Drunken Sailor

Traditionnel (chant de marins) · Level 2 (Beginner) · traditional · Guitar, sheet music and tablature

An English-language sea shanty from the 19th century, in the Dorian mode, sung while hauling on the ropes: “What shall we do with the drunken sailor?” Arranged in E minor: the tune in first position, with a thumb bass on the first beat of each bar and at each chord change.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Play the basses (strings 6, 5 and 4) with the thumb and the tune with i and m. When a bass and a melody note fall together, pluck them at the same time and let the bass ring. Practise the tune alone first.

Source : Arrangement Note after Note d’après le chant de marins traditionnel · Public Domain