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SongsLinstead Market
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  1. 3,
  2. 5,
  3. 5,
  4. 5,
  5. 3,
  6. 4,
  7. 5,
  8. 6,
  9. 6,
  10. 5,
  11. 5,
  12. ·
  13. 4,
  14. 3,
  15. 2,
  16. 3,
  17. 4,
  18. 5,
  19. ·
  20. 3,
  21. 4,
  22. 3,
  23. 2,
  24. 1,
  25. 7,,
  26. 1,
  27. 2,
  28. 3,
  29. 2,
  30. 1,
  31. ·
  32. 3,
  33. 5,
  34. 5,
  35. 5,
  36. 3,
  37. 4,
  38. 5,
  39. 6,
  40. 6,
  41. 5,
  42. 5,
  43. ·
  44. 4,
  45. 3,
  46. 2,
  47. 3,
  48. 4,
  49. 5,
  50. ·
  51. 3,
  52. 4,
  53. 3,
  54. 2,
  55. 3,
  56. 2,
  57. 1,
  58. ·
  59. 7,,
  60. 1,
  61. 2,
  62. 3,
  63. 2,
  64. 1,

Jamaican traditional; as printed by Walter Jekyll in “Jamaican Song and Story”, 1907, No. 121. Public domain.

4 strings · C2–A3 open · E5 up the A string in thumb position · Perfect fifths, exactly an octave below a viola. The C string is the deepest note in a string quartet.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never stops. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they run down the strings, the A at the top — hold a key and the note holds.

CelloFree · printable · plays in your browser

Linstead Market — Cello Notes

Linstead Market, written out for the cello as every note with its string and how far up it. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the cello waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes58, 7 pitches
  • RangeB2–A3
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo190 bpm · about 30 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a cello play Linstead Market?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the cello, in C major from B2 to A3. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Linstead Market: cello notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Linstead Market — cello notes · tonalics.com

The 7 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 7 and you can play the whole tune.

  • BG·4×2
  • CG·5×6
  • DD·0×9
  • ED·2×15
  • FD·3×8
  • GD·5×14
  • AA·0×4

What to expect on a cello

  • It runs from B2 to A3, a minor seventh, using 7 different notes. That leaves 11 semitones unused below and 19 above.
  • 88% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, C3 to E3, at note 29.
  • It is played on 3 strings (G, D and A), crossing between strings 11 times.
  • 13 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 5 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

A Jamaican folk song about a market woman who carries her ackee to Linstead on a Saturday night and sells none of it. The tab follows the earliest printed version, No. 121 in Walter Jekyll’s Jamaican Song and Story of 1907.

Jamaican traditional; as printed by Walter Jekyll in “Jamaican Song and Story”, 1907, No. 121. Public domain. More about Linstead Market →

Linstead Market on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng or handpan, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the cello

All 36 cello songs · Christmas songs for cello · The online cello on its own

Playing it on a real cello?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The cello tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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