Cross Reel — Mandolin Tab

Mandolin tab and sheet music with synced audio · Key of D · 120 BPM · 4/4 time · Scottish Reel · Beginner

Chords used in this arrangement: D, C, G.

This is a Shetland tune known as "Da Cross Reel," and on the island of Whalsay it went by the completely different name "General Howe". It's a cousin to the older Scottish mainland tune "Lasses of Stewarton," but Shetland fiddlers bent the structure into something lopsided that still works! Those asymmetrical phrases are part of the charm and part of the challenge. In D, the tune sits in a great range for mandolin, and that mix of smooth A-part runs and the choppier, stacked B-part figures keeps it interesting from start to finish. Aly Bain recorded it on The Silver Bow with Tom Anderson, so if you want to hear what it should feel like at full tilt, that's the recording to track down.

This page includes mandolin tablature, standard music notation, and a chord chart — printable as PDF and playable in sync with the original recording. Change the key, slow the tempo down, and loop the bars you want to practise.