Fisher's Hornpipe — Mandolin Tab

Mandolin tab and sheet music with synced audio · James A. Fishar · Key of D · 180 BPM · 2/2 time · Bluegrass · Intermediate

Chords used in this arrangement: D, G, A.

Despite the name, "Fisher's Hornpipe" has nothing to do with fishing! It's named after James A. Fishar, a professional dancer and ballet master at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, who published it around 1780 as part of a collection of cotillions and hornpipes written for the London stage. So this tune started its life as fancy theatrical footwork, not barn dancing. It spread fast and by 1783 an American soldier named John Greenwood had already copied it into his flute book, and within a few decades it was showing up in Ozark fiddle traditions, New England contra dances, and Irish session books all under different names.

There are a lot of variations of this song and I first learned this from the Jack Tottle bluegrass book. This version is slightly more melodic than that one, although not quite as frantic!

This page includes mandolin tablature, standard music notation, and a chord chart — printable as PDF and playable in sync with the original recording. Change the key, slow the tempo down, and loop the bars you want to practise.