by Wendy Anthony

The Tune:

Billy In The Low Ground, also known as (a.k.a.) Billy In The Lowground or Billy In The Lowland, is one of the better-known fiddle tunes in the Key of C, and is often played at breakneck speeds at Bluegrass jams and festivals. Adding this tune to your repertoire will create a challenging opportunity to learn to play a melody in the key of C, with lots of notes, cleanly & quickly, and/or to learn to pick out & emphasize important notes, in order to help with choosing which notes to leave out, in exchange for speed or improvisation.

Listen to the MIDI: 120 | 160 | 190 bpm

Printable Sheet Music: pdf

Techniques:

• Overview of the Tune: Billy In The Low Ground presents a chance to play around with the C scale, while picking out a melody at the same time. Part A focuses on crossing the 3 lower strings, playing up & down the C scale, and it’s relative minor – Am, using all the notes except F. Part B focuses primarily on the top 2 strings, including some F notes & chords, before finishing with an ending similar to Part A. Working on your picking technique will ensure smooth transitions between the many notes of this tune.
• Chords: The chord structure in each part is similar, with the exception of the Am chords in Part A replaced by F chords in Part B.

  	Part A || : C | C | Am | Am | C | C | Am | G/C : ||
  	Part B || : C | C | F  | F  | C | C | Am | G/C : ||

• Pick Strokes & Fingering: Pick all 1/2 & 1/4 notes with Downstrokes. Pick all paired 1/8 notes with Down/Upstrokes. For variety and a smoother sound (see Part A, measures 6 & 7), try using some hammer-ons & pull-offs, instead of picking each note individually. Adding syncopation can also create some interest (see Part A, measure 8, and Part B measures 11, 13, 15): instead of picking the first 1/8 note on the second beat, leave an 1/8 note rest, and then play the following 1/8 note with the usual Upstroke – you may find it easier to mime a Downstroke on the rest beat, in order to position your pick for the following Upstroke (1-Down, and-Up, 2-Rest, and-Up).

Variations:

• Simplify: Emphasize important melody notes by leaving out some of the 1/8 notes, to assist faster playing, or to provide a basic skeleton framework in order to add improvisations.



Listen to the MIDI: 120 | 190 bpm

Printable Sheet Music: pdf