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β€Ή Kalimba songs
SongsHot Cross Buns
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4 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. Public domain.

17 tines Β· C4–E6 Β· C major Β· The standard. Almost every tab you find is written for this.

Tap a tine, or drag across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the tines are the ones to press β€” they follow the tines left to right.

KalimbaFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

Hot Cross Buns β€” Kalimba Tabs

Hot Cross Buns, written out for the kalimba as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 17-key. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the kalimba waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes17, 3 pitches
  • RangeC4–E4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo100 bpm Β· about 10 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a kalimba play Hot Cross Buns?

Yes β€” 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.

  • 7-noteβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· load it
  • 8-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· load it
  • 10-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· load it
  • 17-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· loaded above
  • 21-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· load it

Hot Cross Buns: kalimba tabs

The large line is the number stamped on the tine; the small line under it is its letter name. 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.

β–Ά Play it above

Hot Cross Buns β€” kalimba tabs (17-key) Β· tonalics.com

The 3 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 3 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 1C4Γ—7
  • 2D4Γ—7
  • 3E4Γ—3

What to expect on a kalimba

  • It runs from C4 to E4, a major third, using 3 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 24 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 94% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, C4 to E4, at note 4.
  • The left thumb plays 7 notes and the right 3, with 7 on the centre tine. The thumbs alternate the whole way through: no thumb ever has to play two different tines in a row.
  • The furthest it reaches from the centre is the 1st tine out.

About the tune

Hot Cross Buns began as a street cry: the call of London bakers selling spiced buns on Good Friday. It was in print as a rhyme by the end of the 18th century, and the tune it settled on is about as small as a tune can be β€” three neighbouring notes, most of it a single falling step repeated.

Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. Public domain. More about Hot Cross Buns β†’

Hot Cross Buns on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation.

More songs for the kalimba

All 34 kalimba songs Β· Christmas songs for kalimba Β· The online kalimba on its own

Playing it on a real kalimba?

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

πŸŽ™ Open the Kalimba Tuner