Bill Cheatum mandolin tabs

More about Bill Cheatum

Bill Cheatum is an old jig-style tune that can be played on the mandolin in either an intermediate or bluegrass arrangement. The tune is traditionally arranged in the key of A and is regularly featured in American jig bands. The Intermediate arrangement features a steady yet light rhythm that can be danced to. The Bluegrass arrangement features faster tempos and more intricate mandolin picking patterns to create the traditional lively sound associated with American bluegrass music. Bill Cheatum is known under many names, some include "Cheatum," "Cheat 'Em," "Old Bill Cheatum." This fiddle tune is common throughout the southern part of the country, which is where it found its origin. The name “Old Bill Cheatum”, was first heard in the Ozarks mountains and was compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph. It was published in 1954 by Randolph. The earliest recording of the tune was done by Texas fiddler Eck Robertson in 1922 and it was part of his “Brilliancy Medley”. Other versions includes “Cheat Em” by the Allen brothers and "Fiddlin' Arthur Smith" from Tennessee did his own rendition in 1940. “Bill Cheatum” has no doubt experienced a long bout of popularity and bluegrass and old-time music and is a staple at fiddler's conventions and jam sessions.

Here you will find 4 different ways to play Bill Cheatum on mandolin. The beginner Bill Cheatum tab will show you how to play the basic melody line. Once you feel comfortable playing that then move on to learning the intermediate arrangement, which will teach you how to incorporate more 16th notes. Finally, the advanced Bill Cheatum tab shows you how to really show your playing off with some flash bluegrass licks all based on the melody.

There are a ton of tools in the Tunefox app that will help you learn Bill Cheatum tabs more efficiently and effectively. Use the tempo control slider to slow down the whole song, or isolate problematic measures. You can also activate the "Speed Up" tool to speed up isolated measures each time they loop. Use the "Memory Train" tool to hide more and more notes each time you play through the song.

Get creative with this arrangement of Bill Cheatum by using the Tunefox Lick Switcher feature. This tool lets you decide what licks you’d like to learn in the song and helps you better understand improvisation and creativity within the chord changes of Bill Cheatum. Shuffle all of the licks in this tab to create an entirely new version of the song.

All arrangements of Bill Cheatum include flexible backing tracks, allowing you to change the volume of the main instrument, full band, or metronome to suit your practice needs.

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