About This Old Man
This Old Man is a nursery rhyme in C major — beginner-friendly, running from C to A and staying in first position on banjo, mandolin and fiddle.
- Type
- Nursery rhyme
- Key
- C major · 2/2
- Range
- C to A · first position
- Notes used
- C D E F G A
- Level
- Beginner-friendly
This Old Man — sheet music
C major · 2/2
The notes
Letter names, bar by bar · capitals up to C in the third space, lower case from the D on the 4th line
G E G | G E G | A G F E | D E F E F G C C C C | C D E F G | G D D F | E D C
This Old Man — tab
Tenor banjo · mandolin · fiddle · guitar · ukulele — tap one to open it
This Old Man — Tenor banjo tab
G D A E (Irish tuning) · open position
E|-------|-------|---------|-----------| A|-------|-------|-0-------|-----------| D|-5-2-5-|-5-2-5-|---5-3-2-|-0-2-3-2-3-| G|-------|-------|---------|-----------|
E|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| A|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| D|-5---------|---0-2-3-5-|-5-0-0-3-|-2-0---| G|---5-5-5-5-|-5---------|---------|-----5-|
Numbers are frets. Tenor banjo sounds an octave below the written notes.
This Old Man — Mandolin tab
G D A E · open position
E|-------|-------|---------|-----------| A|-------|-------|-0-------|-----------| D|-5-2-5-|-5-2-5-|---5-3-2-|-0-2-3-2-3-| G|-------|-------|---------|-----------|
E|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| A|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| D|-5---------|---0-2-3-5-|-5-0-0-3-|-2-0---| G|---5-5-5-5-|-5---------|---------|-----5-|
Numbers are frets. Same strings as the fiddle, so the same notes fall in the same places.
This Old Man — fiddle fingering
G D A E · first position — finger numbers
E|-------|-------|----------|-------------| A|-------|-------|-0--------|-------------| D|-3-1-3-|-3-1-3-|---3-L2-1-|-0-1-L2-1-L2-| G|-------|-------|----------|-------------|
E|-----------|------------|----------|-------| A|-----------|------------|----------|-------| D|-3---------|---0-1-L2-3-|-3-0-0-L2-|-1-0---| G|---3-3-3-3-|-3----------|----------|-----3-|
0 = open string · 1–4 = finger · L = low (half step back), H = high.
This Old Man — Guitar tab
E A D G B E · open position
e|-------|-------|---------|-----------| B|-------|-------|---------|-----------| G|-0---0-|-0---0-|-2-0-----|-----------| D|---2---|---2---|-----3-2-|-0-2-3-2-3-| A|-------|-------|---------|-----------| E|-------|-------|---------|-----------|
e|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| B|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| G|-0---------|---------0-|-0-------|-------| D|-----------|---0-2-3---|---0-0-3-|-2-0---| A|---3-3-3-3-|-3---------|---------|-----3-| E|-----------|-----------|---------|-------|
Numbers are frets; the bottom line is the low E string.
This Old Man — Ukulele tab
G C E A (high G) · open position
A|-------|-------|-0-------|-----------| E|---0---|---0---|-----1-0-|---0-1-0-1-| C|-------|-------|---------|-2---------| G|-0---0-|-0---0-|---0-----|-----------|
A|-----------|-----------|---------|-------| E|-----------|-----0-1---|-------1-|-0-----| C|---0-0-0-0-|-0-2-------|---2-2---|---2-0-| G|-0---------|---------0-|-0-------|-------|
Numbers are frets; the top line is the A string, the bottom line the high G.
This Old Man chords
C major · 3 chords: C, Dm7, G7
One box per bar, in the same order as the sheet music. A faded chord carries on from the bar before.
Guitar chords for This Old Man
Strings E A D G B E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it
Ukulele chords for This Old Man
Strings G C E A, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it
Tenor banjo & mandolin chords for This Old Man
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.