Auld Lang Syne on Guzheng — Tabs, Letter Notes & Play Online

Notes56, 7 pitches
RangeA4–B5
Key hereD major
Tempo96 bpm · about 40 s
LevelEasy

Can a guzheng play Auld Lang Syne?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the guzheng, in D major from A4 to B5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Auld Lang Syne: guzheng tabs

The large line is the note’s number in the scale; the small line under it is the string to pluck. 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.

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Auld Lang Syne — guzheng tabs · tonalics.com

5str. 81•str. 61•str. 61•str. 63•str. 42•str. 51•str. 62•str. 53•str. 41•str. 61•str. 63•str. 45•str. 36•str. 2––

6•str. 25•str. 33•str. 43•str. 41•str. 62•str. 51•str. 62•str. 53•str. 41•str. 66str. 76str. 75str. 81•str. 6––

6•str. 25•str. 33•str. 43•str. 41•str. 62•str. 51•str. 62•str. 56•str. 25•str. 33•str. 43•str. 45•str. 36•str. 2––

6•str. 25•str. 33•str. 43•str. 41•str. 62•str. 51•str. 62•str. 53•str. 41•str. 66str. 76str. 75str. 81•str. 6––

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.

5str. 8×3
6str. 7×4
1•str. 6×16
2•str. 5×8
3•str. 4×13
5•str. 3×6
6•str. 2×6

What to expect on a guzheng

It runs from A4 to B5, an octave and a whole step, using 7 different notes. That leaves 31 semitones unused below and 3 above.
62% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, D5 to B5, at note 29.
It is played on strings 2 to 8 of 21, 7 strings in all.

About the tune

Robert Burns sent the words to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788, describing them as an old song he had taken down from an old man’s singing. The melody now sung was paired with them in 1799; it is a Scottish dance tune, and it is sung at midnight on New Year’s Eve across the English-speaking world.

Scottish traditional melody, sung to these words since 1799. Public domain. The notes follow Wikipedia, “Auld Lang Syne” (engraved score), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Auld Lang Syne →

Auld Lang Syne on other instruments

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

More songs for the guzheng

All 7 guzheng songs · The online guzheng on its own