I heard Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring the other day, then spent a long time hunting down a tab for Simple Gifts, the Shaker hymn that Copland used for the melody at one point in the song. I found lots of hammered dulcimer tabs, some fiddle tunes, and lots of sheet music for sale, so I ended up gluing together some bits and pieces I found to come up with one easy-to-play guitar tab. (This version may be largely from a Christopher Parkening guitar book, from what I can tell, but I haven't seen the whole thing in one place.)
Some people mistakenly believe this is a Celtic tune (as I did - it's got a little bit of Celtic-style drone to it) but it's pure Americana, circa 1858. You may not recognize the title, but chances are you've heard the tune! Works great as a children's lullaby, too, which is why I wanted to learn how to play it.
Tips:
1. Keep your index finger planted on the G-string through entire song, and toggle your middle finger and pinky on the high E as necessary.
2. The ring finger can stay on the B-string 3rd fret for most of the song; there's only one place where you need to access the 2nd fret; otherwise it stays put.
3. The only difficult part is the pinky stretch to the 5th fret A note on the high E string; you may find it necessary to move your whole hand up toward the 5th, but the transition is cleaner if you can manage the stretch while keeping your index finger on the G-string 2nd fret and your ring finger on the B-string 3rd fret.
Download the powertab here: SIMPLE GIFTS
Or take a stab using the following:
#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
SIMPLE GIFTS
Shaker Hymn by Joseph Brackett (1858)
EADGBE
~88bpm
4/4
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.
H. Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
|------------|-------0-2---2-3-|-5---5-3-2---0---|-0---0---0--------|
|------------|-3---3-----3-----|---------------3-|-------------3----|
|---------2--|---2-------------|---2-------2-----|---2---2---2---2--|
|------------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|------------------|
|------------|-----------------|-----------------|-0-------0--------|
|------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------|
H H H H H H
E E E E Q Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
|-0-2-0---------|-------0-2---2-3-|-5---5-3-2---0---|
|-------2-------|-3---3-----3-----|---------------3-|
|---------2--2--|---2-------------|---2-------2-----|
|---------------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
|-0-------0-----|-----------------|-----------------|
|---------------|-----------------|-----------------|
H H H H H H
E E E E E E E E E E E E H
|-0---0---2---2---|--------------|
|-----------------|-3---3---3----|
|---2---2---2---2-|---2---2-2----|
|-----------------|-0-------0----|
|-0-------0-------|--------------|
|-----------------|--------------|
H H H H
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
|-5-------2-----0-|-2-3-2-0-------0-|-2---2-3-5---3-2-|
|-----3-------3---|---------3---3---|-----------------|
|---2---2---2-----|-----------2-----|---2-------2-----|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
H H H H H H
E E E E Q Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
|-0---0-2-0-----|-------0-2---2-3-|-5---5-3-2---0---|
|---------------|-3---3-----3-----|---------------3-|
|---2--------2--|---2-------------|---2-------2-----|
|---------------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
|-0-------0-----|-----------------|-----------------|
|---------------|-----------------|-----------------|
H H H H H H
E E E E E E E E E E E E H
|-0---0---2---0---|--------------*|
|-----------------|-3---3---3----*|
|---2---2---2---2-|---2---2-2----*|
|-----------------|-0-------0----*|
|-0-------0-------|--------------*|
|-----------------|--------------*|
H H H H
Duration Legend
---------------
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th;
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests. Multi-
bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for. Low
melody durations appear below the staff
***************************************************************************************
* Generated using Power Tab Editor by Brad Larsen - http://powertab.guitarnetwork.org *
***************************************************************************************
Let me know if there are corrections to be made or if you have any questions.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Hey Mitch, cool arrangement.
Thank you Nick!
:)
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
