Scarborough Fair
Easy Guitar Tabs

Scarborough Fair is a beloved old song from England which sounds beautiful on guitar. Download my free easy guitar tabs, and finger-style guitar tabs.  (If you want an easy music download for lead sheets in different keys and also for beginning piano, go here... and if you want a nice arrangement for voice, visit this page.)

Many of my students have sung, played, and loved Scarborough Fair. Because it uses basic guitar chords, beginning guitarists will find it within their reach, and not-so-new guitarists may be able to apply some new techniques to it.

It offers opportunities for integrating a walking bass line into the ongoing picking pattern, on the transition from Am to C. After that is mastered, there are two more special effects I show my guitar students -- one at a time! -- that make the song feel and sound fancy -- "like a real guitar player."

The first guitar tab sheet shows just melody and chords. 

Download free printable guitar sheet music for Scarborough Fair

In the second guitar tab sheet, the tablature shows one way -- my favorite way -- of picking the chords. While reading chords as tablature can be confusing for beginners, it is really helpful for them to see the walking bass.

Essentially, the chords are played from the bottom to the top, turning around after beat 4 and coming back down for beats 5 and 6.

"Beats 5 & 6?" what am I talking about? -- there are only 3 beats in this guitar song!

Well, sometimes when the chord accompaniment is subdivided to make 6 or 8 strokes total each measure, I tell my student that we will just say "1-2-3-4-5-6" instead of "1 & 2& 3 &" because it makes more sense that way, unless they have already been playing piano for some time and can count very well. 

Download free guitar tab music with walking bass 

When the same chord is played two measures in a row, it's a good idea to alternate the thumb onto a different string to relieve the sameness of the repeated chord. (I have NOT notated that here in the tablature.)

After students have mastered the walking bass between Am and C, the next thing we try is lifting fingers off the strings in measure 8 with the word "thyme," on beats 5 and 6 only. (See where the guitar tablature has the words "lift fingers"?) This is VERY COOL. In fact, it will seem a bit magical to your student.

This same effect can be duplicated at the end of the piece in the penultimate measure. ("Penultimate": a fancy word for "second-to-the-last"!)

Lastly, try the descending bass line with alternating G string in measure 12 where it says "one who lives". It is the same basic technique as the walking bass in Down in the Valley, but with extra notes (open G) in between.

Being able to play Scarborough Fair will give your student a feeling of power and control...each note matters. It will motivate them to clean up the buzz on their G chord, and to make those strings really sing.

---

Recent Articles

• 
• 
• 

1. I've Been Working on the Railroad Guitar Tabs

   

   I've Been Working on the Railroad - guitar tabs help students learn this old-time favorite easily. Easy to sing, this song is easy to love!

   Read More

2. Round Music from England, The Hart He Loves the High Wood

   

   An unfamiliar, pretty round, with poetic words from England of long ago. Not hard!

   Read More

3. Note Reading Worksheets for Grand Staff & Single Staffs

   

   These note reading worksheets are different versions of grand staff, treble clef staff, and bass clef staff sheets. Free downloads!

   Read More

4. Printable Piano Music What Do You Do With a Drunken or GRUMPY Sailor

   

   What Do You Do with a GRUMPY (or Drunken) Sailor: free printable piano music that might become your student's favorite for a long time! FOUR arrangements, and TWO sets of lyrics!

   Read More

5. Heidi Evans, piano teacher

   My 13-year-old student loves House of the Rising Sun because he thinks it sounds like Star Wars music! Thank you for this amazing resource! Dana: Hi,

   Read More

---

Christine:
Thank you so much for this site! I have just started teaching some really keen Y6 boys who want to play Scarborough Fair, and your version is perfect. I will now go and look at what other goodies you have!

Debbie, Nashville, TN:
I have been looking for a very, very long time for a website like this! WOW! I have been teaching for over 20 years and it's nice to have a resource such as this!

Sign up for "Take Note!" to see what's new every month.

Your Email

I am at least 16 years of age.

I have read & I accept the privacy policy.

I understand you will use my info to send Music-for-Music-Teachers updates. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email.

Subscribe to "Take Note!"