Cherokee Shuffle, Marcel Ardans (Intermediate)

Information on Cherokee Shuffle courtesy of The Traditional Tune Archive.

Cherokee Shuffle is the first crooked fiddle tune that many flatpickers learn. The B part has an extra couple measures but it feels very natural. Also, the B part, and the key, are the only two things that separate this tune from the fiddle tune Lost Indian recorded by Tommy Magness. Tommy Jackson changed the key and the B part and created Cherokee Shuffle, which is now considered to be the West Coast version of Lost Indian. After Jackson updated the tune and changed the name in the 1970’s, it has exploded and become a jam standard. This version is a straight melody with the capo on 2nd fret playing out of the G position, the standard flatpicking way.

(Intermediate guitar tabs include an ornamented version of the melody, chord markings above, and more often than not, a kick-off and a tag. Where the beginning guitar tabs had quarter notes expect there to now be a steady stream of eighth notes! These tabs, though more difficult than the beginning tabs, do not stray far from the melody like the advanced guitar tabs. Intermediate tabs without a bluegrass kick-off or tag generally come from other traditions such as Irish Fiddle Music (Frank’s Reel) or Spanish Folk Songs (La Borrachita).)