“John Ryan’s Polka” for Low G Ukulele – FREE TAB

Click here to jump straight to the TAB for “John Ryan’s Polka.”

5/15/2025 UPDATE: I’ve posted a video performance of “John Ryan’s Polka!” Watch the video above and be sure to subscribe to my channel so you can be the first to see all of my latest videos.

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.

I’ve put together two arrangements of the tune – one that is true to the original fiddle arrangement and one that leaves a few notes out to make it more accessible for beginners. The song features several 16th-note runs that can be hard to hit at fast tempos. If you find them too difficult, take a look at the “Simplified” TAB of the song.

If you are tackling the full version of the song right away, focus on good alternate picking technique (down-up-down-up), and start slow. Use a metronome and work your way up. Starting out too fast will result in tangled fingers.

Using Hammer-Ons for Higher Tempos

If you get up to a really high tempo (16th notes at 100bpm for the tune are actually 400bpm as far as your right hand is concerned!), you can try throwing in some hammer-ons to keep up. You’ll see in the video that I don’t actually pick every note. I’m often picking once at the beginning of a series of 16th notes and then slamming my fingers down quickly for the next two notes, riding the string vibration from that initial hard pick.

I don’t include hammer-on notation in the sheet music because they aren’t needed (or practical) for anyone playing at a slower tempo, but here’s what it would look like if I did include it for the 16th note phrase that appears three times in the A section:

The tie or “slur” links the three notes together, and the “H” indicates that you should use a hammer-on. There’s a similar repeating phrase in the B section that also benefits from hammer-ons at higher tempos:

I’ll have to post a technique tutorial on hammer-ons at some point to explain this in more detail. If it doesn’t come easily to you, don’t worry! It takes a fair bit of practice to be able to pull it off cleanly.

The Dum Dum Polka

If you have an accompanist playing the chords for you, be sure to watch the video to hear how this tune got the nickname “The Dum Dum Polka.” You’ll often hear the full band only play the G chords (D’s in the original key) on the eighth notes at the beginning of measures 1, 3, and 5 and skipping the rest of the chords until measure 7 and beyond.

I’ve included the other chords in the A section of the sheet music as they do sound good when you’re playing a more low-key version of the tune.

Click the link or the ‘Download’ button below to see the sheet music if your browser doesn’t display the embedded PDF. The simplified version of the song is the bottom download button. Happy picking!

“John Ryan’s Polka” Low G Ukulele Sheet Music Download

“John Ryan’s Polka (Simplified)” Low G Ukulele Sheet Music Download