“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” for Ukulele – FREE TAB

Click here to jump straight to the TAB for “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.”

Vaudeville acts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were especially popular with immigrant communities, and “Aren’t European names silly?” was apparently a popular sub-genre at the time. Along with today’s song, “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,” you may also have heard “Jan Jansen,” a tune about a lumberyard worker from Wisconsin who introduces himself to everyone he meets.

“John Jacob” is still around today, usually showing up as a children’s song/game (I grew hearing this tune on kid’s song cassettes in the 90s). The game involves singing the single verse over and over, but varying your volume each time through, singing the first several lines a little bit quieter each time but then returning to full volume (and then some) for the “Da da da da da da!” of the final line.

“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” Playing Tips

This is a great tune for introducing the playing technique of string skipping. String skipping is when you play two notes in a row that are separated by at least one open string. This pops up in measures 2, 5, and 6 of the low G arrangement for “John Jacob” but only measure 2 and 5 of the high G arrangement.

If you are playing fingerstyle, you’ll play the the 4 and the 2 on the G string with your thumb and then jump up to the E string with either your index or middle finger.

If you are playing with a pick, you’ll need the move swiftly and be careful to not hit the open C string as you jump over it to get to the E.

I usually preach the need to keep a good alternate picking pattern going whenever possible (hitting notes with both the downstroke and the upstroke of your pick), but in this case you’ll want to make sure you hit both notes on the G string with downstrokes. If you alternate pick and are moving up on the second note, you’ll have to switch directions to skip up to the E string, and the delay can easily throw you out of time.

Play the Low G and the High G versions for some variety.

“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” is a little shorter than the average TAB that I post (8 measures instead of the typical 12 or 16), so if you’re finding this one a big brief for you, jump between the low G and high G versions of the tune (assuming you have a low G uke).

The high G version is actually slightly more difficult to play as it trades one string skip for a pretty heavy usage of the 5th fret on the A string. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you, and the key change jumping from the low G to the high G arrangement adds some fun variety.

Click the download button below if the embedded PDF doesn’t display properly on your device. The high G arrangement is the download button at the very bottom of the post. Happy picking!

“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” Low G Sheet Music Download

“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” High G Sheet Music Download