Moonlight Sonata 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 3 6 1̇ 3 6 1̇ 3 6 (E4 A4 C5 E4 A4 C5 E4 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

The first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, published in 1802. The nickname “Moonlight” was not Beethoven’s: it came from a critic some years after his death. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

• What it covers. The opening of the first movement: the rolling triplets, bars 1-5 (each note is one triplet eighth).
• Key. A minor (the original is in C sharp minor).
• Simplified. Bars 3 and 4 use B flat and G sharp in this key; a kalimba in C has neither, so they are played as B and G. The quiet melody that enters on top in bar 5 is not included.
• Source. Transcribed from Mutopia Project Piano Sonata No. 14 Op. 27 No. 2, first movement, the triplet voice, bars 1-5 (a typeset of a 1908 edition, shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 licence).