Carol of the Bells kalimba tabs

How to read this tab

• Numbers are steps of the scale. 1 is C, 2 is D, up to 7 for B. A dot above a number means one octave higher; two dots, two octaves higher. The song starts 1̇ 7 1̇ 6 1̇ 7 1̇ 6 (C5 B4 C5 A4 C5 B4 C5 A4).
• Gaps mark bars. Each group is one bar of music. The tab shows which tine to play, not how long to hold it; press Listen on the play-along page to hear the rhythm.
• Other kalimbas. On an 8-, 10- or 21-key kalimba in C the numbers mean the same notes, as long as the tines you need are there.

About the song

The melody is “Shchedryk” by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, first performed in 1916 and built on a four-note folk chant. This page has the melody only: the English words of “Carol of the Bells” were written in 1936 and are still under copyright. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

• What it covers. The soprano line of Leontovych’s “Shchedryk”; the opening four-note bell figure is written 4 times here (the choir sings it 16 times).
• Key. A minor (engraved in G minor; moved up a whole step).
• Simplified. The two rising runs use F sharp and G sharp in the original; a kalimba in C has neither, so they are played as F and G.
• Source. Transcribed from Wikipedia score of Mykola Leontovych’s “Shchedryk” (soprano part).