Mandolin Fiddle Tune Breakdown: Squirrel Hunters

I first heard Squirrel Hunters back when I was living in Sand Diego. I meant to learn it for years but never really spent the time to sit down and actually do it. I finally found the motivation when I joined a mandolin competition last-minute and needed a tune that I didn’t think would be played by someone else. Nothing like a two-day deadline to force some focused practice!

I really love Adam Steffey’s recording from New Primitive. It’s a really clean version and his solo break is really nice. I especially love the implied major 7th sound in the melody and the way the tune sits on the mandolin.

One of the most interesting things about Squirrel Hunters is that the A part can be played with two different chord progressions. I originally learned it as a major tune where the A and B parts share the same progression, but there’s an alternate version that uses an E minor chord in the A section. At the time I’m writing this, I honestly don’t know which version came first. Both sound great, so experiment with them and decide which version becomes your standard.

In this mandolin fiddle tune breakdown, I’ll share recordings, backing tracks, tablature / tabs, sheet music, exercises, and a few ideas for improvising over Squirrel Hunters.

Listen to Squirrel Hunters

The first step to learning any fiddle tune is listening. Before worrying about notes, chords, or embellishments, spend some time getting the melody in your ear. My favorite recording so far is the Adam Steffey version which is the version I loosely base my breaks around. Here are a few great recordings of Squirrel Hunters:

• Adam Steffey
• John Hartford
• John Stickley

Squirrel Hunters Tabs, Chords, and Backing Tracks

Here’s the charts and strum machine backing tracks for Squirrel Hunters:

• Basic charts – includes both major and minor versions for the A Part
• Strum Machine backing track version 1 (Major A Part)
• Strum Machine backing track version 2 (Minor A Part)

Squirrel Hunters Form

Squirrel Hunters is a standard AABB tune, meaning the A Part repeats twice followed by the B Part repeating twice. I like to end this tune on the A part personally – especially when playing the major A part.

Squirrel Hunters is often thought of as an A Mixolydian fiddle tune though some charts have it written in D (which has the same notes as the A Mixolydian). If you’ve played tunes like Salt Creek, June Apple, or Cherokee Shuffle, this tune and chord progression will sound and feel familiar. Like those tunes, Squirrel Hunters is a modal tune comes from moving between the root chord (A) and the b7 chord (G). The Mixolydian scale fits this really nicely too.

A Part

As I noted in the intro, there’s 2 primary variations on the A part.

A Major

This is the version I learned first and the version I hear most often in recordings. In this arrangement, the A and B parts use the same chord progression.

E Minor

A friend here in Seattle recently introduced me to the idea of playing an E minor chord instead of A major in the A section. The argument is simple: it supports the melody better. When you look at the melody notes (especially the G naturals) it makes a lot of sense. The E minor chord highlights those notes and creates a stronger contrast between the A and B parts. For me, that’s the biggest selling point. The B part feels like it arrives with more authority after the darker sound of the E minor A section – especially if you really let the first A chord on the B part ring out a bit more than the standard chop.

Whichever version you choose, it’s important to pay a little homage to John Hartford and start this tune by saying “This is a Squirrel Hunter.”

Standard Notation and Tab for Squirrel Hunters

I really like learning new tunes in two different positions – an open position where I usually state the melody and a bit further up the neck where I will embellish the melody for a solo. Being able to change between those two positions give you more range and often helps highlight new ideas. The following section includes two voicing options with standard notation and tab for Squirrel Hunters using both the A major and E minor variations.

Open / First Position

Closed Position

The below versions of the Squirrel Hunters melody is presented in a closed position except for a couple of unison double stops on the A part. I like using this position as a home base for embellishing the melody for my solos. Being comfortable playing higher up the neck opens up a lot of possibilities when improvising on mandolin.

This position can feel a little awkward at first if you’re not used to playing up the neck especially with the C# on the 11th fret of the D string. Before jumping into the arrangement, I wanted to review a few exercises to help get you comfortable in this area of the fretboard.

The exercises below are based on the A Mixolydian scale used in Squirrel Hunters. They start on the G note at the 5th fret of the D string (the lowest melody note in this position) and move up to the D note at the 10th fret of the E string.

Start by playing the quarter-note exercise forwards and backwards with a metronome. You may want to begin slower than you think. Once that feels comfortable, keep the metronome at the same speed and move on to the eighth-note version (starting in measure 4 below), again playing it forwards and backwards.

After you’ve got both of those under your fingers, keep the metronome at the same tempo and try blending the rhythms as shown in the third exercise (starting in measure 6). This is a great way to build confidence in the position before working on the full Squirrel Hunters arrangement.

Squirrel Hunters Improvisation and Embellishment Ideas

At first it can be hard to figure out how to embellish the melody on modal tunes like Squirrel Hunters. While the tune is technically in A Mixolydian (A B C# D E F# G), it can feel like D major a bit since there’s a C# and F# but a G natural. You can think of either scale when you are playing through this tune – but I find that resolving to the D note is a bit weird for this tune. So, A Mixolydian is more accurate in my opinion.

What is the Mixolydian Scale?

Great question! I’ll be writing up a more detailed explanation of this in the future (I’ll update this article with the link), but here’s the quick and dirty version. The Mixolydian scale is really a mode, but the technical difference between “modes” and “scales” is minute and not really important. For now, I’ll use “mode” and “scale” to mean the a collection of notes.

There are 7 primary modes that we’re concerned. The easiest way to understand modes is to think of them as the major scale starting on different notes. Below is the modes of D major:

1. Ionian – Starts on the Root; this is the major scale – D E F# G A B C#
2. Dorian – Starts on the 2nd; this feels minor – E F# G A B C# D
3. Phrygian – Starts on the 3rd; this feels minor – F# G A B C# D E
4. Lydian – Starts on the 4th; this feels major – G A B C# D E F#
5. Mixolydian – Starts on the 5th; this feels major – A B C# D E F# G
6. Aeolian – Starts on the 6th; this is the natural minor scale – B C# D E F# G A
7. Locrian – Starts on the 7th; this feels minor – C# D E F# G A B

In most cases, there’s only really 4 modes you’ll only really need to focus on: the Ionian (aka Major Scale), Mixolydian, Aeolian (aka Natural Minor Scale) and Dorian modes. The other modes are worth reviewing – but they would not really be used on a bluegrass fiddle tune.

The A Mixolydian mode contains the same notes as the D major scale, but with a tonal center of A instead of D. In tunes like Squirrel Hunters (or Salt Creek, Cherokee Shuffle, June Apple, etc), where the harmony includes a b7 chord, the Mixolydian mode built on the tune’s tonic is often a great choice for improvising.

Pentatonic Ideas

Most folks would naturally use the pentatonic for the apparent key of the tune. While the pentatonic can work here, it’s not really the ideal scale to think of when playing through Squirrel Hunters. This is mainly because both the A major pentatonic (A B C E F#) and D major pentatonic (D E F# A B) leave out the G natural note which is important to the melody. That said, for modal tunes like Squirrel Hunters, often you can use the b7’s major pentatonic scale – so G major pentatonic in this case. I find this works pretty well especially over the A part when you are playing the variation with E minor – though it’s not as good over the B part as it’s missing two other notes, the C# and F#, which are also in the melody.

Wrap Up

Squirrel Hunters is a great tune for a bluegrass jam, a fiddle tune contest, or simply expanding your mandolin repertoire. There’s a lot of fun variations that you can explore with this tune like playing the major or minor A-part variations, which scale to use, and the opportunities for improvisation. Squirrel Hunters is a tune that keeps revealing new ideas the longer you play it.

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