Lightly Row — Dulcimer Tab

• Notes49, 5 pitches
• RangeD4–A4
• Key hereD major
• Tempo120 bpm · about 32 s
• LevelEasy

Can a dulcimer play Lightly Row?

Yes — every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

• DAD✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, D4–A4 · loaded above
• DAA✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, D4–A4 · load it

Lightly Row: dulcimer tab

The large line is the fret, on the melody string unless a string is named; the small line under it is the note. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

The 5 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 5 and you can play the whole tune.

• 0D4×5
• 1E4×12
• 2F♯4×15
• 3G4×6
• 4A4×11

What to expect on a dulcimer

• It runs from D4 to A4, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 17 above.
• 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, A4 to D4, at note 24.
• It uses 5 fret positions: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.
• The whole tune is on the melody string, so it can be played with a noter while the other strings drone.

About the tune

Lightly Row is the English name for the German children’s song “Hänschen klein”, whose words were written by the Dresden teacher Franz Wiedemann around 1860 to a folk melody already in circulation. The tune travelled further than the words did: it is sung with different texts across Europe, Japan and the Americas.

German folk song “Hänschen klein”, 19th century; the English “Lightly Row” uses the same melody. Public domain. More about Lightly Row →

Lightly Row on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

• Lightly Row — kalimbatabs
• Lightly Row — pianoletter notes
• Lightly Row — mbiratabs
• Lightly Row — handpantabs
• Lightly Row — oudnotes
• Lightly Row — violinnotes
• Lightly Row — cellonotes
• Lightly Row — erhunotes
• Lightly Row — xylophoneletter notes
• Lightly Row — marimbaletter notes
• Lightly Row — glockenspielletter notes
• Lightly Row — steel drumletter notes
• Lightly Row — ocarinanotes
• Lightly Row — harmonicatabs
• Lightly Row — trumpetnotes
• Lightly Row — clarinetnotes
• Lightly Row — saxophonenotes
• Lightly Row — flutenotes
• Lightly Row — recordernotes
• Lightly Row — tubanotes
• Lightly Row — euphoniumnotes
• Lightly Row — trombonenotes
• Lightly Row — accordionletter notes
• Lightly Row — harpletter notes
• Lightly Row — lyretabs

More songs for the dulcimer

• Hot Cross BunsNursery rhymes · major third
• Twinkle Twinkle Little StarNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Mary Had a Little LambNursery rhymes · fifth
• Row, Row, Row Your BoatNursery rhymes · octave
• London BridgeNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Old MacDonaldNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Frère JacquesNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Going Home (New World Largo)Classical melodies · fifth

All 35 dulcimer songs · Christmas songs for dulcimer · The online dulcimer on its own