About London Bridge Is Falling Down
London Bridge Is Falling Down is a nursery rhyme in B♭ major — beginner-friendly, running from B♭, to G and staying in first position on banjo, mandolin and fiddle.
- Type
- Nursery rhyme
- Key
- B♭ major · 2/4
- Range
- B♭, to G · first position
- Notes used
- C D E♭ F G B♭
- Level
- Beginner-friendly
London Bridge Is Falling Down — sheet music
B♭ major · 2/4
The notes
Letter names, bar by bar · capitals up to C in the third space, lower case from the D on the 4th line
F G F E♭ | D E♭ F | C D E♭ | D E♭ F F G F E♭ | D E♭ F | C F | D B♭,
London Bridge Is Falling Down — tab
Tenor banjo · mandolin · fiddle · guitar · ukulele — tap one to open it
London Bridge Is Falling Down — Tenor banjo tab
G D A E (Irish tuning) · open position
E|---------|-------|-------|-------| A|---------|-------|-------|-------| D|-3-5-3-1-|-0-1-3-|---0-1-|-0-1-3-| G|---------|-------|-5-----|-------|
E|---------|-------|-----|-----| A|---------|-------|-----|-----| D|-3-5-3-1-|-0-1-3-|---3-|-0---| G|---------|-------|-5---|---3-|
Numbers are frets. Tenor banjo sounds an octave below the written notes.
London Bridge Is Falling Down — Mandolin tab
G D A E · open position
E|---------|-------|-------|-------| A|---------|-------|-------|-------| D|-3-5-3-1-|-0-1-3-|---0-1-|-0-1-3-| G|---------|-------|-5-----|-------|
E|---------|-------|-----|-----| A|---------|-------|-----|-----| D|-3-5-3-1-|-0-1-3-|---3-|-0---| G|---------|-------|-5---|---3-|
Numbers are frets. Same strings as the fiddle, so the same notes fall in the same places.
London Bridge Is Falling Down — fiddle fingering
G D A E · first position — finger numbers
E|------------|---------|--------|---------| A|------------|---------|--------|---------| D|-L2-3-L2-L1-|-0-L1-L2-|---0-L1-|-0-L1-L2-| G|------------|---------|-3------|---------|
E|------------|---------|------|------| A|------------|---------|------|------| D|-L2-3-L2-L1-|-0-L1-L2-|---L2-|-0----| G|------------|---------|-3----|---L2-|
0 = open string · 1–4 = finger · L = low (half step back), H = high.
London Bridge Is Falling Down — Guitar tab
E A D G B E · open position
e|---------|-------|-------|-------| B|---------|-------|-------|-------| G|---0-----|-------|-------|-------| D|-3---3-1-|-0-1-3-|---0-1-|-0-1-3-| A|---------|-------|-3-----|-------| E|---------|-------|-------|-------|
e|---------|-------|-----|-----| B|---------|-------|-----|-----| G|---0-----|-------|-----|-----| D|-3---3-1-|-0-1-3-|---3-|-0---| A|---------|-------|-3---|---1-| E|---------|-------|-----|-----|
Numbers are frets; the bottom line is the low E string.
London Bridge Is Falling Down — Ukulele tab
G C E A (high G) · open position · played an octave up, as the tune dips below the lowest string
A|-8-10-8-6-|-5-6-8-|-3-5-6-|-5-6-8-| E|----------|-------|-------|-------| C|----------|-------|-------|-------| G|----------|-------|-------|-------|
A|-8-10-8-6-|-5-6-8-|-3-8-|-5-1-| E|----------|-------|-----|-----| C|----------|-------|-----|-----| G|----------|-------|-----|-----|
Numbers are frets; the top line is the A string, the bottom line the high G.
London Bridge Is Falling Down chords
B♭ major · 2 chords: B♭, F7
One box per bar, in the same order as the sheet music. A faded chord carries on from the bar before.
Guitar chords for London Bridge Is Falling Down
Strings E A D G B E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it
Ukulele chords for London Bridge Is Falling Down
Strings G C E A, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it
Tenor banjo & mandolin chords for London Bridge Is Falling Down
Strings G D A E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it
More nursery rhymes and tunes like it
This melody comes from The Public Domain Song Anthology (David Berger & Chuck Israels), released CC0. The song is in the public domain. Tabs and letter names worked out by The Music Arcade.