Scarborough Fair
Free Vocal Sheet Music
Scarborough Fair is a timeless folk song from England.
This is its most famous melody (yes, there are others, less familiar, but also beautiful).
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Amy Nutall sings a lovely version of this old folk song - I find her mannerisms a bit stagey, but she delivers beautifully on passion:
This Scarborough Fair voice arrangement is in a good range for most singers, the key of Dm.
Just a nine-note range makes it approachable for girls and boys.
(The version on my Beginning Guitar page, while great for guitarists, is not easy for most sopranos, especially young girls, to sing with strength. Too low.)
If you were looking for the vocal duet that Simon and Garfunkel sang, I'm sorry I can't offer it here.
Though the folk song, Scarborough Fair, is public domain, Simon and Garfunkel's ARRANGEMENT of the music is NOT public domain.
I'm pretty sure Simon and Garfunkel wrote the version they sang, which means it is their copyrighted intellectual property.
However, you can find several versions, in multiple keys, by looking for "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" at Musicnotes.com.
This arrangement in Dm is especially for singers. (If you would like very simple sheet music for piano, lead sheets for Scarborough Fair in many different keys, or guitar tabs, please visit those other pages.)
Here is the link for the vocal piece:
Download FREE English folk song Scarborough Fair
More Folk Songs to Sing:
Ae Fond Kiss - a love song about saying goodbye, from Scotland
All the Pretty Little Horses - a soft and repetitious lullaby, quite pretty
Ash Grove - a famous and lovely song from Wales
Auld Lang Syne - the New Year's Eve song!
Colorado Trail Song - an American tune written by a real cowboy
Come By the Hills - another popular Irish melody
Down By the Salley Gardens - a famous and pretty song, very sweet
Green Bushes - a brisk little song that is pretty while being good for breath control training
Grenadier and the Lady - my favorite folk song of all. Find out why
I Gave My Love a Cherry - the "Riddle Song" is very pretty
Loch Lomond - the famous and sad song about never meeting again
Mari's Wedding - a singable tune with bouncy chords that is fun to play or sing
Minstrel Boy - a lovely and patriotic song about a warrior-poet
Molly Bawn - a sad story of a young hunter who thought he was shooting at a swan
Morning Has Broken - a beautiful melody made famous again by Cat Stevens
Once I Had a Sweetheart - "but now I have none!" Very pretty, and little-known.
Parting Glass - a well-known Irish tune which my singers always love
Raggle-Taggle Gypsies - a story about a young bride who abandons her wealthy new husband to go off with the gypsies. A catchy melody!
Scarborough Fair - an old and famous tune of lost love
Shenandoah - a famous and lovely American tune with ambiguous lyrics
Skye Boat Song - a pretty song from Scotland about the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie over the sea
Spanish Ladies - a minor key sea chanty that swings energetically along - BOYS like singing it too!
The Spanish Lady - Upbeat and energetic, this Irish song is fun to perform with a group
Star of the County Down - LOTS of fun to sing and play! An excellent ensemble piece
The Wellerman - a sea chanty that is very singable, and very fun!
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All the first-year material I give my beginner students.
Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!
This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.
This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!
This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
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 - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
Marta:
Thank you for the free downloads! I'm a private teacher and I teach piano and beginner voice as well. :)
I've been running my studio for about a year and I've come across the same issue; I don't want my students to have to purchase an entire supplemental book for only a couple of songs. So thank you for this site...some great downloads!!
Sylvain:
I found great ideas for my guitar unit on your site, as I didn't know where to begin. Thanks to you I will survive my next 6 weeks.
I also teach choir to middle school, and I love your little morning warmups. Looking forward to more of that in the future. Keep up the great work, it is very inspirational for us beginner teachers.
Comments
Do you have a story or even a question about this vocal piece? Share it!
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...
What Other Visitors Have Said
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Scarborough Fair should not be in D minor Not rated yet
As a traditional English piece, this should be in D-dorian, meaning 0 sharps and 0 flats. Because of the wrong key signature, you end up with those accidentals, …
Story about Scarborough Fair Not rated yet
This is one of my favourite songs. I don’t know if the story is interesting but let’s give it a try. It happened back in the Stone Age of cassette players; …
Very useful! Not rated yet
Hi! Is this only for voice? I ask this, because I didn't realise- and I play keyboard. It sounded fine- but I just want to know!
P.S. I really love this …
Thanks for Scarborough Fair Not rated yet
I love genuine folk songs, without too much embellishment and arrangment. Glad to have found your site. Jeannette
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About the Author
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.
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When He Cometh "Jewels" Hymn: Piano, Guitar, Vocal
When He Cometh or "Jewels" is an old-timey sounding hymn. Very sweet & very simple, this is one your piano students & vocalists can learn from! -
Moonlight Sonata: How to Play This Piece Full of Black Keys & Triplets
Moonlight Sonata: How to play this difficult piece full of black keys & triplets? Use large notes, lots of white space, & letters inside the note heads - easy!