knowledge-base – Page 18 – The How-To Repository for the Cigar Box Guitar Movement!

" 1 2 3 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z [

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Tablature for 3-string Cigar Box Guitar

Click the image above to download the print-able PDF.

The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the classic song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow“, made famous by Judy Garland in the movie “The Wizard of Oz”. This song was written in 1939 and has been recorded by many artists over the years, and now you can play it too! This tablature is arranged for 3-string Open G “GDG” tuning.

Click on the image above to download the printable PDF document.
All of the cigar box guitar tablature here on CigarBoxGuitar.com is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop shop for all things Cigar Box Guitar: Instruments, Kits, Parts, Gear & More.

If you need some help with this style of tablature, here’s a video where Glenn Watt shows you how to read it.

Stacy Mitchhart

Musical styles: Blues, Jazz, Latin, Rock, R&B

Handmade instrument played: cigar box guitar

Consummate showman and captivating performer Stacy Mitchhart has been rocking Nashville for over twenty years. He’s played from coast to coast with several bands and been leading them since a young age.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Stacy was raised on a diet of soul and jazz. As a child while looking through the paper for movie listings one rainy day, he ran across an ad to learn how to play guitar. Without ado he was soon going to lessons and taking well to the instrument; so well, that by the age of nine he taught his father how to play guitar.

Over the years as a young adult Stacy worked his way up through the Cincinnati blues scene, leading bands and creating a name for himself. By ‘93 he had started his own music label and released his first CD. His career thus far includes 14 CD’s.

In ‘96 he took his talent to Nashville and hasn’t looked back since. Stacy has won the Albert King Award and been inducted into the Canadian Blues Hall of Fame. While in Nashville he has led the house band/headliner at Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar for more than 18 years.

Through his work solidifying himself as a must-see blues showman, Stacy has included the use of cigar box guitar in his performances. “The secret is to find the voice of each particular instrument and translate it through your playing,” said Stacy in an interview with Blues.gr.

Even though he has long been sponsored by a major guitar manufacturer, Stacy still understands and appreciates the value and beauty of cigar box guitars. “Homemade instruments are tied directly to the Blues by the nature of their existence. If you don’t have the means to purchase an instrument, you try to make a version of it to play.”

Stacy Mitchhart’s website: http://stacymitchhart.com

Summer of 69 – Video and TAB lesson

Glenn Watt shows you how to play Bryan Adams’ “Summer of 69” on cigar box guitar using his one finger technique. He has also handwritten the song out in TAB format (posted below the video).

Swing Low Sweet Chariot – 3-string Open G GDG – Tablature for Cigar Box Guitars

Swing Low Sweet Chariot is one of the best known African American spirituals/hymns, reaching back into the 19th century and still sung today. It can be played either as a slow, plaintive hymn or done faster in a more jazzy/bluegrass style if desired. More info about the history of the song can be found in the Wiki article here.

This version of it has been arranged and tabbed by Glenn Watt. Glenn provides both the tablature and words for the song, as well as a video showing his take on how to play it.

You can view the printable tablature sheet by clicking on this link or image below. You can also watch the video below where Glenn shows you how he plays (and sings) the song in a fast bluegrassy style on his 3-string cigar box guitar tuned to Open G “GDG”.

Click the image above to view the print-able tablature sheet.

Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver – 3-string Cigar Box Guitar Tablature

Click the Image Above to view the print-able PDF.

The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the classic Americana folk song Take Me Home Country Roads, famously performed and recorded by John Denver. This tablature is arranged for 3-string Open G “GDG” tuning.

If you need some help with this style of tablature, here’s a video where Glenn Watt shows you how to read it

Take Me Home, Country Roads By John Denver | 2-String Bass Tablature

The tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the bass line for the country-pop song “Take Me Home, Country Roads“, by John Denver. Continue reading “Take Me Home, Country Roads By John Denver | 2-String Bass Tablature”

Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Tablature for One-String Canjos

Here we have the basic melody as arranged for Diatonically Fretted One-String Canjos as well as the lyrics for the most well-known portion of the song.

0    8  5   4  2   4    1
Take Me out to the ball game
0    8  5   4    2   4
Take me out with the crowd
5   4  5    2  3    4   5     3  1
Buy me some peanuts and crack-er-jacks
5 5     5    7  8 9  7   5   4
I don’t care if I ne-ver get back
2  1    0     8     5    4   2   4    1
So It’s Root, Root, Root for the home team
1  0    1     2   3    4 5
If they don’t win it’s a shame
5   7    8    8    8     7       5      4
For It’s one, two, three strikes you’re out
2  4   5   7    8
At The Old Ball Game

The Cajon – A short history

The cajon (the Spanish word for box) has been part of Afro-Peruvian music since the 19th century. This wonderful percussion instrument originated in colonial Peru, when the African slave drums had been forbidden by their masters.

The cajon (the Spanish word for box) has been part of Afro-Peruvian music since the 19th century. This wonderful percussion instrument originated in colonial Peru, when the African slave drums had been forbidden by their masters. Undeterred and driven by the power of music they began using wooden boxes intended to hold fruits or overturned drawers to play their rhythms upon. Later the cajon was officially added to the instrumentation of the vals criollo, or “creole waltz.” It has now become a national emblem for Peruvians, and is an indispensable part of any ensemble that performs the traditional folk music of Peru.

Many stories can also be found in Cuba about how cajons can be used as musical instruments by the marginalized masses. In the early 1960’s, Fidel Castro began getting nervous about the anti-Communist rallies forming in the streets, where masses were being drawn to the beat of drums and the sound of music. As most paranoid dictators do, Fidel “forbid” the playing of music in the streets in order to control the possibility of rebellion. The clever Cubans began to make drums from fruit boxes and other crude materials that one might find on any street. When the police arrived they would only find well behaved citizens sitting atop their fruit boxes and looking for work. Continue reading “The Cajon – A short history”

The Gambler as Recorded by Kenny Rogers – 3-string Open G GDG – Tablature for Cigar Box Guitars

This is one of the best known of the classic country songs, and now you can play it on your cigar box guitar! Don Schlitz wrote this song and Kenny Rogers made it famous with his cover of it in 1978. This version of it has been arranged and tabbed by Glenn Watt. Glenn gives us two versions of the song – the basic melody line, and then the tabbed version with the chords.

You can view the printable tablature sheets by clicking on the link or images below. Glenn presents 3 versions of this song – a simple melody-only version, melody with chords, and finally just the chords with lyrics. You can also watch the video below where Glenn shows you how he plays the song on his 3-string cigar box guitar tuned to Open G “GDG”.

Click the image above to view the Melody-only version.

Click the image above to view the melody and chords version.

Click the image above to view the chords & lyrics version.

We hope you are able to make great music with this tab! Be sure to check out all of the other tablature and how-to-play articles for cigar box guitars posted here on CigarBoxGuitar.com.

The Parting Glass – Traditional Irish Song Tab for One-String Canjos

The Parting Glass is a well known Traditional Irish song that is often sung at the end of of the night at Irish sessions and at gatherings.

Below is version of the tab of the basic melody, arranged for One String Canjos.

5 4 3   1   1 0    1    3    5  4
O-f all the money, that e’er I  had

3 4    5     5  5  4 3  4 5  1 0
I have spent it i--n good comp-any

5 4 3   1   1     0    1  3 5    4
O-f all the harm, that e’er I’ve done

3 4 5  9 8    5  4    1 0 1
A-l-as it was to none but me

8   8  5 9    8     8   8  5 9  8
And a-ll I’ve done, for want of wit

5  6 5    4   3 4   5 1 0
To memory now I can’t recall

5 4 3    1  1   0 1 3  5    4
S-o fill to me, a-- parting glass

3  4 5     9   8   5 4 3    1 0 1
Good Night and joy b-e with you all

The Rattlin’ Bog (The Bog Down in the Valley)- 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 fun traditional Irish song “The Rattlin’ Bog”, also known as “Bog Down In the Valley-O”. This one is popular with kids and is a St. Patrick’s Day favorite.

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: The Rattlin Bog

The Star Spangled Banner – 3-string Open G GDG – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature

This tablature was created by Glenn Watt.

This tablature is meant for playing on a 3-string cigar box guitar (or other instrument) tuned to GDG (though any open chord 1-5-1 tuning like DAD or EBE would work as well). The first version presents just the melody line from the song, and the second version shows you how to add some chords as well. The first version is well suited for an unfretted (slide) instrument, but to hit the chords shown in the second version a fretted instrument would be needed.

Click Here to view a how-to video where Glenn shows you how to read this style of tablature.

Version 1 – Melody Line Only

(Click here to download a printable PDF)

Version 2 – Melody and Chords

(Click here to download a printable PDF)

The Wearing of the Green – One-String Canjo Tablature

“The Wearing of the Green” is an old street ballad that originated in Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1796.

The melody has been used in many different songs and ballads over the years, and can be adapted as easily as swapping out the lyrics, making this a versatile song to have in your songbook.

Examples include: “The Rising of the Moon” and “The Orange and the Green” but there are many others.

0 1 2  2  2     1   2   4   4    2   2    1      1 2   1       
O - Paddy dear, and did you hear the news that's going round?
4   5   3    8  7  5    4  2     0  2    0  0 1    0    
The Shamrock is forbid, by laws, to grow on I-rish ground!
0 1 2    2   2 1       2   4     4    2   2  1   1    2  1
N-o more St. Patrick's day we'll keep his co-lor last be seen;
4    5       3 8   7  5   4 2      0   2  0    0  1   0
For, there's a bloody law a-gainst the Wearing of the Green!

The Wild Rover (as performed by The Dropkick Murphys) – 3-string Open G GDG – Chords & Tablature for 3-string Cigar Box Guitars

Here’s the great old Irish pub/drinking song “The Wild Rover“, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day singalongs or any other gathering of Irish (or honorary Irish) folks all year round. The tablature sheet linked below will show you the melody, chord accompaniment and words and have you picking away and singing in a rich brogue in no time.

The exact origins and meaning of this song are contested (it may even have been an anti-drinking song of the temperance movement), but these days it is considered to be THE quintessential Irish drinking song. It has been recorded by pretty much every Irish band and performer ever… including The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, The Dubliners, The Irish Rover, The Pogues, The Dropkick Murphys and many more. Just a note – to play this in the style of the Dropkick Murphys, you’ll need a lot of distortion and at least a fifth of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey.

Click this link or the image below to view the printable PDF: The Wild Rover Cigar Box Guitar Tablature

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot – 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 classic folk rock song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot.

The Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior with all hands lost on November 10, 1975 and 39 years later to the day we post the tab for you here. The melody line is nice and simple, but good luck memorizing all of those verses!

Click this link or the image below to view the printable PDF: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald PDF

This Land is Your Land by Woodie Guthrie – 3-string Open G GDG – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature

The 3-string cigar box guitar tablature in the PDF link below will show you exactly how to play the melody and chords for the song This Land is Your Land, written and recorded by Woodie Guthrie. It has also been recorded by a number of other musicians over the years, including Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen. Written in 1940 and first recorded in 1944, this song has become one of the best known and most-loved of the American folk anthems.

The printable tablature sheet linked below contains both the simple melody-only version as well as a more advanced version that includes some chords.

We also have a video by Glenn Watt that shows you how to read and play this style of 3-string CBG tablature: click here to view it!

Click this link or the image below to view the printable PDF: This Land is Your Land – Woodie Guthrie – Cigar Box Guitar Tablature