The Ash Grove, a Welsh Song from Long Ago

The Ash Grove, with bass clef, treble clef and viola clef lead sheets, as well as two easy Middle-C shared-hands melody versions for beginner piano students!  And yes, a PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT for singers.

See the lead sheets and beginning piano versions below.  

The vocal music with piano accompaniment and the guitar tabs are farther down the page.

Scroll down the page for the links to the free downloadable PDFs.

This hand arrangement works out perfectly - as a 10-finger song - as long as the right hand does not try to play Middle C (a definite temptation for your beginners).

Here is the same arrangement, using lettered keyboard music notes:

This song will make a beautiful piano duet, if the secondo players follows the chord symbols above the lines of music (and knows how to use chords...)

Now the lead sheets:

The key of Bb seems particularly beautiful on the piano, to me...

And lead sheets for bass clef instruments (my cello!):

Let's have a look at the viola clef free lead sheets, page 1:

Now... for the vocal and guitar sheets!

Ever since seeing Elizabeth Bennett singing the Ash Grove (in one of the BBC versions of Pride and Prejudice), I have loved this song. It is not very difficult, but it has a few features that make it one of those songs that teach vocalists how to sing better.

For example, on page 2, the second line has a bit of a rallentando, and the temptation is to drop the energy of the voice just when it needs to be carrying through, even surging, at "the joy of my heart..."

Also, there are long phrases in the first half of the song, where beginning singers will want to take lots of breaths.

Don't let them! Teach them what "breathing for singing" means, by encouraging them to make their air last all the way to "meander," and again until after "rove." 

I like to have songs available in several different keys, as I plan the singing for beginners whose range may be quite limited at first.

Here is a version with tablature for guitar: 

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The links for the Middle C shared-hands melody arrangement for beginner piano:

Print out "Down yonder green valley" for beginning piano 

Ash Grove with note names in the music notes

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The links for the lead sheet PDFs:

Download Welsh song lead sheet in A

Download Welsh song "Down yonder green valleys" in Bb

Download "Down yonder green valleys" lead in C

Download lead sheet for song "Down yonder green valleys" in D

Download "Down yonder green valleys" in the key of F lead sheet

Download Welsh song lead in the key of G

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Links for the lead sheets in bass clef:

Download the Ash Grove for bass clef in D

Download the Ash Grove for bass clef in G

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The links for the viola clef leads:

Download the Ash Grove viola clef lead sheet in D

Download the Ash Grove viola clef lead sheet in G

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The links for the vocals with piano accompaniment:

Download free vocal sheet music The Ash Grove in the key of A

Download free piano and vocal sheet music in the key of F 

Download free piano/vocal music in the key of G 

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And the link for the guitar tablature for this lovely song:

The Ash Grove for guitar, in the key of G 

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Here is a choir singing The Ash Grove in Welsh.  Go here to see the Welsh lyrics and read comments for this video...

This is an old melody that continues to live -- I hope you and your students enjoy it!