Shenandoah Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

Shenandoah kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is one verse: 38 notes on 9 tines, from G4 up to C6.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/shenandoah/

Number tab

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

Letter notes

G₄C₅C₅C₅D₅E₅F₅A₅G₅C₆B₅A₅G₅A₅G₅E₅G₅G₅A₅A₅A₅E₅G₅E₅D₅C₅D₅E₅C₅E₅A₅G₅C₅D₅E₅D₅D₅C₅

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 5 1̇ 1̇ 1̇ 2̇ 3̇ 4̇ 6̇ (G4 C5 C5 C5 D5 E5 F5 A5).
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 traditional American song from the early 19th century, later sung by sailors as a shanty. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

What it covers. One verse with its chorus lines (“Away, you rolling river”, “Away, I’m bound to go ’cross the wide Missouri”); the song changes between 4/4 and 3/4, so bars are not all the same length.
Key. C major (printed in E-flat major).
Source. Transcribed from Richard Runciman Terry, The Shanty Book, Part I: Sailor Shanties (J. Curwen & Sons, London, 1921), No. 9 “Shenandoah”, voice part (Project Gutenberg ebook #20774: page images and the transcribers’ MIDI file).