Key of D
The Blackbird
O’Neill 1903 no. 201
Press play, or tap a note to start there.
Irish tenor banjo tab
Find the collections behind these tune settings.
ABC notation source
X: 201
T: The Blackbird
B: O'Neill's 201
N: "Moderate"
N: "3rd Setting"
N: "Collected by F.O'Neill"
M: 2/4
L: 1/16
K:D
((5DEFGA) \
| (B3d) (c2B2) | (A3G) (AB{d}=cA) | (d2c2) (d=cAF) | (GAGF) D2(DE) |
| F2(FG) A2(fe) | (d3c) (d=cAF) | (GAGF) D2D2 | D4 :| ((5FGABc) |
| d3e f2g2 | (a3g) (f2a2) | (g3f) (g2a2) | (g3f) (d2a2) |
| (d3e) f2g2 | (a3g) f2a2 | (g3f) d2d2 | d4 defg |
| (a3g) (fgaf) | g3b (agfd) | =c2(AB) c2(de) | (.d.e.f.g) Ha2 (FG) |
| A3G (FGAB) | =c3e (dcAF) | G3F D2D2 | D4 ||FAQ
Questions about The Blackbird
The Blackbird is in D, in 2/4 time. The D major scale gives you every note it uses.
Easy. 99% of the notes fall in first position, between the open string and the fifth fret, and the highest fret used is 7.
The tune type is not recorded in the source collection.
Yes. Copy the ABC below into the ABC transposer, move the transpose control by semitone, and the notation and tab are redrawn together in the new key. Handy if a singer wants it lower or the tune sits awkwardly on the neck.
Yes. Tenor banjo, mandolin and octave mandola are all tuned GDAE, so the tab above is identical for all three. A bouzouki tuned GDAD needs the top string adjusting, which the converter handles.