Korobeiniki Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

Korobeiniki kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is the whole folk tune: 51 notes on 10 tines, from E4 up to A5.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/korobeiniki/

Number tab

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

Letter notes

E₄G₄B₄G₄E₄A₄C₅E₅D₅C₅B₄C₅D₅E₅C₅A₄A₄F₅G₅A₅G₅F₅E₅F₅E₅D₅C₅B₄C₅D₅E₅C₅A₄A₄F₅G₅A₅G₅F₅E₅F₅E₅D₅C₅B₄C₅D₅E₅C₅A₄A₄

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 3 5 7 5 3 6 1̇ 3̇ (E4 G4 B4 G4 E4 A4 C5 E5).
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

A Russian folk song, sung to an 1861 poem by Nikolay Nekrasov. Outside Russia the tune is best known from a 1980s puzzle video game; this tab follows the folk song, which differs in places from the game’s version. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

What it covers. The folk tune, with its second half repeated.
Key. A minor (as engraved).
Simplified. The first bar climbs through G sharp in the original; a kalimba in C has no G sharp, so it is played as G.
Source. Transcribed from Wikipedia score of the folk tune. The tune is also in Florence Hudson Botsford, Folk Songs of Many Peoples, vol. 1 (The Womans Press, New York, 1921), p. 100, as “The Peddler”, with small differences.