Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 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 3̇ 1̇ 3̇ 1̇ 1̇ 6 5 1̇ (E5 C5 E5 C5 C5 A4 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

An African-American spiritual, probably composed in the 1860s by Wallace Willis and his daughter Minerva. Performances by the Fisk Jubilee Singers made it widely known. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

• What it covers. The refrain (bars 1-8) and the first verse (bars 9-16), leader and chorus lines joined into one melody; the song ends by playing the refrain again. The two pauses (fermatas) in bars 1 and 5 are played in time.
• Key. C major (printed in F major; moved up a fifth so it fits the tines).
• Source. Transcribed from The Blue Book of Favorite Songs (Hall & McCreary, Chicago, 1928), p. 95, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, melody (leader and top chorus voice).