Tab
TAB
All Dulcimer Central TAB is in both PDF and TabLedit format. You must have at least the FREE TabLedit Viewer to view and print my TabLedit files. It’s and easy download from their page linked here. They will play back and show the TAB, and you can slow it down as much as you want. Or get the full program if you want to save all measures, arrange and write your own TAB, or even edit my TAB with your own ideas. It costs about $60 USD (one time charge…it’s a good deal). Click on either icon below to visit the TabLedit site. This Tab is offered only for educational purposes. Nothing is for sale. The songs are not direct copies of existing songs but rather an interpretation of them….it’s just how I play them. You may only use this Tab archive for private study, scholarship, or research as defined by “fair use”. UPDATE: For those who have not downloaded the Free TabLedit Reader, all tunes are also in PDF, and I will soon be adding a slow midi link as well.
***Some Mac users have problems opening these TabLedit files. Go HERE to view how to get it to work.
- Battlefield Road-composed by Gary Gallier, Novice and up, dAD, Key D. I use this tune frequently as an introduction to flatpicking for new players. The A Part can be played with two fingers, one on the treble string and bouncing the other around to get notes you need. B Part tip, hold the strummed chords and bounce your thumb to get all the other notes. PDF
- Brides Retreat- Composed by Gary Gallier, Novice and up, dAD, Key D. I wrote this catchy little fiddle tune for the wedding of my dear friend Ariane Lydon …she wanted something ’snappy’ when the “I do” part was over. I have taught it to Beginners and Intermediates as well, and we always got through it by the end of the workshop. Good introduction to my style of Melodic Flatpicking. PDF
- Canon in D- Composed by J. Pachelbel, Arr: Gary Gallier, Intermediate to Advanced, dAD, Key D. Here is my arrangement for two dulcimers, melody with sort of a counterpoint harmony. The melody is more scale oriented while the harmony backup is more chord oriented with patterned arpeggios picked through held chords. Hold the chord and pick the strings in the order shown. This tune is the definition of the saying “It’s the same but different”. Playing backup you WILL become adept at playing a bunch of D,A,Bm,F#m, and G chords and their inversions, so a great study/practice piece to that end. I show full 3 note chords even though sometimes only a partial is actually played. PDF
- Cooley’s Reel -Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier. Intermediate, dAD,Key of Em- No capo out of open D tuning. This is a fun Irish reel that is really good for educating your picking hand.I like the fact that this tune can sound good fast or slow. 110 Em Chord to start. PDF
- Cross Key Scales Several songs on this Tab page will be in Keys other than D, but played without a capo while tuned to dAD. This is accomplished by playing scales across the fretboard on multiple strings. To play melody cross key you need to practice the scales available cross key. Here is some Tab of scales in various keys. I have written a more complete explanaion of this in the “Instruction” category in the menu on the left. Or…go here HERE. Also in PDF
- Dominion Reel-Trad. Arr. Gary Gallier, Advanced Beg - Intermediate, dAD, Key C modulating to D. This is a nice lesson in the versatility of flatpicking when it comes to good use of the 1.5 fret, and being able to play in multiple keys. Without retuning from dAD, the tune is played first in C and then modulates up to the key of D. It will be a pretty easy song for you to understand. Getting up to speed will of course, like all my arrangements, require some practice. If nothing else though, I hope it’s enlightening. Tips for execution….I know I sound like a broken record, but use a different finger for each note and alternate your pick direction. PDF
- Drowsy Maggie- Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier, Intermediate, dAD, Key Em - No Capo out of open D tuning. Another Celtic tune that is similar to “Cooley’s Reel”, but not as hard. If nothing else the A part is just a great picking hand exercise for working on cross string alternating pick strokes. I have put pick direction notation on this one. Start with chord position 110 Em chord and just pick it ! As slow as you need to get it right. Speed will come sooner than you think. PDF
- Far From Home-Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier, Intermediate, dAD, Key A modulating to G - Here’s a fun Celtic reel that is also a introductory lesson in playing cross key out of standard dAD tuning. Dulcimer should have the 1.5 fret. It is also a good tune to practice your alternating pick stroke…start out, out after quarter notes, out/in/out for eigth notes. Tune plays in A first then changes to a version in G. And then back again if you wish. Give it try ! PDF MIDI
- Fisher’s Hornpipe- Trad. Arr for Dulcimer by Gary Gallier, Advanced, dAD, Key D - Wonderful hornpipe that I discovered has 3 parts. The 3rd part can be traced back to 1920 era recordings. I really love how it fits. This is meant to be played at a moderate tempo with the syncopated hornpipe bounce. It’s my understanding that most hornpipe steps would be difficult for dancers at a very fast tempo. The tab file has the syncopation..as close as the software will allow…of the bouncy nature of it. I am planning to record this arrangement, so feel free to learn it, but please refrain from recording it without my permission. (in other words I want to do it first ! :) PDF version also.
- Forked Deer- Trad. Arr for Dulcimer by Gary Gallier, Advanced, dAD, Key D - This old chestnut is a common jam tune in dulcimer circles and this arrangement is one of my absolute favorites to play. It’s full of 8th notes however, one of the things making it an Advanced Tab. I have found the fingerings in the first A Part need to be paid attention to so you move up the fretboard with the melody to be in position to play what comes next. I’ve put my finger choices in the TAB for this section. I use my thumb so it’s shown that way. If you don’t you’ll have to transpose finger choices, but the idea is the same. The alternating pick method is used throughout. Advanced players should be used to practicing…that’s why they’re Advanced ! I had to on this. PDF
- Gitano Solitario- Composed by Gary Gallier, Advanced, dAD, Key Am. From our “Craft of Kin” album, over the years I have been asked numerous times if I had Tab for this Flamenco style piece so here it is…all 3 tempos, 2 time signatures, and 113 measures of it. It’s actually quite playable with a good amount of repetitive phrases. Let me know if I can help…Good Luck ! PDF
- Gypsy-wind -Composed by Gary Gallier 1993, Strong Intermediate, dAD, Key Em. This is from the On The Wing CD, also appearing on the Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer, Vol. 1. First two parts are a quick fiddle style, and the third part goes into a more airy lull in the storm :) Much of the tune is played out of the 011 Em chord as a base for the cross string Em scale melody, barre with two fingers while leaving left over fingers to walk across the strings. PDF
- Happy Lonesome Waltz-Composed by Gary Gallier, Intermediate to Advanced, dAD, Key D. An example of using chord arpeggios out of held chords for melody, effectively with 3 arrangements of the song played in three separate “regions” of the fretboard centered on a D chord. First region is the open D, second is the 432 D and 3rd is the 457 D. The overall effect is each region modulates up the scale to a higher voice. You will probably find that it moves progressively from Intermediate to more Advanced with each region. Very nice when played separately with 3 dulcimers. PDF
- Hi Mom !- Composed by Aaron O’Rourke, Advanced, dAD, Key Dm/D. With a collaborative effort between Aaron, Steve Seifert, and myself, we managed to get this great classical style song tabbed…whew ! The general technique used in playing it draws on picking melody notes out of held chords (patterned arpeggios) with fills and runs to flesh it out. Ok..1,2, Everybody Play ! Yeah right…me and you both. Fundamentally this technique can also be found in my tabbed exercise in this list below called Picking Through Chords. For a little more insight, you can find my Mel Bay Dulcimer Sessions article “Chord Arpeggios” in the Instruction category in the left side bar here. Dulcimer Sessions is a project of Lois Hornbostle. PDF
- Highland Rail-Composed by Gary Gallier, Intermediate, dAD, Key Dm. Here’s a train song using the 1.5 & 8.5 frets to play in Dorian Mode for Dm. Note the harmonics for melody in the C part. The notes are not complex, but the rhythm is a bit syncopated…a few measures start with a rest, and there are some dotted notes. The Tab will play at the goal tempo. You’ll need some practice to get it up to speed. Just slow it down under Midi Options, Relative Speed till you learn it. You can most of the fingerings from the video of this song in this YouTube Video . Have someone handy to throw in a train whistle every now and then. Have fun ! PDF
- Kesh Jig- Trad. arranged by Gary Gallier, Intermdiate, dAD, Key D. A nice Celtic Jig with a low octave and a high octave version. The low octave is easier than the high, but both use the alternating pick stroke throughout. The low octave is played out of the open position, and the high octave plays out of the 754 D chord. A tip…I do a partial barre at the 044 that serves as a launching point for the 754 notes. PDF
- Kitchen Girl -Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier. Strong Intermediate, dAD, Key of A and Am. No capo out of open D tuning. Several people have found my technique of a partial barre with my thumb useful when needing to barre up the scale followed quickly with notes down the scale. This song uses that technique right off the bat in the first measure, and again several times in the song. Tip..in the 9th measure I am also using this technique for the two quick 4’s. They are picked out of a partial barre. Great tune. PDF
- Lock Laven Castle-Trad. Arr. for dulcimer:Gary Gallier. Intermediate, dAD, Key Am, no capo. Here’s some more 1.5 fret repertoire for playing in the Key of Am with this neat Celtic tune. 1.5 allows the lower register Am melody, and you move up to a 033 partial barre to play the upper register Am melody of the B part. Alternating pick strokes. Lots of notes that are just one fret away from each other makes this easier to learn than you might think. PDF
- Picking Thru Chords Exercise - Composed by Gary Gallier. Novice and Up, dAD. Learn to navigate the potential melody notes contained in chords. A great warmup exercise as well. Repeat each chord several times in a loop. Playing Tip: using the SAME 3 fingers, walk them only touching one at a time across the fretboard. IE: middle index thumb middle index thumb…repeat through entire chord exercise until last 3 notes of the chord. Those would be index middle thumb. This works with every chord in the exercise. Work on speed but smooth first. PDF
- Red Haired Boy- Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier, Intermediate, dAD, Key of A no capo. This is the first tune I ever worked out playing cross key into the Key of A without using a capo. One of my favorite Celtic tunes. It’s also a good example of making choices on where to play a given note….for example, why play the 3 middle rather than the open treble ? They are the same note, but the 3 middle follows the flow across the fretboard and allows me to post a finger on the 1 treble to give me a open sounding A chord drone. PDF I am also including a Minor Key version I composed in the Key of Am. Makes you feel like you should be wearing a Halloween costume to play it. PDF
- Sandy River Belle -Trad. Arr: Gary Gallier, Novice-Intermediate, dAD, Key of D. This is a good tune for the novice to tackle as a skill building challenge. A fun tune when you get up to speed. Tip: The 3rd fret middle is an anchor point position, holding a finger there most of the time and playing notes around it with other fingers. PDF
- Seeker’s Waltz -Composed by Gary Gallier Intermediate to Advanced, dAD. Key of Bm. From our Craft of Kin CD, this tune uses patterned chord arpeggios for melody. This is a very comprehensive chord study as well. There are 13 different chord positions in the song. A complete explanation of this technique, entitled “Chord Arpeggios, Article 1″ can be found in the Instruction category in the left side bar here. All the fingerings, including a “C” part improvisation, can be seen in this Video on YouTube. PDF
- Sorta Lazy-Composed by Gary Gallier, Novice and up, dAD, Capo 4, Key A and Key of D, no Capo. This is a hooky little blues tune I came up with years ago. Great for the Novice to practice their hammer ons in the A part. The B part is actually where you would do an improvisation around the chords, but to make Tab I went ahead and wrote a very fundamental basis to work from. Get that little hammer on run in the A part down and it’s easy. All fret numbers are actual even though you capo at the 4th fret. The 12/8 time…well that’s the only way I could figure out how to phrase the syncopation. It’s actually in 4/4. PDF I also put it up in the Key of D. It does not need a capo, but does require the 1.5 fret. PDF Have fun and keep your lower lip loose
- Spotted Pony-Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier, Advanced Beginner and up, dAD, Key of D. This is a good song the Advanced Beginner who wants to work on a little flatpicking. The first phrases of both the A and B part is quite fundamental with more quarter notes, and then gets more 8th note oriented the second time through. Good introduction to the alternating pick method, and will really educate your picking hand without being too hard. I’ve included pick direction marks. A little practice and you will get it. Also in PDF
- Swallow Tail Jig - Trad. Arr for dulcimer by Gary Gallier, Intermediate, dAD, Key Em. Another great Celtic jig. All played in the first 3 frets. Start with a 011 Em barre and work the other notes while holding it. Like most of my Tab, this should be played using the alternating pick stroke. PDF
- The Road to Lisdoonvarna-Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier, Novice and up, dAD, Key of A. No capo out of open D tuning. I have indicated this as Novice because it is easy enough to understand. It requires some practice to play well however. It is a good example of how combining playing techniques can make an arrangement much more rich. This one combines single note flatpicked runs with partial chords played as dou ble stops for self accompaniment. The tune would not sound near as delicate and expressive if everything was a full strum. PDF
- Whiskey Before Breakfast -Trad. Arr for dulcimer: Gary Gallier. Intermediate, dAD, Key of D. A two octave flatpicked fiddle style arrangement of the great traditional tune. It’s a good exercise in both the first position scale starting on the open bass string, and second position scale starting on the 3 middle. PDF