Download all the above TablEdit files zipped here.
Download all the above tablatures in one pdf file here.
Please note: the freeware TEFView TablEdit file viewer programme is needed to read the TablEdit files on this page. TablEdit files play the tune and show the tablature together and are extremely useful for learning new tunes and how to read tablature. And for musicians wishing to create their own tablatures, I also enthusiastically recommend the full version of this software.
All the tablatures above are exactly as played in mp3s available for free download at the: Internet Archive
This is the tablature for "Cherry Rag", a ragtime guitar tune I composed in 2004. It was inspired by the ragtime guitar playing of talented British singer-songwriter Michael Chapman. The mp3 of this tune below was recorded with mandolin player Gerry Dempsey playing an improvisation alongside the guitar.
| Tablature Image | Tablature file | Left click midi file to play it; Right click & select "save target/link as" to download | pdf file | mp3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Cherry Rag" Tablature | Download TablEdit file | Play/Download midi file | pdf file | mp3 |
Here is another tablature--a transcription that I made a couple of years ago of a ragtime guitar recording by Michael Chapman. The recording is called "Naked Ladies and Electric Ragtime". It is from Chapman's superb album "Fully Qualified Survivor" (1970). Michael Chapman is an old favourite of mine and reminds an ageing hippy like myself of the time when he was once young. The .tef file can be downloaded from the tablature page of the Michael Chapman web-site. There are actually two tabs of this tune on this page. Mine is the TablEdit file at the bottom of the page. The .tef file can be downloaded directly by clicking here.
Tom Joad's audio, midi, video, tablature and other works on the World Wide Web are distributed with a Creative Commons Attributon-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence. Click here for the precise details. This means, for example, that any person can download and improve on the above tablatures and post them on the Web so long as they are published with an identical license. Perhaps add some interesting variations on the tune? Simplify an awkward part? Or just add some changes that make the tune flow more smoothly. Similarly, it means that the mp3s can be downloaded and used in a larger project. This could be adding a guitar or fiddle track to one of the banjo tunes to enhance the sound. To fully understand the purpose of this type of licensing, visit the Creative Commons web-site. And here is a video clip explaining the concept. There are more clips on the Creative Commons site.