Twinkle Twinkle Little Star kalimba tabs
For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. 42 notes on 6 tines, from C4 up to A4.
Play along on the online kalimba Play it on a kalimba in G
newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/twinkle/
Number tab
The number tab read aloud, group by group. “High” stands for one dot above the number and “very high” for two.
- 1, 1, 5, 5.
- 6, 6, 5.
- 4, 4, 3, 3.
- 2, 2, 1.
- 5, 5, 4, 4.
- 3, 3, 2.
- 5, 5, 4, 4.
- 3, 3, 2.
- 1, 1, 5, 5.
- 6, 6, 5.
- 4, 4, 3, 3.
- 2, 2, 1.
Letter notes
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 C scale, 1 (C) to 7 (B), and each dot above a number means one octave higher; the tab shows which tine to play, not how long to hold it. Each numbered group is one bar of music, or more than one where a note lasts across a bar line.
About the song
The melody is the French folk tune “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman”, first published in 1761. The English words come from Jane Taylor’s 1806 poem “The Star”. The melody is in the public domain.
Same tune, different rhythm: The ABC Song kalimba tabs and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep kalimba tabs.
Also in The Complete Kalimba Songbook, our book with every note’s length marked.