Free Irish Sheet Music
The Minstrel Boy

Free Irish sheet music "The Minstrel Boy" with guitar tabs in two keys, and as a lead sheet in seven keys. (If you are interested in a fleshed-out piano accompaniment, go to this page where there is a beautiful piano arrangement.)

This lovely melody makes a very nice instrumental or vocal solo, and the words pull at the heartstrings.

The Minstrel Boy sheet music with guitar tabs

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

They fought like warrior-poets

As when the voice-over at the end of Braveheart says "they fought like warrior-poets", this is a song about a warrior, a soldier, a harper.

I love the words the minstrel says to his harp, "Thy songs were made for the pure and free - they shall never sound in slavery!" Then he breaks the strings rather than allow the enemy to capture it whole.

Black Hawk Down

From the movie Black Hawk Down (true story of a horrendous incident in Mogadishu during Bill Clinton's presidency), here is an audio of The Minstrel Boy:

FREEDOM!!!

The love of country, and especially the heroism of men embodied in this song, remind me of other Irish songs.

Actually, an awful lot of Irish songs do seem to be about battles for freedom, and DEFEAT.  This song is about the faithfulness of a young man, a bard, a warrior-poet, with the final words sung to his harp.

Here is page two of the version with guitar tabs, available (at the bottom of the page) in both the keys of C and D:

Minstrel Boy Irish music guitar tabs

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Try finger-picking the chords

Fingerpicking is particularly beautiful and well-suited to this free Irish sheet music.

The key of D is easier for young guitarists, perhaps, unless they have mastered the F chord (to go with the key of C), but even the Bm and F#m chords in the key of D are not difficult with practice.

With Irish music, you are going to end up using the Bm chord pretty early on, so get with it! 

Flat-pick in 2nd position

If your student wishes to flat-pick the melody in D, this is a good opportunity to explain "2nd position" to him. That is, using finger 1 in fret 2, finger 2 in fret 3, etc. 

Lead sheets in multiple keys

And here are lead sheets for The Minstrel Boy, in seven keys. If you are interested in a fleshed-out piano accompaniment, go to this page where there is a beautiful piano arrangement

The Minstrel Boy lead sheet, in several keys!

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Listen to this bagpiper! He's great!


The links to the guitar tabs:



Download "The Minstrel Boy" with guitar tabs in the key of C


Download "The Minstrel Boy" with guitar tabs in the key of D 



The links to the lead sheets:



Download free Irish sheet music "The Minstrel Boy" in key of A 



Download "The Minstrel Boy" in key of Bb 



Download Irish music "The Minstrel Boy" in key of C 



Download Irish music "The Minstrel Boy" in key of D 



Download Irish music "The Minstrel Boy" in key of Eb 



Download Irish music "The Minstrel Boy" in key of F 



Download Irish music "The Minstrel Boy" in key of G 

The piano arrangement: 


Go to this page...


Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!

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Comments

Music has such power to move the heart... do you have a story or a question about this music?


About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.