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SongsUp on the Housetop
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24 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the scale brings some of them into reach.

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  1. 7
  2. 7
  3. 8
  4. 7
  5. 5
  6. 4
  7. 3
  8. 5
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 8
  12. 7
  13. 5
  14. 4
  15. 7
  16. 7
  17. 7
  18. 7
  19. 8
  20. 7
  21. 5
  22. 4
  23. 3
  24. 5
  25. 7
  26. 8
  27. 8
  28. 8
  29. 7
  30. 7
  31. 5
  32. 5
  33. 4
  34. 7
  35. 3
  36. 6
  37. 6
  38. 8
  39. 7
  40. 7
  41. 7
  42. 5
  43. 4
  44. 6
  45. 6
  46. 5
  47. 7
  48. 7
  49. 3
  50. 5
  51. 7
  52. 7
  53. 8
  54. 7
  55. 5
  56. 6
  57. 7
  58. 8
  59. 7
  60. 7
  61. 8
  62. 7
  63. 5
  64. 5
  65. 4
  66. 7
  67. 3

Benjamin Hanby, 1864. Public domain.

8 fields · D3 ding · A3–A4 · The complete D natural minor scale, nothing left out — the most common handpan scale by a wide margin.

Tap a field, or drag around the shell to roll across them. On a keyboard the letters on the fields are the ones to press — they run up the scale, so they zigzag across the shell exactly as your hands do.

HandpanFree · printable · plays in your browser

Up on the Housetop — Handpan Tabs

Up on the Housetop, written out for the handpan as the tone field to strike for every note and set up above on the D Kurd. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the handpan waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes67, 6 pitches
  • RangeC4–A4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo126 bpm · about 30 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a handpan play Up on the Housetop?

3 of the 5 here do. 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.

  • D Kurd✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above
  • D Celtic Minor✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • D Hijaz✕ Cannot play itNeeds F3, G3, C4, which it does not have
  • E Amara✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, D4–B4 · load it
  • E Equinox✕ Cannot play itNeeds F4, A4, which it does not have

Up on the Housetop: handpan tabs

The large line is the tone field, numbered from the lowest; 0 is the ding; the small line under it is its 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.

▶ Play it above

Up on the Housetop — handpan tabs (D Kurd) · tonalics.com

The 6 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 6 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 3C4×5
  • 4D4×6
  • 5E4×13
  • 6F4×5
  • 7G4×27
  • 8A4×11

What to expect on a handpan

  • It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. Its top note is the highest this instrument has.
  • 65% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G4 to C4, at note 35.
  • It uses 6 tone fields of this scale’s 8: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
  • 45 notes fall to the left hand and 22 to the right.

About the tune

Written by Benjamin Hanby in New Paris, Ohio, in 1864. It is usually counted as the first Christmas song to be about Santa Claus.

Benjamin Hanby, 1864. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Up on the Housetop →

Up on the Housetop 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.

More songs for the handpan

All 14 handpan songs · The online handpan on its own

Playing it on a real handpan?

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

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