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SongsBrahms' Lullaby
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8 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the tuning brings some of them into reach.

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  1. 3
  2. 3
  3. 5
  4. 3
  5. 3
  6. 5
  7. 3
  8. 5
  9. 1'
  10. 7
  11. 6
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  13. 5
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  27. 1'

Johannes Brahms, "Wiegenlied", Op. 49 No. 4, 1868. Public domain. The first half of the melody.

2 strings · D4–A4 open · A5 at the octave · D key · 1 = D · A perfect fifth, the same interval a violin uses between neighbours. Those two notes are the entire tuning; everything above them is your hand.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never leaves the strings. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — the inner string is the upper key — hold one and the note holds.

ErhuFree · printable · plays in your browser

Brahms' Lullaby — Erhu Notes

Brahms' Lullaby (the first half), written out for the erhu as every note with its string and how far up it. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the erhu waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes27, 7 pitches
  • RangeE4–D5
  • Key hereD major
  • Tempo92 bpm · about 16 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a erhu play Brahms' Lullaby?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the erhu, in D major from E4 to D5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Brahms' Lullaby: erhu notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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.

▶ Play it above

Brahms' Lullaby — erhu notes · tonalics.com

The 7 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 7 and you can play the whole tune.

  • ED·2×4
  • F♯D·4×7
  • GD·5×3
  • AA·0×5
  • BA·2×3
  • C♯A·4×3
  • DA·5×2

What to expect on a erhu

  • It runs from E4 to D5, a minor seventh, using 7 different notes. That leaves 2 semitones unused below and 7 above.
  • 54% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a tritone, G4 to C♯5, at note 23.
  • It is played on 2 strings (D and A), crossing between strings 7 times.
  • 5 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 5 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

Brahms published it in 1868 as “Wiegenlied”, Op. 49 No. 4, written for his friend Bertha Faber on the birth of her second son. It is the tune most music boxes play.

Johannes Brahms, "Wiegenlied", Op. 49 No. 4, 1868. Public domain. The first half of the melody. More about Brahms' Lullaby →

Brahms' Lullaby on other instruments

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

More songs for the erhu

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

Playing it on a real erhu?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The erhu tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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