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hellindc
Dec-21-2004, 12:12am
Anybody know where I might find the tab for "Sandy Boys". I don't see it hear or in the CoMando tabledit files. Actually, I can figure out the melody, it's the chords. Our mountain dulcimer jammer plays it a lot in A. I can hear it going from A to G, but I'm not sure of the turn around. Is it D-E-A or G-E-A, or something else? Are the A and B parts the same?

G_Smolt
Dec-21-2004, 4:09am
No G in the "sandy boys" I know...

Like most oldtime tunes, it isn't an exciting tune to play rhythm to.
In The Key of A, in the "A" part of the tune, stick on the A chord through the first 3 measures, then play the last measure AEAA.
In the "B" part, if I remember correctly, the pattern would be AAAA ADAD AAAA AEAA

As an aside, one of the guys I used to play oldtime with (still do, but rarely) started a movement for the "politically correct" renaming of some oldtime tunes...Cause for great mirth at sessions where someone would yell out "Sandy Persons" or "African-American Aristocracy"...

hellindc
Dec-21-2004, 11:50pm
Whoa! I wonder if I'm confusing Sandy Boys with something else. Whell, I'll try to stick to 1-4-5 and see if I'm on the right track. Thanks for the help.

I try not to mess with lyrics, but my general rule is don't sing or say anything you wouldn't say to another person's face. "Sandy Boys" is pretty innocent.

John Flynn
Dec-22-2004, 7:02am
I know three versions of "Sandy Boys." They are all in A. One is modal and two are not. One of the non-modals has a D chord in in the B part and the other doesn't. Also, depending on the version, you can hit a G chord when the melody lands hard on that B note or you can hit an E chord. Both work, but they are different sounds. The E is more traditional, the G more modern-sounding.

I think with old-time chords, you really have to look at the melody of the version you are doing and figure out what your chord options are and then try those options and see what kind of of a sound you want.

stringalong
Feb-28-2011, 1:00pm
Check this out

http://www.strumhollow.com/free_tab.htm

JeffD
Feb-28-2011, 2:29pm
Sandy Boys is a subtler tune than it first appears.

doc holiday
Feb-28-2011, 9:39pm
It's a great tune. I first heard Kenny Smith the great guitar player, play it on an open back banjo, & a couple of years later got to play it in a jam with Brian Wicklund & Ben Winship......they killed it! & I agree w' JeffD...."subtler than it first appears"

acousticphd
Mar-03-2011, 1:56pm
It's worth checking out the related tune, "The Quail is a pretty bird", if you can find it. John Hartford plays it on Hamilton Ironworkds. It is a bit prettier and more melodic to me, while Sandy Boys (to me) is rougher and more primitive.

JeffD
Mar-04-2011, 9:51am
"The Quail is a pretty bird", if you can find it. .. It is a bit prettier and more melodic to me, while Sandy Boys (to me) is rougher and more primitive.

I agree.

Mike Pilgrim
Mar-04-2011, 10:34am
Here's one version. No doubt "folk-processed" beyond recognition.
69216

Paul Lucas
Mar-07-2011, 12:02pm
I learned a version of Sandy Boys from Matt Brown's Old-Time Fiddle Lesson, Vol. 1 CD. I tabbed it out and added my adaptation to the lessons section of my website http://www.oldtimemandolinmusic.com this morning. I also included a mandolin audio sample of the tune. My playing is a bit stiff on the audio sample as I was trying to play the notes "cleanly".