This month’s free tab is an arrangement of the hymn “Safe in the Arms of Jesus”. The words were written by one of America's most prolific hymn writers, Frances Jane VanAlstyne, better known as Fanny Crosby. She is said to have written more than 8,000 poems during her lifetime, the vast majority of which were of a religious nature that eventually were paired with melodies and made into hymns. Fanny was blind from the age of 6 weeks. At 15 she enrolled in the New York Institute for the Blind. She was a student there for 8 years and upon graduation, she accepted a faculty position.

Read More

This month’s free tab is an arrangement of another classic Tin Pan Alley era tune. Composer Larry Shay had just completed work on his first big hit “When You’re Smiling” in 1928 (see the free tab entry for June 2025). Later that same year, he collaborated with lyricists Charles Tobias and William Jerome to come up with “Get Out and Get Under the Moon”. The song captures the carefree spirit of the Jazz Age, encouraging listeners to shake off their worries and bask in the glow of moonlight — a sentiment that resonated deeply during a decade of both exuberance and uncertainty.

Read More

"When You're Smiling" is a classic tune from the Tin Pan Alley era, first published in 1928 by composers Larry Shay, Mark Fisher, and Joe Goodwin. The song quickly gained popularity, with early recordings by Seger Ellis and Louis Armstrong, the latter of whom helped cement its status as a jazz standard. Over the years, the song has been interpreted by a diverse array of artists, including Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, and Michael Bublé. The sentiment of its simple yet uplifting lyrics has resonated with audiences for nearly a century.

Read More