jig · Key of Em

The Merry Old Maid

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A jig runs 108 to 124 at a session. One click is a dotted quarter note, not the eighth notes you are playing. Full metronome

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Irish tenor banjo tab

Sheet Music for "The Merry Old Maid"The Merry Old MaidJig54200245204020020232522002452040545030252202300232325023002352557532002325223502502522Book: O'Neill's 738Notes:"Collected by J. O'Neill"

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ABC notation source
X:738
T:The Merry Old Maid
M:6/8
L:1/8
B:O'Neill's 738
R:Jig
N:"Collected by J. O'Neill"
K:Em
   (G/F/) | E2 e eB^c | d2 B AFD | E2 e e2 B | efg fdB  |
            E2 e eB^c | d2 B AFD | GFG  AcA  | BGE E2  :|
|: (e/f/) | g2 e efg  | fgf  def | g2 e efg  | a>fd d2 (b/a/) |
            gfe  efg  | fdB  Bcd | e2 B a2 A | BGE E2  :|
FAQ

Questions about The Merry Old Maid

  • The Merry Old Maid is in Em, in 6/8 time. The E minor 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.

  • It is a jig, written in 6/8.

  • 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.

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