Despite the whole guitar arrangement being in the first position of the fretboard (the highest fret in the whole piece is fret 3), it's not a beginner's piece. Some melody notes are syncopated, i.e, brought forward to the previous bar by a half beat to give it a characteristic 'lilt'. There are also quite a few inner harmony fill-in notes between the melody and bass parts. Try to play it with a 'singing' style.
Here are the lyrics. If you want to sing the Skye Boat Song with a fingerstyle accompaniment, then don't use the above solo version. Instead, you should use a repeating fingerstyle pattern in triple time based on the chords shown below. You could also include some of the bass runs, but there's no need to include the melody part if you're providing that vocally.
Listen to the Skye Boat Song
Click PLAY on the video player to hear an audio track of the score with the guitar tab and notation displayed line by line.
Click PLAY on the video player to hear an audio track of the score with the guitar tab and notation displayed line by line.
Download The Skye Boat Song as a PDF file for offline viewing or printing.
skye_boat_song.pdf | |
File Size: | 364 kb |
File Type: |
Skye Boat Song Credits
Music - Traditional - Public Domain
Lyrics - Sir Harold Boulton (c.1870) - Public Domain
Guitar Arrangement - chasmac/ Fretsource
Music - Traditional - Public Domain
Lyrics - Sir Harold Boulton (c.1870) - Public Domain
Guitar Arrangement - chasmac/ Fretsource