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Banks of the Ohio guitar tabs & chords

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  • Beginner

    Banks of the Ohio is a good old murder ballad. Make sure you check out Tony Rice’s rendition of this off of his record, “Guitar.”

    • Key G
    • 70 bpm
    • Tuning EADGBE
    Play Beginner

  • Intermediate

    This intermediate rendition of Banks of the Ohio is still fairly sparse in the beginning and as it develops, brings in more scalar ideas. It’s a good one to practice accenting the melody.

    • Key G
    • 90 bpm
    • Tuning EADGBE
    Play Intermediate

  • Advanced

    This version of Banks of the Ohio starts out with a crosspicking arrangement and seamlessly moves into some longer melody phrasing. Practice tip: Loop individual measures and then piece them together.

    • Key G
    • 100 bpm
    • Tuning EADGBE
    Play Advanced

More about Banks of the Ohio Guitar song

Guitar Banks of the Ohio tab

"Banks of the Ohio" is a 19th-century murder ballad about a murder at a riverbank committed by a young man named "Willie." The first recording of this song was in 1927 by Red Patterson's Piedmont Log Rollers. The Monroe Brothers recorded this song in 1936 and it's been covered by countless others such as Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Joan Baez, Olivia Newton-John, and more. It's become a bluegrass standard and has set the tone for many other murder ballads in the genre.