On Top of Old Smoky
Free Kids Sheet Music
On Top of Old Smokey free kids sheet music with easy guitar tabs, and an easy Middle-C version for beginner piano also! The silly and fun kids' song, "On Top of Spaghetti," uses this tune. I loved singing it when I was a kid! Somehow the words seemed incredibly clever in those long-ago days...
The lyrics of "On Top of Spaghetti" are under copyright, so I can't give you free sheet music which includes those words, but you can still enjoy a video (one among many on Youtube!) regaling the adventure of the sneeze-propelled meatball:
Here is what the free kids sheet music looks like with its easy guitar tabs:
Download On Top of Old Smokey with easy guitar tabs in C
Download free kids sheet music On Top of Old Smoky with guitar tabs in D
Download free kids sheet music in G
I like this song best in the key of C. Even though the F chord is not a favorite of beginner guitar players, they need the practice. If you use G7 instead of G, the three chords line up nicely and require little shifting, a neat thing to point out to your students if they haven't done this before.
Even "little" chords, the three-string chords, can be used in this song. Playing a 3-string F chord is not too intimidating, especially when the C and G7 are so easy. (See my Big Guitar Chords page, which talks about 3-string chords.)
Another neat thing to try is mixing the melody, or parts of the melody, with chord strumming. (This is easiest, I think, in the key of C.)
Thus, the song goes "On TOP of Old SMO- (strum-strum) - KEY (strum strum, STRUM strum) all COV-ered with SNOW (strum strum, STRUM strum strum, STRUM strum)" etc. My favorite strum pattern for this 3-beat song, however, is a "BASS strum strum".
If you play this melody in the key of D, it makes a good example for your student of how some songs are much easier to play in second position - using finger 1 in the 2nd fret, finger 2 in the 3rd fret, etc.
Here is the piano version for Middle C area note-readers:
Easy piano version of On Top of Old Smokey for beginner piano players
You may notice 3 things:
- There is no fingering written in. You decide. I suspect you will place both thumbs on Middle C, but it will work with a different fingering!
- Twice, Middle C is placed in the Right hand, but once I have the left hand playing it - the last line.
- There are chord symbols above the melody, in case you wish to make up a duet part.
This song LOOKS so easy. But it isn't! That's because of all the skips. Take it slow and focus on the notereading.
My favorite video of the tune for this free kids sheet music is a rather out-of-focus rendition of "On Top of SPAGHETTI:"
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book.
Recent Articles
){kind=link}
-
Beginner Guitar Song Boil'em Cabbage Down
Beginner guitar song Boil'em Cabbage Down - now with eighth notes for flat-picking readers. This is a great beginning technique song for strings!
-
There Were Three Ravens Sat On a Tree PDF Score
There Were Three Ravens Sat On a Tree in five different keys! With all the lyrics, short and long versions.
-
Free Guitar Tabs: Devil's Dream in Tablature and Standard Notation
FREE guitar tabs, now with an EASY-to-read 2-page version. These arrangements include standard treble clef notation as well.
-
Free Fur Elise Sheet Music - Beautifully Readable Copies
Fur Elise sheet music in its entirety, with quarter notes for easy deciphering! These beautiful transcriptions are perfect for students who've just mastered coordination of right hand melody against l…
-
What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor Chords & Guitar Tabs
What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor chords & guitar tabs, with standard notation for fiddle players too! A short solo and a fancy flatpicking duet!
-
"I'll Fly Away" Free Fiddle Sheet Music & Easy Guitar Tabs
I'll Fly Away free fiddle sheet music, with an easy lettered version for beginners! Also, solos & harmonies for voice and guitar.
-
Home on the Range Free Guitar Tabs & Sheet Music
Home on the Range, free guitar tabs are an easy way to show your guitar student how to dress up a song with secondary chords. First show them the simple version with 3 chords, then move on to the fanc…
-
Hark the Herald Angels Sing Lyrics & Sheet Music
Hark the Herald Angels Sing - an easy Middle C piano arrangement for young students still learning to read notes, and a guitar tab arrangement too!
Sign up for "Take Note!" to see what's new every month.
Search Music-for-Music-Teachers:
Comments
Do you have a story or a question about teaching guitar? Do you think it is a hard instrument for beginners, or easy? What have been your challenges?
Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...
Contact About Me Privacy Policy
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2009-2018 Music-for-Music-Teachers.com All rights reserved.
Comments
Have your say... Leave me a comment in the box below.