Be Thou My Vision Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

Be Thou My Vision kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is the whole tune: 47 notes on 10 tines, from G4 up to C6.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/vision/

Number tab

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

Letter notes

C₅C₅D₅C₅A₄G₄G₄A₄C₅C₅D₅E₅D₅D₅D₅D₅E₅G₅A₅G₅E₅G₅A₅A₅B₅C₆B₅A₅G₅E₅G₅C₅B₄A₄G₄C₅E₅G₅A₅G₅E₅C₅E₅D₅C₅C₅C₅

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 1̇ 1̇ 2̇ 1̇ 6 5 5 6 (C5 C5 D5 C5 A4 G4 G4 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 tune is “Slane”, an Irish folk melody printed in 1909. The words are Mary Byrne’s 1905 translation of an Old Irish poem, put into verse by Eleanor Hull in 1912. The melody is in the public domain.

About this tab

What it covers. Whole tune (the Irish melody SLANE), sung as in verse 1; the Amen is left out.
Key. C major (printed in tonic sol-fa with doh = E-flat).
Source. Transcribed from The Church Hymnary, revised edition (Oxford University Press, 1927; archive.org copy dated 1930), No. 477 “SLANE”, tonic sol-fa melody, p. 543.