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Limehouse Blues Banjo Tabs

Philip Braham

Limehouse Blues Banjo Tablature: One Song, Many Styles

Recomended level: Intermediate

Tags: #swing music, #jazz, #instrumental, #medium-tempo

"Limehouse Blues" is a hit song authored by Douglas Furber (lyrics) and Philip Braham (music) in London. Recruited to replace an ailing Beatrice Lillie in A to Z, Gertrude Lawrence was reassigned the "Limehouse Blues" number that Lawrence stilld when she made her Broadway debut in André Charlot's Revue in 1924: Lawrence's Broadway performance of the "Limehouse Blues" number proved to be a "Showstopper", making her a Broadway star: "' Limehouse Blues ' quickly became iconic. For his 2015 album release Runnin's Wild Songs and Scandals of the Roaring '20s 2015 album release, Mark Nadler recorded "Limehouse Blues" in conjunction with "Limehouse Nights." "Limehouse Blues" gave its name to a portion of the 1946 film Ziegfeld Follies starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer, both in the Oriental style: the story of a coolie trying to get a fan to give to a beautiful woman who caught his attention, framing a fantasy dance sequence between Astaire and Bremer scored in the tune of "Limehouse Blues." The 1999 film Sweet and Lowdown - written and directed by Woody Allen like Alice - premieres a version of 'Limehouse Blues' performed by Howard Alden and the Dick Hyman Group: the number is entitled 'Limehouse Blues/Mystery Pacific' as Alden acts as a prelude to 'Limehouse Blues' as the train imitation that opens the Django Reinhardt composition 'Mystery Pacific.'"

Learn how to play Limehouse Blues on Banjo with this selection of tablatures:

  • Banjo Limehouse Blues Scruggs Style

    Scruggs Style

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      125 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    The chord changes may be intimidating, but if you have your basic rolls and Scruggs riffs down, give this one a try. It is so much fun to play!

    Learn
  • Banjo Limehouse Blues Melodic Style

    Melodic Style

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      112 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This Jazz tune can be found at a lot of high level bluegrass jams. Don Reno brought it into our world, along with Django fans. This arrangement has straight melody followed by perpet...

    Learn
  • Banjo Limehouse Blues Single String Style

    Single String Style

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This arrangement is just the foundational melody. If you are going to play any tune you need to know it. Whether it's a bluegrass, fiddle, or jazz tune, the melody is what the chords...

    Learn



Practicing Tips

Embark on a jazz-infused journey with ‚Limehouse Blues‘, a swing music classic presented in bluegrass banjo tablatures tailored for intermediate players. This resource guides you through Scruggs, Melodic, and Single String Styles. An instrumental track with a medium-tempo pace, ‚Limehouse Blues‘ offers a fantastic opportunity to expand your skillset and enrich your musical repertoire.


The Tunefox platform brings a trove of handy features to aid your learning. One such feature is the Lick Switcher, which allows you to add new licks to your vocabulary and view the song from diverse perspectives. It affords the ability to change the licks for individual measures, presenting a myriad of variations for the song. You can fully customize the arrangement according to your preference while learning novel ways to interpret the tune. Simply tap the measure to reveal its hidden licks.


The Arrange slider is your tool for setting a bespoke difficulty level. Swiping left will remove many of the 'fill-in' notes for a simpler, core arrangement displayed in the tablature. Swiping right brings all extra notes back into play, fleshing out the arrangement and unmasking the full song. The tempo slider is a valuable tool for altering the song's tempo as per your ability and comfort level.


Engage with backing tracks for a more enjoyable practice session. Indulge in the essence of learning bluegrass: playing and experimenting. The platform provides real sounding backing tracks to accompany your practice and prepare for your next jam. Select and repeat specific measures to focus your learning. Use the 'Speed Up' feature for increases in playback tempo that gradually build up to higher speeds. Starting at a comfortable speed, this function nudges up the tempo each time you play through the song for a progressive challenge.


Remember, practice is paramount. Develop a regular routine and stick to it. Avoid rushing through the song – respectively take your time to master each part before moving on. Experiment with your style, inject your personality into the song, and make it your own. Enjoy the learning process and remain patient, soon you'll be playing 'Limehouse Blues' with flair and precision.