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Pop Goes The Weasel — Sheet Music, Tab & Chord Directory

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About Pop Goes The Weasel

Pop Goes The Weasel is a nursery rhyme in E♭ major — beginner-friendly, running from B♭, to e♭ and staying in first position on banjo, mandolin and fiddle.

Type
Nursery rhyme
Key
E♭ major · 6/8
Range
B♭, to e♭ · first position
Notes used
C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭
Level
Beginner-friendly

Pop Goes The Weasel — sheet music

E♭ major · 6/8

The notes

Letter names, bar by bar · capitals up to C in the third space, lower case from the D on the 4th line

E♭ E♭ F F | G B♭ G E♭ B♭, | E♭ E♭ F F | G E♭ B♭, E♭ E♭ F F | G B♭ G E♭ | C F A♭ | G E♭ B♭ e♭ e♭ C C | d d B♭ B♭ | e♭ e♭ C C | d B♭ A♭ G A♭ B♭ | C d e♭ | C F A♭ | G E♭

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Pop Goes The Weasel — tab

Tenor banjo · mandolin · fiddle · guitar · ukulele — tap one to open it

Pop Goes The Weasel — Tenor banjo tab

G D A E (Irish tuning) · open position

E|---------|-----------|---------|-------|
A|---------|---1-------|---------|-------|
D|-1-1-3-3-|-5---5-1---|-1-1-3-3-|-5-1---|
G|---------|---------3-|---------|-----3-|
E|---------|---------|-------|-------|
A|---------|---1-----|-3-----|-----1-|
D|-1-1-3-3-|-5---5-1-|---3-6-|-5-1---|
G|---------|---------|-------|-------|
E|---------|---------|---------|-----|
A|-6-6-3-3-|-5-5-1-1-|-6-6-3-3-|-5-1-|
D|---------|---------|---------|-----|
G|---------|---------|---------|-----|
E|---------|-------|-------|-----|
A|-------1-|-3-5-6-|-3-----|-----|
D|-6-5-6---|-------|---3-6-|-5-1-|
G|---------|-------|-------|-----|

Numbers are frets. Tenor banjo sounds an octave below the written notes.

Pop Goes The Weasel — Mandolin tab

G D A E · open position

E|---------|-----------|---------|-------|
A|---------|---1-------|---------|-------|
D|-1-1-3-3-|-5---5-1---|-1-1-3-3-|-5-1---|
G|---------|---------3-|---------|-----3-|
E|---------|---------|-------|-------|
A|---------|---1-----|-3-----|-----1-|
D|-1-1-3-3-|-5---5-1-|---3-6-|-5-1---|
G|---------|---------|-------|-------|
E|---------|---------|---------|-----|
A|-6-6-3-3-|-5-5-1-1-|-6-6-3-3-|-5-1-|
D|---------|---------|---------|-----|
G|---------|---------|---------|-----|
E|---------|-------|-------|-----|
A|-------1-|-3-5-6-|-3-----|-----|
D|-6-5-6---|-------|---3-6-|-5-1-|
G|---------|-------|-------|-----|

Numbers are frets. Same strings as the fiddle, so the same notes fall in the same places.

Pop Goes The Weasel — fiddle fingering

G D A E · first position — finger numbers

E|-------------|--------------|-------------|---------|
A|-------------|---L1---------|-------------|---------|
D|-L1-L1-L2-L2-|-3----3-L1----|-L1-L1-L2-L2-|-3-L1----|
G|-------------|-----------L2-|-------------|------L2-|
E|-------------|-----------|----------|---------|
A|-------------|---L1------|-L2-------|------L1-|
D|-L1-L1-L2-L2-|-3----3-L1-|----L2-H3-|-3-L1----|
G|-------------|-----------|----------|---------|
E|-------------|-----------|-------------|------|
A|-H3-H3-L2-L2-|-3-3-L1-L1-|-H3-H3-L2-L2-|-3-L1-|
D|-------------|-----------|-------------|------|
G|-------------|-----------|-------------|------|
E|------------|---------|----------|------|
A|---------L1-|-L2-3-H3-|-L2-------|------|
D|-H3-3-H3----|---------|----L2-H3-|-3-L1-|
G|------------|---------|----------|------|

0 = open string · 1–4 = finger · L = low (half step back), H = high.

Pop Goes The Weasel — Guitar tab

E A D G B E · open position

e|---------|-----------|---------|-------|
B|---------|-----------|---------|-------|
G|---------|-0-3-0-----|---------|-0-----|
D|-1-1-3-3-|-------1---|-1-1-3-3-|---1---|
A|---------|---------1-|---------|-----1-|
E|---------|-----------|---------|-------|
e|---------|---------|-------|-------|
B|---------|---------|-1-----|-------|
G|---------|-0-3-0---|-----1-|-0---3-|
D|-1-1-3-3-|-------1-|---3---|---1---|
A|---------|---------|-------|-------|
E|---------|---------|-------|-------|
e|---------|---------|---------|-----|
B|-4-4-1-1-|-3-3-----|-4-4-1-1-|-3---|
G|---------|-----3-3-|---------|---3-|
D|---------|---------|---------|-----|
A|---------|---------|---------|-----|
E|---------|---------|---------|-----|
e|---------|-------|-------|-----|
B|---------|-1-3-4-|-1-----|-----|
G|-1-0-1-3-|-------|-----1-|-0---|
D|---------|-------|---3---|---1-|
A|---------|-------|-------|-----|
E|---------|-------|-------|-----|

Numbers are frets; the bottom line is the low E string.

Pop Goes The Weasel — Ukulele tab

G C E A (high G) · open position · played an octave up, as the tune dips below the lowest string

A|-6-6-8-8-|-10-13-10-6-1-|-6-6-8-8-|-10-6-1-|
E|---------|--------------|---------|--------|
C|---------|--------------|---------|--------|
G|---------|--------------|---------|--------|
A|-6-6-8-8-|-10-13-10-6-|-15-8-11-|-10-6-13-|
E|---------|------------|---------|---------|
C|---------|------------|---------|---------|
G|---------|------------|---------|---------|
A|-18-18-15-15-|-17-17-13-13-|-18-18-15-15-|-17-13-|
E|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
C|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
G|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
A|-11-10-11-13-|-15-17-18-|-15-8-11-|-10-6-|
E|-------------|----------|---------|------|
C|-------------|----------|---------|------|
G|-------------|----------|---------|------|

Numbers are frets; the top line is the A string, the bottom line the high G.

Pop Goes The Weasel chords

E♭ major · 6 chords: E♭, B♭, A♭, B♭7, F7, E♭7

E♭ B♭
E♭
E♭ B♭
E♭
E♭ B♭
E♭
A♭ B♭7
E♭
F7
B♭
F7
B♭
A♭ E♭7 A♭ E♭
A♭ B♭ A♭
A♭ B♭7
E♭

One box per bar, in the same order as the sheet music. A faded chord carries on from the bar before.

Guitar chords for Pop Goes The Weasel

Strings E A D G B E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it

E♭6×B♭×A♭4B♭7×F7E♭7××

Ukulele chords for Pop Goes The Weasel

Strings G C E A, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it

E♭B♭A♭B♭7F7E♭7

Tenor banjo & mandolin chords for Pop Goes The Weasel

Strings G D A E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it

E♭B♭A♭B♭7F7E♭7

More nursery rhymes and tunes like it

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little StarMary Had A Little LambLondon Bridge Is Falling DownRow, Row, Row Your BoatThis Old ManOld Macdonald Had A FarmFrère JacquesHere We Go 'Round The Mulberry Bush

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.

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