When The Saints — Banjo & Mandolin Tab, Chords

▶ Learn it in the Melody Trainer See every note of When The Saints on your banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, ukulele or piano — then play along: the music listens and waits for you. Open When The Saints →

About When The Saints

When The Saints is a trad jazz tune in F major — beginner-friendly, running from F to C and staying in first position on banjo, mandolin and fiddle.

Type: Jazz tune
Key: F major · 4/4
Range: F to C · first position
Notes used: C F G A B♭
Level: Beginner-friendly

When The Saints — sheet music

F major · 4/4

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 A B♭ | C | C F A B♭ | C C F A B♭ | C A | F A | G G A A G | F F | A C C | C B♭ B♭ A B♭ | C A | F G | F

▶ Play along in the Melody Trainer

When The Saints — tab

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

When The Saints — Tenor banjo tab

G D A E (Irish tuning) · open position

E|-------|---|---------|---|
A|---0-1-|-3-|-3---0-1-|-3-|
D|-3-----|---|---3-----|---|
G|-------|---|---------|---|

E|---------|-----|-----|---|
A|-3---0-1-|-3-0-|---0-|---|
D|---3-----|-----|-3---|-5-|
G|---------|-----|-----|---|

E|---------|-----|-------|-----|
A|---0-0---|-----|-0-3-3-|-3-1-|
D|-5-----5-|-3-3-|-------|-----|
G|---------|-----|-------|-----|

E|-------|-----|-----|---|
A|-1-0-1-|-3-0-|-----|---|
D|-------|-----|-3-5-|-3-|
G|-------|-----|-----|---|

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

When The Saints — Mandolin tab

G D A E · open position

E|-------|---|---------|---|
A|---0-1-|-3-|-3---0-1-|-3-|
D|-3-----|---|---3-----|---|
G|-------|---|---------|---|

E|---------|-----|-----|---|
A|-3---0-1-|-3-0-|---0-|---|
D|---3-----|-----|-3---|-5-|
G|---------|-----|-----|---|

E|---------|-----|-------|-----|
A|---0-0---|-----|-0-3-3-|-3-1-|
D|-5-----5-|-3-3-|-------|-----|
G|---------|-----|-------|-----|

E|-------|-----|-----|---|
A|-1-0-1-|-3-0-|-----|---|
D|-------|-----|-3-5-|-3-|
G|-------|-----|-----|---|

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

When The Saints — fiddle fingering

G D A E · first position — finger numbers

E|---------|----|------------|----|
A|----0-L1-|-L2-|-L2----0-L1-|-L2-|
D|-L2------|----|----L2------|----|
G|---------|----|------------|----|

E|------------|------|------|---|
A|-L2----0-L1-|-L2-0-|----0-|---|
D|----L2------|------|-L2---|-3-|
G|------------|------|------|---|

E|---------|-------|---------|-------|
A|---0-0---|-------|-0-L2-L2-|-L2-L1-|
D|-3-----3-|-L2-L2-|---------|-------|
G|---------|-------|---------|-------|

E|---------|------|------|----|
A|-L1-0-L1-|-L2-0-|------|----|
D|---------|------|-L2-3-|-L2-|
G|---------|------|------|----|

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

When The Saints — Guitar tab

E A D G B E · open position

e|-------|---|---------|---|
B|-------|-1-|-1-------|-1-|
G|---2-3-|---|-----2-3-|---|
D|-3-----|---|---3-----|---|
A|-------|---|---------|---|
E|-------|---|---------|---|

e|---------|-----|-----|---|
B|-1-------|-1---|-----|---|
G|-----2-3-|---2-|---2-|-0-|
D|---3-----|-----|-3---|---|
A|---------|-----|-----|---|
E|---------|-----|-----|---|

e|---------|-----|-------|-----|
B|---------|-----|---1-1-|-1---|
G|-0-2-2-0-|-----|-2-----|---3-|
D|---------|-3-3-|-------|-----|
A|---------|-----|-------|-----|
E|---------|-----|-------|-----|

e|-------|-----|-----|---|
B|-------|-1---|-----|---|
G|-3-2-3-|---2-|---0-|---|
D|-------|-----|-3---|-3-|
A|-------|-----|-----|---|
E|-------|-----|-----|---|

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

When The Saints — Ukulele tab

G C E A (high G) · open position

A|---0-1-|-3-|-3---0-1-|-3-|
E|-1-----|---|---1-----|---|
C|-------|---|---------|---|
G|-------|---|---------|---|

A|-3---0-1-|-3-0-|---0-|---|
E|---1-----|-----|-1---|---|
C|---------|-----|-----|---|
G|---------|-----|-----|-0-|

A|---0-0---|-----|-0-3-3-|-3-1-|
E|---------|-1-1-|-------|-----|
C|---------|-----|-------|-----|
G|-0-----0-|-----|-------|-----|

A|-1-0-1-|-3-0-|-----|---|
E|-------|-----|-1---|-1-|
C|-------|-----|-----|---|
G|-------|-----|---0-|---|

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

When The Saints chords

F major · 7 chords: F, G7, C7, F7, B♭, B♭m, Dm7

pickup

B♭

B♭m

F Dm7

G7 C7

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

Guitar chords for When The Saints

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

Ukulele chords for When The Saints

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

Tenor banjo & mandolin chords for When The Saints

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

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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.