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SongsAway in a Manger
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  1. 5
  2. 5
  3. 4
  4. 3
  5. 3
  6. 2
  7. 1
  8. 1
  9. 7,
  10. 6,
  11. 5,
  12. 5,
  13. 5,
  14. 6,
  15. 5,
  16. 5,
  17. 2
  18. 7,
  19. 6,
  20. 5,
  21. 1
  22. 3
  23. 5
  24. 5
  25. 4
  26. 3
  27. 3
  28. 2
  29. 1
  30. 1
  31. 7,
  32. 6,
  33. 5,
  34. 5,
  35. 4
  36. 3
  37. 2
  38. 3
  39. 2
  40. 1
  41. 2
  42. 6,
  43. 7,
  44. 1

The tune “Mueller”, James R. Murray, 1887. Public domain.

6 strings · E2–E5 · A steel-string acoustic, played with a pick — the guitar most people are handed first.

Tap a string, or tap a chord and drag across them to strum. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — Q to Y are the six strings, high E first; 1 to 7 hold the chords of the key, Space strums, and 0 lets go.

GuitarFree · printable · plays in your browser

Away in a Manger — Guitar Tab

Away in a Manger, written out for the guitar as easy melody tab with the string and fret for every note and set up above on the Acoustic. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the guitar waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes44, 8 pitches
  • RangeD4–D5
  • Key hereG major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 29 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a guitar play Away in a Manger?

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.

  • Acoustic✓ Plays as writtenIn G major, D4–D5 · loaded above
  • Classical✓ Plays as writtenIn G major, D4–D5 · load it

Away in a Manger: guitar tab

The large line is the fret — 0 is the open string; the small line under it is the string it is on. 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

Away in a Manger — guitar tab (Acoustic) · tonalics.com

Away in a Manger guitar tab as text

The same notes as tablature: one line per string, the thin high E on top, and each number the fret to press on that line — 0 is the open string. Read it left to right, one note at a time.

e|-10-|-10-8-7-|-7-5-3-|-3-2-0-|------|---0---|
B|----|--------|-------|-------|-3--3-|-3---3-|
G|----|--------|-------|-------|------|-------|
D|----|--------|-------|-------|------|-------|
A|----|--------|-------|-------|------|-------|
E|----|--------|-------|-------|------|-------|

e|---5-2-|-0---3-|-7--10-|-10-8-7-|-7-5-3-|-3-2-0-|
B|-3-----|---3---|-------|--------|-------|-------|
G|-------|-------|-------|--------|-------|-------|
D|-------|-------|-------|--------|-------|-------|
A|-------|-------|-------|--------|-------|-------|
E|-------|-------|-------|--------|-------|-------|

e|------|-8-7-5-|-7-5-3-|-5-0-2-|-3--|
B|-3--3-|-------|-------|-------|----|
G|------|-------|-------|-------|----|
D|------|-------|-------|-------|----|
A|------|-------|-------|-------|----|
E|------|-------|-------|-------|----|

Are there chords for it?

Not on this page. The chords here are chosen by rule — the three chords of the key — and they are only offered where that rule can be checked against a published harmonisation and agrees with it on most bars. None of the scores this melody was checked against prints chord symbols to compare with. The tab above is the whole tune.

The 8 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 8 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 3B×8
  • 0High E×5
  • 2High E×4
  • 3High E×7
  • 5High E×6
  • 7High E×7
  • 8High E×3
  • 10High E×4

What to expect on a guitar

  • It runs from D4 to D5, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 22 semitones unused below and 2 above.
  • 84% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor seventh, D4 to C5, at note 35.
  • The highest note is at fret 10, so the hand has to leave first position for it.
  • It is played on 2 strings (B and High E), and 5 notes are an open string.
  • The picking hand changes string 8 times.

About the tune

An American carol of the 1880s that was long, and wrongly, said to be by Martin Luther. This is the tune called “Mueller”, published by James R. Murray in 1887 and the one sung in North America. In Britain the same words go to a different melody, William J. Kirkpatrick’s “Cradle Song” of 1895.

The tune “Mueller”, James R. Murray, 1887. Public domain. The notes follow Wikipedia, “Away in a Manger” (engraved score), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Away in a Manger →

Away in a Manger on other instruments

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

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Playing it on a real guitar?

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

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