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[H1487]How To Play Scarborough Fair

by Peter Edvinsson, Pet

Scarborough Fair is an English ballad and dates back to late medieval times. Scarborough was a host to a huge forty-five day fair.

The name Scarborough Fair is now used for a music festival held every year in Scarborough.

The first verse has the lyrics:

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

In articles like this one I use my own form of ukulele tab to be sure that the tabs are readable on article sites.

You can find the more common ukulele tab staff on my site with ukulele tab, guitar tablature and free sheet music.

The string with the highest pitch on the ukulele is usually an A and is called the first string. This is the string nearest your feet when you play.

The first number indicates the fret. The second number tells you which string to play. Here is the first part of the melody with ukulele tab:

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

23 23 01 31 01 02 12 02 23

23 indicates that you play the third string while pressing down the second fret with a left hand finger. 01 means that you play the first string without pressing down a left hand finger. It is called to play on the open first string.

We will not dicuss how to play with your right hand. I suggest that you play the notes with your right hand thumb but do as you like.

The ukulele tab notation doesn't tell you the length of the notes. I leave it up to you to figure this out out.

Let's play the next ukulele tab:

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

01 31 51 31 01 21 32 01

51 means that you press down a left hand finger on the fifth fret on the first string. I haven't told you anything about which left hand finger to press down on the frets on your ukulele yet.

You can of course use your first finger for all the notes but the best way to use your left hand fingers is to play the notes on the first fret with your first finger, the notes on the second fret with your long finger and the notes on your third fret with your ring finger.

It might be difficult at first but if you practice this fingerings it will actually be easier for you to find the right notes. You don't even have to look at your fingers to find the right fret if you get used to this way of playing.

The notes on the fifth fret can be played with your ring finger as well.

Here comes the next ukulele tab and lyrics:

Remember me to one who lives there

51 51 51 31 01 01 32 12 02 03

The last ukulele tab and lyrics comes now:

She once was a true love of mine

23 01 32 12 02 23 03 23

Now you can play Scarborough Fair on your ukulele with ukulele tab!

Actually you can play this melody with the use of the above ukulele tab notation on a guitar also. The first three strings on a guitar are tuned the same way but not in the same pitch.

The best way to learn this melody is to take one line at a time and learn it by heart.

When you know the melody by heart you have the pleasure of being able to play the melody anytime and anywhere!

"Fair", nowadays, is a term we normally use to signify a place. Those who live, for example, in the zone of Milan,or in its Hinterland, very well know what it means to read that an apartment for sale is in the area of Milan's "old Fair", and know just as well that if they find themselves stuck in traffic on the Western Highway it can be a good idea to exit at "Rho Fair" and cross the town; in the same way, the citizens of Rome know how to get to "the Fair Zone"… and in these places, and so many similar others, we find large buildings and organized structures, often extremely modern, and an ample, varied calendar of events during the year.

But we must not forget - and we had Artelegno, a Company specialized in trade show stands and installations, that works every day to help Companies exhibit at one Fair or another - that for several centuries the word "Fair" did not signify a place, but an actual, important event! While it is surely true that many cities have areas permanently dedicated to setting up Fairs, the most important thing to keep in mind is that initially, and we mean at least around the Roman era, a Fair was most of all an occasion for trade and meeting, in a world where both were far rarer than today.

Used as we are to a constantly connected world, where traveling from one side of the planet to the other is a matter of hours, we can encounter a few difficulties in remembering how, in ancient times, traveling was a dangerous, exhausting, and time-consuming endeavor. Merchants rarely could afford to reach faraway places with their merchandise, and occasions for meeting people with different origins and backgrounds were rare. But the Fair changed all of this: it was a day, or even a short period of a few days, where the harsh labor in the fields was suspended a time when, gathering from all over the land, merchants could exhibit their wares to a curious, attentive audience, and in the meanwhile negotiate business and finalize important agreements. So important these events were that in many European Fairs, in the Middle Ages as well as in the Renaissance, merchants were completely free, immune and escorted for the whole duration of the Fair: they were subject to no tax or duty in importing their goods, and they were actually escorted by men-at-arms to the Fair site and back to the border on their return. Such exceptional protection, which extended to the merchants' agents and wares alike, even forbade authorities to arrest a merchant for any reason, or hold their wares, for the entire duration of the Fair! To receive such incredible level of protection, merchants needed to be recognized as an essential part of the Kingdom's welfare, with the trades and information they could bring.

But all of this adventurous side now belongs to the past. Nowadays, a Fair is first and foremost an organized meeting point between Companies and Customers, and an occasion to show one's best. For this reason Companies exist like Artelegno, which work to design and build stands and installations giving the exhibited products' quality a chance to shine, and allowing those who use their services to put on show not just their wares, but their Company itself.
Principles very similar, all in all, to those of a Medieval merchant…

Article Source : How To Get Your Music Out There

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Both Peter Edvinsson & Artelegno Allestimenti Fieristici are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Peter Edvinsson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Guide Guitar, Programming and Guide Guitar. Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your and ukulele tab at. Peter Edvinsson's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.

Artelegno Allestimenti Fieristici has sinced written about articles on various topics from Music. Artelegno is specialized in and fair s. Artelegno Allestimenti Fieristici's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.