Für Elise Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

Für Elise kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is the opening theme: 35 notes on 8 tines, from C4 up to E5.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/elise/

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 3, high 2. high 3, high 2, high 3, 7, high 2, high 1. 6, 1, 3, 6. 7, 3, 5, 7. high 1, 3, high 3, high 2. high 3, high 2, high 3, 7, high 2, high 1. 6, 1, 3, 6. 7, 3, high 1, 7. 6.

Letter notes

E₅D₅E₅D₅E₅B₄D₅C₅A₄C₄E₄A₄B₄E₄G₄B₄C₅E₄E₅D₅E₅D₅E₅B₄D₅C₅A₄C₄E₄A₄B₄E₄C₅B₄A₄

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 3̇ 2̇ 3̇ 2̇ 3̇ 7 2̇ 1̇ (E5 D5 E5 D5 E5 B4 D5 C5).
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

Beethoven wrote this piano piece in 1810. It was not published until 1867, forty years after he died. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

What it covers. The famous opening theme (bars 1-8, the right-hand notes).
Key. A minor (as written).
Simplified. The theme rocks between E and D sharp, and one arpeggio has a G sharp; a kalimba in C has neither, so they are played as D and G. This is the usual way the piece is played on a kalimba.
Source. Transcribed from Mutopia Project “Für Elise” WoO 59, right hand; Mutopia’s source: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1888.