Mary Had a Little Lamb
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.
Mary had a little lamb
B
2nd thinnest
Little lamb, little lamb
B
2nd thinnest
Rhythm in words
Ma-ry had a lit-tle laaamb. Lit-tle laaamb, lit-tle laaamb.
How to play this
- 1Stay on the B string. Start at fret 3.
- 2Walk down 3, 1, 0, then back up to 1 and 3.
- 3The three 3s in a row are “lit-tle lamb.” Keep them even, then hold the last one.
- 4The second “little lamb” jumps up to fret 6. That is an F — a little skip, not the next fret.
Practice slowly
This is a great first melody because the fingers do not have to jump far. 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.