This notation is pretty simple; dark circles mean covered holes; empty circles mean uncovered holes; a '+' below means to blow harder to get the upper octave; a '#' below means this note is too low for the whistle chosen and you'll have to fake it :) The author of this program always plays accidentals by closing holes, so you'll never see half-covered holes.
When I was starting, I found notation like this to be very helpful, and I know plenty of people who have trouble reading music who find this notation easier. Good luck!
(This score available as
ABC,
SongWright,
PostScript,
PNG, or
PMW, or
a MIDI file)
(Choose a whistle key:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Ab
Bb
Cb
Db
Eb
Fb
Gb
A#
B#
C#
D#
E#
F#
G#)
Dulcimer tab
for this song is also available
Flash Gals of the Town Now come all ye ladies gay, what robs sailors of their pay, And list' while I sing this tarry tune, When Jack tar he comes ashore, with his gold and silver store, Theres no one can get rid of it so soon. Now the first thing he demands is a fiddler to his hand, A bottle of Nelson's Blood so stout and warm, And a pretty gal likewise with two dark an' rollin' eyes An' he'll drop his anchor an' nevermore will roam. Then the landlady she comes in with her brand new crinoline, She looks like some bright and flashin' star, An' she's ready to wait on him if his pockets are lined with tin And to chalk his score on the board behind the bar. Then she calls a pretty maid, right handed an soft-laid, An' up aloft they climb without much bother, And she shortens in her sail for a weatherin' of the gale And soon in the tiers they're moored quite close together. Then he shifted her main tack an' her caught her flat aback They rolled from the lee to the weather, An' he laid her close 'longside, oh, close-hauled as she would lie 'Twas tack an' tack through hell and stormy weather. But his money soon was gone, an' his flash gal soon had flown, She roamed along the Highway for another, An' the landlady cried," Pay yer score an' git outside, Yer cargoes gone, an' you've met stormy weather." Then poor ol' Jack must understand that there's ships a-wantin' hands And to the Shadwell basin he went down, And he shipped away forlorn on a passage 'round the Horn, Goodbye to the boys an' the flash gals of the town. From Songs of the Sea, Hugill RG
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!