In this bluegrass guitar lesson, you’ll learn “Billy in the Lowground,” a classic traditional fiddle tune and one of the bluegrass standards you’ll probably hear at bluegrass jams and picking sessions. With roots stretching back hundreds of years, “Billy in the Lowground” has become a favorite tune for bluegrass flatpicking guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and other acoustic instruments.
The history behind “Billy in the Lowground” is pretty interesting. The melody has been traced to older British, Scottish, and Irish music, and one popular story associates the “Billy” in the title with King William III (William of Orange) and the Battle of the Boyne, fought in Ireland in 1690. Like many traditional fiddle tunes passed down through generations, its exact origins are difficult to pin down, but that history is part of what makes traditional bluegrass and old-time music so interesting.
We’re going to play “Billy in the Lowground” in the key of C, which is the most common key for this tune and a great key for working on bluegrass guitar flatpicking, fiddle-tune melodies, alternate picking, and classic bluegrass guitar licks.
I’ve put together two different flatpicking guitar arrangements for you:
ARRANGEMENT 1 stays close to the traditional melody and gives you a solid version of “Billy in the Lowground” that you can take to your next bluegrass jam. If you enjoy learning traditional fiddle tunes like this one, you might also like my Beaumont Rag guitar lesson and Over the Waterfall flatpicking lesson.
ARRANGEMENT 2 takes things a step further with more advanced bluegrass guitar licks and flatpicking runs inspired by the styles of Billy Strings and Doc Watson.
Download the guitar tablature for both arrangements below and follow along with the video lesson.
To practice along, you’ll need to CAPO 1st FRET.
After you’re done here