Ding Dong Merrily on High Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

Ding Dong Merrily on High kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is the verse and the Gloria refrain: 68 notes on 8 tines, from G4 up to G5.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/dingdong/

Number tab

The number tab read aloud, one sentence per group. “High” stands for one dot above the number and “very high” for two. high 1, high 1, high 2, high 1, 7, 6. 5, 5. 6, high 1, high 1, 7. high 1, high 1. high 1, high 1, high 2, high 1, 7, 6. 5, 5. 6, high 1, high 1, 7. high 1, high 1. high 5, high 4, high 3, high 4, high 5, high 3. high 4, high 3, high 2, high 3, high 4, high 2. high 3, high 2, high 1, high 2, high 3, high 1. high 2, high 1, 7, high 1, high 2, 7. high 1, 7, 6, 7, high 1, 6. 7, 6, 5, 5. 6, high 1, high 1, 7. high 1, high 1.

Letter notes

C₅C₅D₅C₅B₄A₄G₄G₄A₄C₅C₅B₄C₅C₅C₅C₅D₅C₅B₄A₄G₄G₄A₄C₅C₅B₄C₅C₅G₅F₅E₅F₅G₅E₅F₅E₅D₅E₅F₅D₅E₅D₅C₅D₅E₅C₅D₅C₅B₄C₅D₅B₄C₅B₄A₄B₄C₅A₄B₄A₄G₄G₄A₄C₅C₅B₄C₅C₅

Tines you need

The long tine in the middle is 1 (C4). Notes climb outward, alternating left and right, so neighbours on the same side are two steps apart.

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 1̇ 2̇ 1̇ 7 6 5 5 (C5 C5 D5 C5 B4 A4 G4 G4).
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 tune is a French dance, the “Branle de l’Official”, printed in Thoinot Arbeau’s Orchésographie in 1589. George Ratcliffe Woodward’s words were published in 1924. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

What it covers. Verse and the “Gloria, hosanna in excelsis” refrain.
Key. C major (engraved in B-flat major).
Source. Transcribed from Wikipedia score (soprano line, repeats written out).