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Mary Had a Little Lamb – Traditional

This well-known children’s song got its start as a poem written in 1830, which was inspired by a true event. View the full text of this entry by clicking the “Read More” link below for the formatted canjo tab…

Arrangement courtesy of C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, intended for playing on American Canjo Company™ brand one-string canjos with dulcimer-style fretting, with fret numberings as shown below. The open unfretted string is notated as “0″.

Mary Had a Little Lamb (Version 1 – Low)

2 1  0   1 2  2   2     1  1   1     2  4   4
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
2 1  0   1 2  2   2    2     1      1   2     1  0
Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.

Mary Had a Little Lamb (Version 2 – High)

5 4  3   4 5  5   5     4   4  4     5  8   8
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
5 4  3   4 5  5   5    5     4      4   5    4   3
Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.

To learn more about this beloved children’s song, check out this Wikipedia article.

Arrangement by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply

Master String Size & Tuning List for 25-inch Scale

This article is presented by the Southbound String Company – the first brand focused solely on providing strings specifically chosen and voiced for Cigar Box Guitars and other handmade/homemade instruments!

This chart shows you the string size to use for every pitch from double-low B (one Octave below the low B on a guitar), all the way up to High A.

Using this chart you can figure out the strings to use for pretty much any tuning you want. These strings should work for instruments with a scale length of 24.5 to 25.5 inches, with 25 inches being the middle point.

The string gauges shown below are for a “light” string set. For a “medium” set, add .002″ to the wound string sizes and .001″ to the unwound string sizes. For example, for a medium set, for low C you would want .036″ instead of .034″. For high E you’d want .011″ instead of .010″. Increase string gauges from there to move towards “heavy” sets.

Continue reading “Master String Size & Tuning List for 25-inch Scale”

Michael Row the Boat Ashore – 3-string Open G GDG – Chords & Tablature for 3-string Cigar Box Guitars

The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the well-known spiritual song Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

This is an old African American slave song, first documented around the time of the American Civil War. It is a very simple melody and has a large number of verses, and it’s easy to make up new verses on the fly.

All of the cigar box guitar tablature here on CigarBoxGuitar.com is presented by The Southbound String Company, the only strings specifically chosen and voiced for cigar box guitars. Be sure to check out our line of Open G GDG cigar box guitar string sets here!

Click this link or the image below to view the printable PDF: Michael Row the Boat Ashore Cigar Box Guitar Tablature

Click the image above to view the printable tablature sheet.

Microwave Dave (Dave Gallaher)

Musical style: Blues, Blues-rock, R&B, Originals

Handmade instrument played: cigar box guitar

Microwave Dave is a Chicago-born and southern raised man. His life growing up was steeped in music, beginning with singing in a children’s choir and rambling through a host of instruments including trumpet, French horn, ukulele, guitar, and a bit of accordion. Dave’s early musical experiences include playing drums in a dixieland band featured by the old Houston Oilers of the American Football League.

In college, Dave played in an R&B band that toured colleges, was hired for some session work, and appeared with a young Aretha Franklin. Unfortunately for him and his mates, members of the band, including Dave, were called to serve in the Vietnam War. Even in wartime Dave found a way to play in a soul band.

After serving his tour in the war Dave committed to working as a full-time musician. He played with a band named Cameron for twelve years, recording three albums with them, and playing over 300 dates a year. Post Cameron, Dave set off into a three year stint playing in a gospel group before moving to Huntsville, Alabama where he more deeply celebrated his Blues and R&B roots.

It’s in Huntsville that Microwave Dave formed the Nukes, a deep south Blues band, in the late ‘80’s. His musical career didn’t stop at performing as Dave also produced and hosted (and still hosts) a Blues program on the radio, earning him a nomination for a W.C. Handy award in ‘95.

Dave continues to play his soulful Blues with the Nukes and for solo performances. In addition to that Dave can be found giving his time to local organizations to promote Blues music. The mayor of Huntsville even signed a proclamation honoring Dave with his own day, Microwave Dave Day, in 2015.

Find Microwave Dave at: http://www.microwavedave.com/

Miscellaneous Photographs

A collection of photographs from across the years, showing a variety handmade instruments and the people who played them. Thanks to John McNair of Red Dog Guitars for allowing us to repost many of these photos. John has spent years collecting historic images of homemade and handmade instruments, and we are honored that he has agreed to let us host them here.

W. C. Fields and his one-string Cigar Box Violin — W. C. Fields with a Vaudeville fiddle.

The Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band of New Orleans, lead by “Stale Bread” Lacoume.

Muddy Waters’ “I Can’t Be Satisfied” on CBG by Shane Speal

Shane Speal shows you how to play Muddy Waters’ “I Can’t Be Satisfied” on your 3-string Open GDG Slide Cigar Box Guitar.

Musical Instruments from Cigar Boxes by W. F. Cord – Popular Mechanics Sept. 1923

This article ran in the September, 1923 edition of Popular Mechanics, and gives a fairly brief overview of building fiddles, mandolins and guitars using cigar box resonators.

Click the image above to view the full article.

My Country ‘Tis of Thee – Traditional

This was one of the unofficial national anthems of the United States before the Star Spangled Banner was officially adopted in 1931. Ironically, the tune to this song is the same as that of the British national anthem.

View the full text of this entry by clicking the “Read More” link below for the formatted canjo tab…

My Country ‘Tis of Thee

3  3    4   2   3  4     5     5    6  5 4 3    4  3    2 3
My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing!
8    8     8  8  6    5     6    6  6   6  5      4      
Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
5    6   5 4 3 5   6   8     9 6 5   4   3
from ev--er--y mountainside, let freedom ring!

Additional Verses

My native country, thee, Land of the noble free, Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills, Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that breathe partake; 
Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright, With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King.

To learn more about this classic spiritual song, check out this Wikipedia article.

Arrangement by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply

Nearer My God to Thee – 3-string Open G GDG – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature

The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the well known hymn Nearer My God to Thee.Written in the middle of the 19th century, there were several different tunes set to the words over the years, but here we present the one that is perhaps best known – it is also the one that was featured in the 1997 James Cameron film Titanic.

Click this link or the image below to view the printable PDF: Nearer My God to Thee Tablature PDF

New Orleans Spasm Band with Homemade Instruments – 1929

The first “spasm bands” were formed on the streets of New Orleans in the late 19th century, playing a variety of Dixieland, skiffle, jug music and other forms of early jazz forerunners. Usually the term “spasm” was applied to bands, often made up of children, which crafted their instruments out of cast-off items and junk. Drum kits made out of wooden boxes and tin cans, cymbals made from pie plates, horns made from old pipes and parts of other instruments, and of course guitars and fiddles made from cigar boxes and other items. These spasm bands were not just one of the forerunners of what we know as jazz… they are also a key part of the history of homemade musical instruments.

Click the image below to visit the University of South Carolina page where you can watch the full video, which is itself a series of excerpts from a longer film.

1929 New Orleans Spasm Band — Click the image above to visit the University of South Carolina site where the video is hosted.

Click this link or the image below to view the printable PDF: Oh Christmas Tree Cigar Box Guitar Tablature PDF