Fiddle tunes are a standard part of the bluegrass music vocabulary. These are instrumental tunes with no vocals. Also, while it’s always nice to have a fiddle, don’t let the name fool you – these can (and should) be played on any instrument. Leave a comment below if you have any questions or would like me to add another fiddle tune.

General Guidelines for Playing Fiddle Tunes on Mandolin

  1. Most fiddle tunes have two parts. Generally these are referred to as the A part and B part (or “verse” and “chorus”). Usually the parts are played in an AABB format – meaning the A part is played twice followed by the B part being played twice. There are certainly fiddle tunes that have more parts (like Old Dangerfield or Elzic’s Farewell which have three parts) and/or that don’t follow AABB.
  2. There’s a lot of variations. Since fiddle tunes are usually passed down orally instead of being written down, most fiddle tunes, especially the older ones, have many different variations that are all “correct”. Generally I recommend learning a few variations for common fiddle tunes as it can help you standout in a jam as well as provide some great soloing ideas.
  3. Most parts are made up of smaller phrases. A “phrase” is where you’d take a breath if you were singing the melody instead of picking it. When learning fiddle tunes, I recommend breaking the parts into smaller phrases. This has two main benefits – first it makes the tune easier to learn by breaking it up into smaller manageable parts and second it allows you to use a modular approach when there’s a lot of variations of the song. In Blackberry Blossom for example, the A part can be broken up into 4 phrases:

    • Measures 1 and 2 make up the first phrase

    • Measures 3 and 4 make up the second phrase

    • Measures 5 and 6 make up the third phrase

    • Measures 7 and 8 make up the fourth phrase


    You can take a similar approach to the B Part (first two measures of the B part are the first phrase there etc).

  4. Fiddle tunes generally follow a scale (usually major pentatonic) pretty closely. Most major key fiddle tunes will follow the major pentatonic scale or major diatonic scale for the key pretty closely if not exclusively. Minor key tunes often follow their respective minor key scales though they are more apt to use alternate scales like harmonic minor. Check out my mandolin scales page here for more details on various scales. In the example of Blackberry Blossom, since the tune is in G Major, reviewing the G Major scale (both major pentatonic and major diatonic scales) before playing the song can help get the notes “under your fingers” so to speak.

Fiddle Tune Sheet Music for Mandolin

The below charts include both standard notation and mandolin tablature for popular bluegrass fiddle tunes. Don’t see your favorite? Leave me a note in the comments section and I’ll try to get it added!

  1. Angeline the Baker
  2. Big Mon
  3. Big Sciota
  4. Bile Down them Cabbage
  5. Bill Cheatham
  6. Billy in the Lowground
  7. Blackberry Blossom
  8. Brown County Breakdown
  9. Cincinnati Rag
  10. Cripple Creek
  11. Cherokee Shuffle
  12. Clinch Mountain Backstep
  13. Chinquapin Hunting Bluegrass Version
  14. Cluck Old Hen
  15. The Eighth of January
  16. Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom
  17. Gold Rush
  18. Goodbye Liza Jane
  19. The High Road
  20. Jerusalem Ridge
  21. June Apple
  22. Old Joe Clark
  23. Red Haired Boy
  24. Red Wing
  25. Salt Creek
  26. Saint Anne’s Reel
  27. Soldier’s Joy
  28. Southern Flavor
  29. Temperance Reel
  30. Whiskey Before Breakfast

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