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SongsLightly Row
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2 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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

34 strings · C2–A6 · C major · The floor harp: four and a half octaves down to C2. With every lever down it is C2–A♭6.

Tap a string, or sweep across them for the glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they follow the strings left to right. Each string has a lever above it that raises that one string a semitone; the key menu is a shortcut for moving several at once.

HarpFree · printable · plays in your browser

Lightly Row — Harp Letter Notes

Lightly Row, written out for the harp as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the 34-string. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the harp waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes49, 5 pitches
  • RangeC4–G4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo120 bpm · about 32 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a harp play Lightly Row?

Yes — every size 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.

  • 22-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it
  • 26-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it
  • 34-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · loaded above

Lightly Row: harp letter notes

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

Lightly Row — harp letter notes (34-string) · tonalics.com

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.

  • C1×5
  • D2×12
  • E3×15
  • F4×6
  • G5×11

What to expect on a harp

  • It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 24 semitones unused below and 26 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G4 to C4, at note 24.
  • It is played on strings 15 to 19 of 34, 5 strings in all.
  • Set the levers for C major before you start; nothing has to be flipped mid-tune.

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.

More songs for the harp

All 34 harp songs · Christmas songs for harp · The online harp on its own

Playing it on a real harp?

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

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