Today we’re looking at a wonderful fiddle tune from the early 1900’s – John Ryan’s Polka. You may recognize it from the opening bars of “Hills of Connemara.” You might also know it from the Irish dancing scene in Titanic. Or if you’re a parent like me, you’ll recognize it from the Bluey episode “Fairies.” Once you have it in your head, you’ll be surprised how often it makes an appearance.
This is a somewhat simplified version of the original fiddle tune. I’ve removed a few 16th notes to make the song more accessible for beginner and intermediate players, especially at a higher tempo. Even with that change, you may still struggle as the BPM increases. Take a breath, start slow, and work your way up until you can play it smoothly at at least 80BPM.
Finally, note that this song is traditionally played in D. I’ve transposed it to G to be able to play it in open position on the uke.
The Dum Dum Polka
If you have an accompanist playing the chords for you, be sure to listen to recordings of the song first. You’ll often hear the full band only play the G’s (D’s in the original key) on the eighth notes at the beginning of measures 1, 3, and 5 (the dum-dum of the song’s nickname) and skipping the rest of the chords until measure 7 and beyond.
I’ve included the other chords in the A section in case you’d like to perform a less energetic rendition.
Click the link or the ‘Download’ button below to see the sheet music if your browser doesn’t display the embedded PDF. Happy picking!
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