Fiddle Tunes
(See bottom of the page for resources and suggested songs)
Fiddle Tunes are a key part of Bluegrass vocabulary.... but they require some practice to pick up.
Fiddle Tunes will be called during Bluegrass Jams, but we have two Picking After Hours groups that meet to play Fiddle Tunes at slow and regular speed.
Beginner Fiddle Tunes Group (link)
This group meets upstairs after the last song most Tuesdays. They play very common Fiddle Tunes slow and steady. They welcome any player that wants to learn and no experience is needed to join this group. Just a desire to learn!
In 2026, they will be working on a specific song each month starting slow on week one and moving toward tempo by week 4, the moving to the next song the next month.
Fiddle Tunes Group (link)
This group plays a wide variety of fiddle tunes, some easy, some complex. They meet downstairs, in the back left room every Tuesday immediately after the final song.
Common Fiddle Tunes
Angeline the Baker - Key of D
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Strum Machine (make sure to set it to Key of D)
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Tab - See the above video to convert to Tab
Cripple Creek - Key of A
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Strum Machine (make sure to set it to the Key of A)
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Jim's Root & Blues - Standard Notation
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Mandolin
Old Joe Clark - Key of A
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Strum Machine (see images above on setting key and capo)
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Tab - See the above video to convert to Tab
Soldier's Joy - Key of D
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Strum Machine (see images above on setting key and capo)
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Tab - See the above video to convert to Tab
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Banjo (Could not find one, sent me a link if you have a good video)
Cherokee Shuffle - Key of A
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Strum Machine (see images above on setting key and capo)
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Tab - See the above video to convert to Tab
Pegram Jam Fiddle Tune Chord Chart Book
Another great resource is the Pegram Jam website for lists of the tunes and a wonderful chord book. You can download the PDF of the chords of almost 500 Fiddle Tunes, but you can also buy a spiral bound book if you like. Great for quick reference!
http://pegramjam.com/chord_charts.html
Note on Jim's Root and Blues Website
Jim's Root and Blues is one of THE BEST websites for Fiddle Tunes. A couple of quick notes on how it works.
Standard Music Notation - Use this page if you are comfortable reading standard music notation.
Tab Notation for Mandolin, Guitar - (NOTE, sorry not banjos) This will let you see the tab for all instruments. This has an extra step but works very well. Best done on a desktop computer or Tablet. The instructions are at the top. Once you create the tab, you can then use the "Export PDF" to save it off as needed.
For the Chord Progressions - You have two options. We recommend StrumMachine.com which is a paid subscription, but is one of the best tools for learning bluegrass music ever. I promise it is worth every penny. Make sure you pick the actual key listed, then on the drop down menu click "Capo Chords" and find the chord shapes you are comfrotable with:
Jim's Root and Blues also has the chord progressions for quick reference.
