O Little Town of Bethlehem 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 3̇ 3̇ 3̇ 2̇ 3̇ 5̇ 4̇ 6 (E5 E5 E5 D5 E5 G5 F5 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

Phillips Brooks wrote the words in 1868 and Lewis Redner wrote this tune, “St. Louis”, the same year. In Britain the carol is usually sung to a different tune. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

• What it covers. Whole tune (Lewis Redner’s US tune ST. LOUIS).
• Key. C major (printed in F major).
• Simplified. The third note of “O little town” (and of the last line) is a sharpened note in the original (G sharp in F major); a kalimba in C has no D sharp, so it is played as D.
• Source. Transcribed from Mutopia Project “St. Louis” (cyberhymnal transcription), soprano line.