the second note (over the word, "to") is plucked and allowed to ring briefly, before hammering-on the next note. This follows the normally sung rhythm,
"Hold__to__the-rod__...." It shouldn't take much practice for you to get it right, as even children have been singing that rhythm for years.
Baptism (Jesus Came to John the Baptist)
Don’t let the chord names fool you! This is not a particularly hard song. In fact, there are really only four chords: a couple of barred E-shapes, a couple of barred A-shapes, C, and G7. There are some quick chord changes, but the barre chords make them really easy. Just move your hand along the neck without changing the chord shape. (Lift your fingers completely off the strings to avoid that annoying scraping noise.)
The pattern pick is also easy: groups of three notes, with lots of repetition. Yes, it’s fairly fast, and there are lots of fill notes, but they are all in the original music as published in The Children’s Songbook.
The time signature is also unususal, but is also in the original, and actually makes the playing easier for the guitar. I could have recast it as 6/8, 3/8, or even as 4/4, with four triplets per measure. All would have been more confusing than the 12/8 tempo as originally written. Just remember that each measure contains four groups of three notes each, with the stress on the first note of each group, and you’ll do fine. The lyrics naturally stress the lines properly.
I have replaced the introduction in the book with my own. If you don’t like it, you are free to replace my introduction with whatever you feel works better. My intro is just arpeggios in C. It’s brief, to give the audience just enough time to get used to the rhythm, without overwhelming the rather simple melody line. The only difficult part of the introduction comes right at the end, when you have to switch from leading with your right thumb to leading with your right middle finger, ring finger, etc. (bass lead to treble lead).
The tab is straightforward and needs no explanation, for the most part. An exception is at the end of the third line. I have specified the GIII chord, rather than the normal G, because it makes for a very fast chord change to the CVIII chord that starts the next phrase. Both chords are just barred E-shapes, so all you have to do is move your hand from the III position to the VIII position. This would be a much harder chord change if you also had to change fingering at the same time.
In the first measure of the fourth line, you’‘ll have to stretch your left pinkie two frets up the neck to hit the high B at the 12th fret. Don’t worry, the frets are really close together in this part of the neck, and the stretch isn’t difficult.
The FVIII in the next measure is just a barred A-shape, one of the most standard barre chords around. Fret it the same way you would fret an A-shape in the III space, because you’ll be going there soon. The FVIII to CIII transition is accomplished by maintaining the finger shape and moving the entire hand along the neck, similar to the E-shape transition in the third line.
There’s another pinkie stretch in the first measure of the finale. This time, it’s only one fret, so even though the frets are farther apart near the nut, it’s not as great a stretch as the one at the 12th fret. You will have to switch back to thumb lead in the next measure. The arpeggios which make up the last 1-1/2 measures of the verse are all exactly the same. Then go right to the beginning of the first measure in the next verse, skipping the Introduction.
The finale of the last verse is NOT the same. The first measure is identical to the corresponding measures of Verses 1 and 2, but the arpeggios are different, as is the ending. Slow down for the final three notes and chord. You may substitute a C/G chord final C, if you wish, by fretting the #6 string with your pinkie in the 3rd space while playing the C chord. This gives it a fuller sound.
This song is not in the public domain. The copyright is held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The guitar arrangement and tablature are mine.
The pattern pick is also easy: groups of three notes, with lots of repetition. Yes, it’s fairly fast, and there are lots of fill notes, but they are all in the original music as published in The Children’s Songbook.
The time signature is also unususal, but is also in the original, and actually makes the playing easier for the guitar. I could have recast it as 6/8, 3/8, or even as 4/4, with four triplets per measure. All would have been more confusing than the 12/8 tempo as originally written. Just remember that each measure contains four groups of three notes each, with the stress on the first note of each group, and you’ll do fine. The lyrics naturally stress the lines properly.
I have replaced the introduction in the book with my own. If you don’t like it, you are free to replace my introduction with whatever you feel works better. My intro is just arpeggios in C. It’s brief, to give the audience just enough time to get used to the rhythm, without overwhelming the rather simple melody line. The only difficult part of the introduction comes right at the end, when you have to switch from leading with your right thumb to leading with your right middle finger, ring finger, etc. (bass lead to treble lead).
The tab is straightforward and needs no explanation, for the most part. An exception is at the end of the third line. I have specified the GIII chord, rather than the normal G, because it makes for a very fast chord change to the CVIII chord that starts the next phrase. Both chords are just barred E-shapes, so all you have to do is move your hand from the III position to the VIII position. This would be a much harder chord change if you also had to change fingering at the same time.
In the first measure of the fourth line, you’‘ll have to stretch your left pinkie two frets up the neck to hit the high B at the 12th fret. Don’t worry, the frets are really close together in this part of the neck, and the stretch isn’t difficult.
The FVIII in the next measure is just a barred A-shape, one of the most standard barre chords around. Fret it the same way you would fret an A-shape in the III space, because you’ll be going there soon. The FVIII to CIII transition is accomplished by maintaining the finger shape and moving the entire hand along the neck, similar to the E-shape transition in the third line.
There’s another pinkie stretch in the first measure of the finale. This time, it’s only one fret, so even though the frets are farther apart near the nut, it’s not as great a stretch as the one at the 12th fret. You will have to switch back to thumb lead in the next measure. The arpeggios which make up the last 1-1/2 measures of the verse are all exactly the same. Then go right to the beginning of the first measure in the next verse, skipping the Introduction.
The finale of the last verse is NOT the same. The first measure is identical to the corresponding measures of Verses 1 and 2, but the arpeggios are different, as is the ending. Slow down for the final three notes and chord. You may substitute a C/G chord final C, if you wish, by fretting the #6 string with your pinkie in the 3rd space while playing the C chord. This gives it a fuller sound.
This song is not in the public domain. The copyright is held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The guitar arrangement and tablature are mine.
My all-time favorites
A baker’s dozen of the songs you are most likely to hear me play around the house, just because they are so much FUN to play, or because they sound so great. As if there’s a difference... .
A-Soulin’
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
Choukoun
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Greensleeves
He Is Risen
How Great Thou Art
Meditation (Meditaçao)
Misty
Old Rugged Cross
Summer Time
Til There Was You
Window to His Love
A-Soulin’
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
Choukoun
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Greensleeves
He Is Risen
How Great Thou Art
Meditation (Meditaçao)
Misty
Old Rugged Cross
Summer Time
Til There Was You
Window to His Love
Choukoun (also called Choucoune)
Complete instructions, chords, complete lyrics, pronouncing guide & translation, plus poetic analysis by me are included with the tab. There's also instructions on how to do the Calypso strum, and a discussion of the political and literary significance of this masterpiece, little known outside of Haiti.
The lyrics alone are nearly impossible to find on the Internet, let alone a reasonable tab. I'm hoping to soon put up a video; until then, this will have to do. It's one of my two or three favorite songs. But it's so well-known in Haiti that no one performs it in it's "pure" version any more. All that can be found on the Internet are "jazzed-up" versions that don't show what the original song was like.
The closest to the original version I have found was performed by Nancy Ames in the 1960s, and released on her album This Is the Girl That Is, under the title "Choucoune". Musically, it's perfect, and her kreyòl isn't bad, but the lyrics aren't right-- she leaves out some of the verses, as do all modern Haitian recordings. That's not surprising. How often do you hear all the verses of The Star-Spangled Banner? Out of respect for a work of true genius, I have included ALL the words.
The lyrics were originally written as a poem by Haitian poet Durand Oswald* in 1883, inspired by actual events in his life. "Choukoun" was a real woman, though we do not know her true name. The word, "choukoun" means "like a cukoo," a bird which lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, and therefore symbolizes both infidelity and interracial sex. Ten years later, in 1893, the poem was set to music by Haitian pianist/composer Mauleart Monton Michel*, and became an instant hit. In the 1930s, with the popularity of folk music in the United States, it became the basis for several popular tunes, including "Yellow Bird" and "Don't Ever Love Me."
linguistic notes:
1. NAMES: Traditionally, Haitians give their family name first, and given name last. Thus, the poet would be called Oswald Duran in most Western cultures, and the composer, Michel Mauleart-Monton. Knowing this, educated Haitians habitually give their given name first when speaking to foreigners. Unfortunately, many Haitian family names sound like given names to English-speakers, and vice-versa. If the foreigners are sophisticated and know about Haitian name order, this can cause even more confusion. To avoid such confusion, I give Haitian names in Haitian order, and add an asterix (*) after the name to show it is family-name-first.
2. CAPITALIZATION: You will notice that I fail to capitalize many words in kreyòl, such as the names of countries, languages, etc. These are not errors. In kreyòl, only the names of people are capitalized, and sometimes, the first word of a sentence. Many kreyòl-speakers, even highly educated ones who speak, read, and write English, French, and Spanish, never capitalize anything in kreyòl. To make life easier for the majority of my readers, I have capitalized the beginning of sentences and the first word in each line of the lyrics, as well as the kreyòl word for French-- "Franse"-- even though they would not normally be capitalized in kreyòl. For my kreyòl-speaking friends, I beg your forgiveness. My purpose is not to teach the language, which I am not qualified to do, but just to give my English-speaking readers a "taste" of the masterpiece that this song is.
The lyrics alone are nearly impossible to find on the Internet, let alone a reasonable tab. I'm hoping to soon put up a video; until then, this will have to do. It's one of my two or three favorite songs. But it's so well-known in Haiti that no one performs it in it's "pure" version any more. All that can be found on the Internet are "jazzed-up" versions that don't show what the original song was like.
The closest to the original version I have found was performed by Nancy Ames in the 1960s, and released on her album This Is the Girl That Is, under the title "Choucoune". Musically, it's perfect, and her kreyòl isn't bad, but the lyrics aren't right-- she leaves out some of the verses, as do all modern Haitian recordings. That's not surprising. How often do you hear all the verses of The Star-Spangled Banner? Out of respect for a work of true genius, I have included ALL the words.
The lyrics were originally written as a poem by Haitian poet Durand Oswald* in 1883, inspired by actual events in his life. "Choukoun" was a real woman, though we do not know her true name. The word, "choukoun" means "like a cukoo," a bird which lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, and therefore symbolizes both infidelity and interracial sex. Ten years later, in 1893, the poem was set to music by Haitian pianist/composer Mauleart Monton Michel*, and became an instant hit. In the 1930s, with the popularity of folk music in the United States, it became the basis for several popular tunes, including "Yellow Bird" and "Don't Ever Love Me."
linguistic notes:
1. NAMES: Traditionally, Haitians give their family name first, and given name last. Thus, the poet would be called Oswald Duran in most Western cultures, and the composer, Michel Mauleart-Monton. Knowing this, educated Haitians habitually give their given name first when speaking to foreigners. Unfortunately, many Haitian family names sound like given names to English-speakers, and vice-versa. If the foreigners are sophisticated and know about Haitian name order, this can cause even more confusion. To avoid such confusion, I give Haitian names in Haitian order, and add an asterix (*) after the name to show it is family-name-first.
2. CAPITALIZATION: You will notice that I fail to capitalize many words in kreyòl, such as the names of countries, languages, etc. These are not errors. In kreyòl, only the names of people are capitalized, and sometimes, the first word of a sentence. Many kreyòl-speakers, even highly educated ones who speak, read, and write English, French, and Spanish, never capitalize anything in kreyòl. To make life easier for the majority of my readers, I have capitalized the beginning of sentences and the first word in each line of the lyrics, as well as the kreyòl word for French-- "Franse"-- even though they would not normally be capitalized in kreyòl. For my kreyòl-speaking friends, I beg your forgiveness. My purpose is not to teach the language, which I am not qualified to do, but just to give my English-speaking readers a "taste" of the masterpiece that this song is.
INDEX
By popular demand, and with the help of Johan Rune, who actually did all the work, here is an index of all the songs published on this blog (as of May 16, 2014), arranged by level of difficulty. It includes comments by him and by me, concerning the songs. It also includes an index of songs with special themes, such as holidays and love songs. Thank you, Johan!
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Actually, the name of this hymn is “Hymn of Joy”, but everybody I know calls it, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”. There’s a long tradition of referring to hymns by their first line, instead of by the name of the hymn. In fact, many popular hymns don’t actually have names, but this one does.
The author, Henry van Dyke, originally wrote it as a poem, which he intended to be sung to the tune “Ode to Joy,” part of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, his last and greatest creation. Beethoven, in turn, composed the tune as a musical setting to a poem by the German poet, Friedrich Schiller, which Schiller called (surprise, surprise!), “Ode to Joy.” The symphony includes a choir singing the the poem, but with some of the words changed or omitted.
Some people think it was shabby of Beethoven to steal the title and alter the words of the great poet, but Schiller got his revenge, two centuries late, when the European Union adopted the tune, with different words, as their Union anthem, without giving credit to either the poet OR the composer! Now, every schoolchild in Europe will grow up thinking of Beethoven’s masterpiece as, “that stupid song we had to sing in school!”
At the end of this post, you will find Henry van Dyke’s original lyrics. They have been altered by various churches to fit their own theology in detail, but are all pretty much the same. I am not including Schiller’s original poem, because it is quite lengthy, and I can’t read German, anyway.
Performance notes:
Not much to tell, the tab is really very simple. Only three chords, and they are dead easy: G, D7, and a slightly unusual version of D7 called D7/A. Don’t let the complex name scare you, it’s fretted EXACTLY like a regular D7, only you play the open A string too. Strum the chords where marked with a wiggly, vertical line, and pinch the others where not marked.
Playing the melody is truly easy, if you remember a couple of things:
LEFT HAND: fret the notes in the first space (between the nut and the first fret) with the index finger, the second space with the middle finger, etc., regardless of which string they are on. This does not apply to chords, just to the melody line. Strum all chords with the thumb, where marked.
RIGHT HAND: pluck the first string with the ring finger, the second string with the middle finger, the third string with the index finger, and the bass string (whichever it is) with the thumb. When two or more notes in succession fall on the same string, alternate fingers. Don’t try to pluck the same string twice in a row with the same finger-- it’ll ruin your timing!
Pinch chords involving one of the 3 bass strings and one or more of the three treble strings by plucking the bass string with your thumb and simultaneously plucking the treble string(s) with the appropriate finger(s). Pinch chords involving only treble strings using the appropriate fingers of the right hand simultaneously.
Hammer-ons are shown with an underscore between the notes. Play them by playing the open second string normally, then immediately hammering the index finger of the left hand down into the first space on the same string. This allows you to play two notes in succession very rapidly, and also gives you time to play the next note with the same right-hand finger if you wish, without ruining your timing. The two notes will sound smoothly connected to each other, so this technique is also called a ligado, Spanish for “tied”. Hammer-ons also sound way cool.
That’s it!
Henry van Dyke’s original lyrics:
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee,
hail Thee as the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day.
All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays,
stars and angels sing around Thee,
center of unbroken praise:
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
blossoming meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
ever blessing, ever blest,
wellspring of the joy of living,
ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou the Father, Christ our Brother,—
all who live in love are Thine:
Teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the Joy Divine.
Mortals join the mighty chorus,
which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning o'er us,
brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward,
victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music lifts us sunward
in the triumph song of life.
The author, Henry van Dyke, originally wrote it as a poem, which he intended to be sung to the tune “Ode to Joy,” part of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, his last and greatest creation. Beethoven, in turn, composed the tune as a musical setting to a poem by the German poet, Friedrich Schiller, which Schiller called (surprise, surprise!), “Ode to Joy.” The symphony includes a choir singing the the poem, but with some of the words changed or omitted.
Some people think it was shabby of Beethoven to steal the title and alter the words of the great poet, but Schiller got his revenge, two centuries late, when the European Union adopted the tune, with different words, as their Union anthem, without giving credit to either the poet OR the composer! Now, every schoolchild in Europe will grow up thinking of Beethoven’s masterpiece as, “that stupid song we had to sing in school!”
At the end of this post, you will find Henry van Dyke’s original lyrics. They have been altered by various churches to fit their own theology in detail, but are all pretty much the same. I am not including Schiller’s original poem, because it is quite lengthy, and I can’t read German, anyway.
Performance notes:
Not much to tell, the tab is really very simple. Only three chords, and they are dead easy: G, D7, and a slightly unusual version of D7 called D7/A. Don’t let the complex name scare you, it’s fretted EXACTLY like a regular D7, only you play the open A string too. Strum the chords where marked with a wiggly, vertical line, and pinch the others where not marked.
Playing the melody is truly easy, if you remember a couple of things:
LEFT HAND: fret the notes in the first space (between the nut and the first fret) with the index finger, the second space with the middle finger, etc., regardless of which string they are on. This does not apply to chords, just to the melody line. Strum all chords with the thumb, where marked.
RIGHT HAND: pluck the first string with the ring finger, the second string with the middle finger, the third string with the index finger, and the bass string (whichever it is) with the thumb. When two or more notes in succession fall on the same string, alternate fingers. Don’t try to pluck the same string twice in a row with the same finger-- it’ll ruin your timing!
Pinch chords involving one of the 3 bass strings and one or more of the three treble strings by plucking the bass string with your thumb and simultaneously plucking the treble string(s) with the appropriate finger(s). Pinch chords involving only treble strings using the appropriate fingers of the right hand simultaneously.
Hammer-ons are shown with an underscore between the notes. Play them by playing the open second string normally, then immediately hammering the index finger of the left hand down into the first space on the same string. This allows you to play two notes in succession very rapidly, and also gives you time to play the next note with the same right-hand finger if you wish, without ruining your timing. The two notes will sound smoothly connected to each other, so this technique is also called a ligado, Spanish for “tied”. Hammer-ons also sound way cool.
That’s it!
Henry van Dyke’s original lyrics:
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee,
hail Thee as the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day.
All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays,
stars and angels sing around Thee,
center of unbroken praise:
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
blossoming meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
ever blessing, ever blest,
wellspring of the joy of living,
ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou the Father, Christ our Brother,—
all who live in love are Thine:
Teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the Joy Divine.
Mortals join the mighty chorus,
which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning o'er us,
brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward,
victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music lifts us sunward
in the triumph song of life.
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Another one by Charles Wesley. If the name sounds familiar to you, it should. He also wrote five other hymns in the hymnal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as well as six thousand others not found in the LDS hymn book. The five are:
Jesus, Lover of My Soul,
Ye Simple Souls Who Stray,
Christ the Lord is Risen Today,
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,
Come Let Us Anew.
The guy’s a heavyweight poet and lyricist for sure. Not only that, he was also an Anglican minister, a contemporary of George Washington, and his big brother John was the founder of the Methodist church. Not surprisingly, Charles grew up to be a minister, like his father and his brothers. So did his son, and grandson. How would you like to grow up in a family like that?
Rejoice, the Lord is King! was written as a poem, to celebrate the kingship of Jesus, as mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, the only books of scripture available to Wesley at that time. We don’t know exactly when it was written, but it was first published in Wesley’s book, Moral and Sacred Poems, in 1744, and had been set to music as a hymn by 1770. It has since become a favorite of Christians around the world.
As the hymn gained in popularity, it attracted other composers including George Handel and William E. Fischer. Different churches have standardized on three separate tunes. The one most Mormons are familiar with is called, “Jubilate,” and was written in 1894 by Horatio W. Parker, an American organist, choirmaster, and composer who began composing at age 15. He composed “Jubilate” when he was 21, and already successful on both sides of the Atlantic.
Play this song rapidly. The metronome setting shows 160 eighth-notes per minute, but you may wish to count it in quarter-notes, as written in Hymns. I recast it in 8/8 time, to simplify the counting of sixteenth-notes. It was written in the key of C, which makes it easy to play. Only one chord is played in an unusual way.
Play the Dm as it is shown in the chord chart, to ease the transition to the following notes. Instead of showing the position of the left-hand fingers in the chord chart with zeros, as usual, I have used the numbers 1 - 4, to show which finger goes where, with 1 = index finger, 2 = middle finger, 3 = ring finger, and 4 = little finger. As a rule, I just use zeros, as it doesn’t really matter which finger goes in which spot as long as you are comfortable, and using finger numbers gets confusing. But this time it’s important, so I have broken my rule. Fret the Dm in the refrain the same way, but play it as a broken chord. Do not strum or pinch it. That is why it is shown in lightface, italic type.
In the next-to-last measure, hold the single D note with lots of tremolo. Since this note is found at the third fret, you can get a much better tremolo effect by vibrating the string across the neck, rather than along it, as you normally would. Notes fretted in the first three frets require this technique to achieve a strong tremolo.
This song is in the public domain.
Jesus, Lover of My Soul,
Ye Simple Souls Who Stray,
Christ the Lord is Risen Today,
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,
Come Let Us Anew.
The guy’s a heavyweight poet and lyricist for sure. Not only that, he was also an Anglican minister, a contemporary of George Washington, and his big brother John was the founder of the Methodist church. Not surprisingly, Charles grew up to be a minister, like his father and his brothers. So did his son, and grandson. How would you like to grow up in a family like that?
Rejoice, the Lord is King! was written as a poem, to celebrate the kingship of Jesus, as mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, the only books of scripture available to Wesley at that time. We don’t know exactly when it was written, but it was first published in Wesley’s book, Moral and Sacred Poems, in 1744, and had been set to music as a hymn by 1770. It has since become a favorite of Christians around the world.
As the hymn gained in popularity, it attracted other composers including George Handel and William E. Fischer. Different churches have standardized on three separate tunes. The one most Mormons are familiar with is called, “Jubilate,” and was written in 1894 by Horatio W. Parker, an American organist, choirmaster, and composer who began composing at age 15. He composed “Jubilate” when he was 21, and already successful on both sides of the Atlantic.
Play this song rapidly. The metronome setting shows 160 eighth-notes per minute, but you may wish to count it in quarter-notes, as written in Hymns. I recast it in 8/8 time, to simplify the counting of sixteenth-notes. It was written in the key of C, which makes it easy to play. Only one chord is played in an unusual way.
Play the Dm as it is shown in the chord chart, to ease the transition to the following notes. Instead of showing the position of the left-hand fingers in the chord chart with zeros, as usual, I have used the numbers 1 - 4, to show which finger goes where, with 1 = index finger, 2 = middle finger, 3 = ring finger, and 4 = little finger. As a rule, I just use zeros, as it doesn’t really matter which finger goes in which spot as long as you are comfortable, and using finger numbers gets confusing. But this time it’s important, so I have broken my rule. Fret the Dm in the refrain the same way, but play it as a broken chord. Do not strum or pinch it. That is why it is shown in lightface, italic type.
In the next-to-last measure, hold the single D note with lots of tremolo. Since this note is found at the third fret, you can get a much better tremolo effect by vibrating the string across the neck, rather than along it, as you normally would. Notes fretted in the first three frets require this technique to achieve a strong tremolo.
This song is in the public domain.
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