On Avignon Bridge (Sur le pont d'Avignon) is a cheerful French folk song about dancing on a medieval bridge—Pont d'Avignon (also Pont Saint-Bénézet)—on the Rhône river in France. The dance was actually performed under the bridge and not on the bridge. Pont d'Avignon is a World Heritage Site.
Here's a translation of the lyrics for On Avignon Bridge:
On the bridge of Avignon
they are dancing there, they are dancing there.
On the bridge of Avignon
all dance in circles there.
The fine gentlemen go like this (bow)
and then again like this. Chorus
The beautiful ladies go like this (curtsy) ...
The young girls go like this (salute) ...
The musicians go like this (they all bow to women) ...
Study Tips
Melody
On Avignon Bridge consists mostly of stepwise melody, eighth note driven rhythm and 4-bar phrases. Alternate middle and index fingers (m-i) if you're playing fingerstyle. On Avignon Bridge should fall under your fingers with little struggle.
Listen to the Track
Before practicing, listen to the track so you can absorb the sound and feel of the music. The first four measures consist of an introduction made wholly of chords. The melody begins on the fifth measure: count 1-2 four times and play the melody!
On Avignon Bridge | Peter Kun Frary, ʻukulele
Play the Melody Now!
Practice the melody of On Avignon Bridge until smooth. Play along with the audio track to help shore up your rhythm.
Once the melody is smooth, work on the chords.
Chords
The challenge of On Avignon Bridge is wrangling the chords: five different chords with a harmonic rhythm of two changes per measure. It would be prudent to keep the strums as simple as possible. The Flat-Two Strum is recommend: strum downwards on every beat with the thumb (beats 1 and 2). This strum reinforces the duple feel of the beat.
Flat-Two Strum | Strum downwards on every beat with the thumb.
Boom-Chuck Strum
On the recording, I strum on the second half the beat, producing a boom-chuck rhythm. In other words, strum on "&" of a 1-&-2-& count pattern. The bass player is the "boom" whereas 'ukulele is the "chuck." Here's the sound of the Boom-Chuck Strum (melody omitted):
On Avignon Bridge | Peter Kun Frary, ʻukulele
This strum is more challenging and not required. However, if you wish to try it, learn the chords first with the Flat-Two Strum before trying the boom-chuck variation.
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Avignon Musings
Study Tips
Melody
Listen to the Track
Play the Melody Now!
Boom-Chuck Strum
Daily Review
