Hot Cross Buns
Traditional
- Starts on
- B string, 3rd fret
- This excerpt
- Main melody
- Strings used
- B
- Written in
- Open-string version
The tab
Tab is short for tablature: a picture of the strings. Numbers are frets. 0 means play the string open.
Computer notes — not the original recording.
Hot cross buns
B
2nd thinnest
Hot cross buns
B
2nd thinnest
One a penny, two a penny
B
2nd thinnest
Hot cross buns
B
2nd thinnest
Rhythm in words
Hot cross buuns. Hot cross buuns. One-a-pen-ny two-a-pen-ny. Hot cross buuns.
How to play this
- 1Stay on the B string — the second-thinnest string.
- 23, then 1, then hold 0. That is “Hot cross buns.”
- 3“One a penny, two a penny” is eight short notes: four opens, then four 1s.
- 4Finish with 3, 1, hold 0 one more time.
Practice slowly
This is one of the shortest songs you can learn. A great first win. Start with Hear the notes at full speed or slower, then copy on the guitar. If a note buzzes, press a little closer to the fret wire — not in the middle of the space.
This arrangement is a simplified educational excerpt for learning. Playback is a computer playing the tab notes, not the original recording. It is not a full transcription and is not affiliated with Traditional.