Rock-a-bye Baby Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

Rock-a-bye Baby kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is the whole tune: 37 notes on 9 tines, from E4 up to F5.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/rockabye/

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, high 3, high 2, high 1. 3, 5, high 1, 7. 4, 5, high 4, high 3, high 2. high 2, high 1, 6, 5. 3, 5, high 3, high 2, high 1. 3, 5, high 1, 7, 6. 5, high 1, high 4, high 3, high 1. high 2, 6, 7, high 1.

Letter notes

E₄G₄E₅D₅C₅E₄G₄C₅B₄F₄G₄F₅E₅D₅D₅C₅A₄G₄E₄G₄E₅D₅C₅E₄G₄C₅B₄A₄G₄C₅F₅E₅C₅D₅A₄B₄C₅

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 3̇ 2̇ 1̇ 3 5 1̇ (E4 G4 E5 D5 C5 E4 G4 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

The words are from Mother Goose’s Melody, printed around 1765. This tune is credited to Effie I. Canning and was published in the 1880s. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

What it covers. Whole tune (one verse), the top line of the piano setting in this 1915 songbook, which differs in three small places from Effie I. Canning’s own sheet music.
Key. C major (printed in G major; moved up a fourth).
Source. Transcribed from Songs the Whole World Sings, edited by Albert E. Wier (D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1915), p. 182, “Rock-a-bye, Baby”, top line.