Foot Tapper tunes

To see all columns: view on a wider screen

This is Mark & Paul’s collection: rock and pop for rhythm & lead guitar, plus some folky stuff for rhythm + mandolin

↓ sort by clicking headings ↓ filter by entering text ↓

Reset order

set	tune(s)		tasting notes	lead	MP3	score	tab	XML	date
					↓   ↓ downloads ↓   ↓				bold = changed in last 6 months
New/revived
Arthur McBlanket	Arthur McBride | Snug in the blanket trad. Ireland	New/revived	Two jigs in the same key, one lumpy and one straight. They flow nicely into one another. From the playing of Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick. Includes chords	Mandolin			—		07/08/2024
Bye bye, love 08/2025 new	Bye bye, love Everly Brothers 1957	New/revived	A good ol’ 4-on-the-floor 2 minute pop classic. We’ve moved it up from F to A for singability reasons. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					19/08/2025
California dreamin' 07/2025 not played yet	California dreamin’ Mamas & Papas 1963	New/revived	When pop gets sophisticated you can end up with something like this haunting, atmospheric gem. And if you ever wondered where to play a Bm⁷(♭5)/E, this tune has the answer (though the original was in C#m, not the Am of this version). Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					30/07/2025
Dakota	Dakota Shadows 1964	New/revived	An unusual Shads tune: not guitar but harmonica… which we don’t play, so here it is back on the guitar. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					17/07/2024
Do it again 08/2025 not played yet	Do it again Beach Boys 1968	New/revived	The “we don’t really surf these days, just chill at the beach” song. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					07/08/2025
French ambassador set	French ambassador | Nonesuch Playford	New/revived	Playford is often associated with dull tunes for old folks shuffling across the dance floor, but these two are bright and lively. The first features a novel chord progression to keep the rhythm guitarist guessing. The second is less subtle but makes a striking digestif. Includes chords	Mandolin			—		01/04/2024
Hi ho silver lining 08/2025 not played yet	Hi ho silver lining Jeff Beck 1967	New/revived	Classic sing-along crowd-pleaser. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					07/08/2025
London kid	London kid JM Jarre 1988	New/revived	A lovely tune – soaring, stately and stirring. Written by Jarre for Destination Docklands, a 1988 concert on a 1,000 tonne barge in London docks in the wind and rain, and featuring Hank Marvin on lead guitar. Includes tab & chords	Guitar					22/12/2024
Maggie May	Maggie May Rod Stewart 1971	New/revived	Rod’s story is longer than the tune, so we cut out one verse + chorus in making it an instrumental. Everyone knows the lovely mando solo at the end, but there’s not enough time to switch instruments… so here it’s on guitar instead. Includes lead tab & chords	Guitar					22/12/2024
Mamma mia 08/2025 improved version	Mamma mia Abba 1975	New/revived	What started as a bit of a filler for Abba’s third album was never intended as a single, never mind the hook for two films… so the band was far from omniscient! Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					22/12/2024
No particular place to go 08/2025 not played yet	No particular place to go Chuck Berry 1964	New/revived	Classic Chuck: simple, driving, fun. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					07/08/2025
Rock around the clock 08/2025 new	Rock around the clock Bill Haley & his Comets 1953	New/revived	The song that popularised rock & roll (Mark’s mum bought it as a 78 circa 1955, despite being mainly a classical fan.) Includes chords & lead tab. [See Walk don’t rock for our instrumental version.]	Guitar					10/08/2025
Shazam!	Shazam! Shadows 1960	New/revived	A classic from the early days of the electric guitar, from Duane Eddy & Lee Hazlewood. So 1950s! (Actually written in 1960, but sounds earlier.) Includes lead tab and chords	Guitar					22/12/2024
Things we said today	Things we said today Beatles 1964	New/revived	Musically rather sophisticated for a pop song: Am for the verse and A for the chorus, with the occasional B♭ just to keep us on our toes. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					17/07/2024
Core
And I love her 08/2025 vox & improved tab	And I love her Beatles 1964	Core	Tough on rhythm players not used to playing in F♯m & Gm, but a lovely relaxed tune. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					11/08/2025
Apache	Apache Shadows 1960	Core	If you only know one Shadows tune it’s probably this one. It’s been covered by Incredible bongo band, Sugarhill gang and many others, and was adopted as the unofficial anthem of US sports team The Minnesota Lynx. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					10/08/2024
Blue star 03/2025 refreshed	Blue star Shadows 1961	Core	A lovely dreamy tune, surprisingly with its origins as the theme tune of the 1950s US TV series Medic. Includes lead tab and chords	Guitar					23/03/2025
Carthy's lemon	Carthy's march | The lemon tree Dave Swarbrick	Core	Swarbrick claimed to have written Carthy’s March in his sleep, then found he couldn’t play it so went back to bed until he could. The second tune came to him when picking a lemon off the tree for his G&T at Trevor Lucas’s wake in Sydney. Includes chords	Mandolin			—		01/04/2024
Dance on	Dance on! Shadows 1962	Core	Written by Elaine Murtagh with Valerie Murtagh & Ray Adams (all of The Avons). The whammy bar dip and the high widdly bit are fun. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					06/08/2024
Eight days a week 03/2025 re-refreshed (there were 4 bars missing!)	Eight days a week Beatles 1964	Core	The most noted feature of this track on Beatles for Sale (1964) is the fade-in. Which we don’t play. But it’s a fine breezy straightforward tune. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					28/03/2025
Foot tapper 08/2025 improved tab	Foot tapper Shadows 1963	Core	Marvin & Welch didn’t just play this one; they wrote it too. Lively and fun, with plenty of left-arm action for the lead player. We nicked the title for our duo. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					12/08/2025
Geronimo	Geronimo Shadows 1963	Core	Written by Hank Marvin with, presumably, the earlier success of Apache in mind, it “gallops along well” in the words of one reviewer. Includes chords & led tab	Guitar					06/08/2024
Godiva 08/2025 re-refreshed	Horse's bransle | Bear dance Arbeau | trad. Flanders	Core	A couple of rollicking old French tunes, here given a few variations. (Bare + horse = Godiva, in case you were wondering.) Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					02/02/2025
Hard day's night 08/2025 vox & improved tab	Hard day's night Beatles 1964	Core	Fun and reasonably easy tune. We mixed it up a bit here for a more varied instrumental. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					11/08/2025
I want to hold your hand 08/2025 improved version	I want to hold your hand Beatles 1963	Core	The Beatles’ megahit that would have gone straight into the UK chart at no. 1 but for their previous meagahit She loves you. It was also the group’s first US no. 1. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					03/08/2023
If I fell 08/2025 vox & improved tab	If I fell Beatles 1964	Core	From the Hard day’s night film and often underrated. It’s a chance to practise your D9 and Gm. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					13/08/2025
Lily of Laguna 03/2025 refreshed	Lily of Laguna music hall	Core	A British music hall song for blackface performers, until rewritten in the 1950s as a straight love song. It’s jolly, quirky and a bit tricky. This arrangement is for a clog dance performed by Aldbrickham Clog & Step Dancers. Includes chords	Mandolin			—		23/03/2025
Night before 08/2025 vox & improved tab	Night before Beatles 1965	Core	From the Beatles’ second film Help! It’s surprisingly widely covered by others. Our version skips the bridge, which seems a bit rambling and meh. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					08/08/2025
Please please me 08/2025 vox & improved tab	Please please me Beatles 1963	Core	The Beatles’ breakout single. In this version the lead player has to move swiftly between II, IX & II again to try to capture the intro, but after than it settles down. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					08/08/2025
Princess Royal 03/2025 refreshed	Princess Royal trad. England	Core	Like the best folk tunes, it’s claimed by several nations: England, Ireland (O’Carolan) & Scotland (Gow). “Princess Royal” is said to refer to a title given Anne, daughter of King George II of England, in 1727. Whatever, it’s used by many morris dance sides, and sounds as if it belongs. Includes chords	Mandolin			—		23/03/2025
Theme for young lovers	Theme for young lovers Shadows 1964	Core	Written as an instrumental by the Shadows’ Bruce Welch, it was turned into the German song Ich werde dich lieben for Marlene Dietrich, which was later covered by Nena (of 99 red balloons fame). We’ve kept it as an instrumental. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					22/12/2024
Wall of death 08/2025 vox & better arrangement	Wall of death Richard Thompson 1982	Core	This is as close to a crowd-pleaser as anything in guitar legend Richard Thompson’s huge œuvre. We don’t play it quite like the album, but in performance nor does he. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					12/08/2025
While my guitar gently weeps	While my guitar gently weeps Beatles	Core		Guitar					01/04/2024
You've got to hide your love away	You've got to hide your love away Beatles	Core		Guitar					01/04/2024
Part-time
Chattanooga choo choo 08/2025 refined	Chattanooga choo choo Harry Warren / Glenn Miller band 1941	Part-time	The original recording featured in the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, but this one follows a later Shadows version. The most obvious difference – apart from the lack of a big band – is that Miller’s swung beat is here played straight. Includes guitar tab & chords	Guitar					19/08/2025
Dill pickles rag 08/2025 improved, mando tab added	Dill pickles rag Charles L Johnson 1906	Part-time	A novelty rag by American Charles L Johnson, publisher and prolific composer, especially of cakewalk and ragtime pieces. Has a lovely swing. This version is based on the playing of Dave Swarbrick. Includes chords and mando tab	Mandolin					19/08/2025
Flyder and the spy	Flyder and the spy Shadows	Part-time		Guitar					06/08/2024
Peace pipe	Peace pipe Shadows	Part-time		Guitar					10/08/2024
Pterodactyl twostep 03/2025 refreshed	Pterodactyl twostep / Drowsy dragon Huw & Tony Williams	Part-time	Lovely bonkers tune for melodeon from Huw & Tony Williams’s album Unplugged and Unrelated. A bit tricky on the mando, but worth persisting. Includes chords	Mandolin			—		23/03/2025
Shindig	Shindig Shadows	Part-time		Guitar					10/08/2024
Wonderful land 03/2025 refreshed	Wonderful land Shadows	Part-time	Pleasingly lyrical tune, even without the brass & strings the Shads used on the single. Includes lead tab and chords	Guitar					28/03/2025
Resting
Albatross MP3: slides & bends a bit shonky	Albatross Fleetwood Mac	Resting		Guitar				—	09/09/2017
Bernie Lind 03/2025 refreshed	Uncle Bernard's | Jenny Lind trad. England | trad. everywhere	Resting	A couple of lively polkas, claimed variously by England, Ireland, Shetland, Germany, Canada & USA – they’re that good! Includes chords	Mandolin			—		28/03/2025
Bond theme	Bond theme Monty Norman	Resting		Guitar					17/08/2024
Bright lights	I want to see the bright lights tonight Richard Thompson	Resting		Guitar					17/07/2024
Father Ted theme	Father Ted theme adapted from Songs of love	Resting		Guitar				—	21/09/2017
FBI	FBI Shadows	Resting		Guitar				—	15/09/2017
Fiery python	Fiery clockface | Liberty bell trad. England | Sousa	Resting		Guitar				—	23/09/2017
Frightened city	Frightened city Shadows	Resting		Guitar					17/08/2024
Kon Tiki (in B) potential new tune	Kon Tiki Shadows version is in A	Resting		Guitar					24/11/2023
Make me smile	Make me smile (come up and see me) Steve Harley	Resting		Guitar					22/08/2024
Man of mystery	Man of mystery Shadows	Resting		Guitar				—	21/09/2017
Moonlight shadow	Moonlight shadow Oldfield	Resting		Guitar					30/01/2024
Mozart forte	Mozart forte	Resting		Guitar				—	26/07/2018
Rise and fall of Flingel Bunt	Rise and fall of Flingel Bunt Shadows	Resting		Guitar					10/08/2024
Satisfaction 01/2025 not played yet	Satisfaction Rolling Stones	Resting		Guitar					14/01/2025
Sierra delta charlie	Staines morris | Dam busters | The galop ("can-can")	Resting		Guitar				—	24/10/2017
Silence is golden	Silence is golden Tremeloes	Resting		Guitar					30/11/2022
Spaghetti suite	Sixty seconds to what? | For a few dollars more | The good, the bad and the ugly	Resting		Guitar				—	04/10/2017
Strike theme 02/2025 new	I walk beside you Johnston, Letts	Resting	The haunting and succulent theme tune from BBC TV’s [Cormoran] Strike series, as sung by Beth Rowley. Includes chords & lead tab	Guitar					02/02/2025
Telstar	Telstar Tornados	Resting		Guitar					17/08/2024
Thing-me-jig	Thing-me-jig	Resting		Guitar				—	21/07/2018
Walk don't boogie 24x7	Walk don't run | Yes sir, I can boogie | Rock around the clock	Resting	—Middle tune didn’t really fit – see now Walk don’t rock 24x7—	Guitar				—	02/10/2017
Walk don't rock 24x7	Walk don’t run | Rock around the clock rock & roll	Resting	Two tunes that go together like chalk and cheese, but somehow work anyway. Includes chords & lead tab. [See Rock around the clock for our arrangement of tune 2 as a song.]	Guitar					22/12/2024
Warlord	Warlord Shadows	Resting		Guitar				—	30/09/2017
					MP3s ↑ should play back with your system’s default player		↑ MXL is compressed music XML. Either should work with most notation apps