What a Friend We Have in Jesus 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 5̇ 5̇ 6̇ 5̇ 3̇ 1̇ 1̇ 6 (G5 G5 A5 G5 E5 C5 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

Joseph Scriven wrote the words in 1855. Charles C. Converse composed the tune in 1868. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

• What it covers. One verse in full: the hymn’s D.S. repeat of the last line is written out; rests are folded into the note before.
• Key. C major (printed in F major; moved up a fifth so it fits the tines).
• Simplified. In “O what peace we often forfeit” the second note is sharpened in the original (F sharp in F major, C sharp here); a kalimba in C has no C sharp, so it is played as C.
• Source. Transcribed from The Baptist Hymnal, for Use in the Church and Home (American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1902 printing), No. 406, “What a Friend” (C. C. Converse), p. 208.