Click here to jump straight to the TAB.
“The Farmer in the Dell” is the peak of preschooler anxiety. While there are many contenders for the crown (Duck-Duck-Goose and Red Rover spring to mind), there is really nothing like standing in the middle of a circle as the Farmer while everyone stares at you and waits for your to pick your Wife.
We’ve apparently been subjecting our kids to this for well over 100 years. The modern children’s game first appeared in New York City in 1883, pairing a rhyme brought over by German immigrants with the melody of “A Hunting We Will Go.” That poor cheese has been standing alone for a long time.
“The Farmer in the Dell” Playing Tips
I included two verses in the sheet music. The song is in 6/8 time (read “The Bear Went Over the Mountain” for an introduction to the time signature), and the first time through the verse, I followed the melody of the song exactly, alternating quarter notes and eighth notes to create a bouncing rhythm that should sound familiar.
But the second time through, I filled in all the spaces to give you some practice with triplets, the groupings of three eighth notes you can see in measures 9, 11, 13, and 15. For these measures, you’ll play six evenly-spaced notes. The music won’t line up one-to-one with the lyrics anymore, but you can put emphasis on the notes that do fall on the same beat as a lyric.
The best way to add emphasis when playing triplets is to make sure you are always striking down through the string on the first and third note of each triplet while striking up on the middle note. A measure with two triplets will have this picking pattern: Down-up-Down, Down-up-Down.
Skipping that up-stroke between the triplets while staying in time is tough at first, but stick with it. Learning this triplet rhythm early will pay dividends later. As always, start slow and only increase your BPM when you can play without making mistakes.
Click the link or the ‘Download’ button below to see the sheet music if your browser doesn’t display the embedded PDF.
Don’t have a low G uke? Not a problem. I’ve included a standard (high G) TAB for this song as well. Find the link at the bottom on the post. Happy picking!
“The Farmer in the Dell” Low G Sheet Music Download
“The Farmer in the Dell” High G Sheet Music Download
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