Auld Lang Syne for ukulele

There are many versions of Auld Lang Syne, which is traditionally sung to bring in the new year. The original one is beautiful but rarely heard these days. The lyrics come from the Scottish poet Robert Burns and the song is also celebrated on Burns’ Night.

One afternoon while driving in New England, I heard an interview on National Public Radio (NPR) with the Scottish folk singer Jim Malcolm, whose first instrument was the ukulele. He sang songs with words by Robert Burns in anticipation of Burns’ Night. As my ukulele club in London will be celebrating this annual tradition without me, I decided to look into ukulele arrangements for the “Auld Lang Syne,” hence “Auld Lang Syne for ukulele.”

The easiest accompaniment uses the four most often used chords in any key: I, IV, V, and VI. In the key of C, they are C, F, G, and Am. In the key of F, they are F, Bb, C, and Dm. In the key of G, they are G, C, D, Em.

Of course, it’s possible to substitute more interesting, and I should say, exotic chords such as seventh and diminished seventh chords. I took the easy version in C major and modulated to F major with a sequence of C, Cmaj7, and C7.

A low G tuning on the fourth string gives it a bigger range but it’s not necessary. To fingerpick the melody in C major, you need a low G ukulele. However, a high G ukulele will do for fingerpicking the melody in F major. It’s a nice transition from C to F major because of the perfect fourth interval in the first two melodic notes.

Visit my YouTube Channel to see ukulele playalong videos and other recordings made for educational purposes. This song is an example of material produced for my fingerstyle ukulele classes.