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SongsJolly Old Saint Nicholas
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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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American, 19th century; the music was first published in 1874. Public domain.

17 tines · C4–E6 · C major · 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 — they follow the tines left to right.

KalimbaFree · printable · plays in your browser

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Kalimba Tabs

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, 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 — the kalimba waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes48, 6 pitches
  • RangeG4–E5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 19 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a kalimba play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas?

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.

  • 7-note✕ Cannot play itNeeds C5, D5, E5, which it does not have
  • 8-key✕ Cannot play itNeeds D5, E5, which it does not have
  • 10-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it
  • 17-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · loaded above
  • 21-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: 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.

▶ Play it above

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — kalimba tabs (17-key) · 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.

  • 5G4×4
  • 6A4×8
  • 7B4×1
  • 1•C5×13
  • 2•D5×10
  • 3•E5×12

What to expect on a kalimba

  • It runs from G4 to E5, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 7 semitones unused below and 12 above.
  • 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, E5 to A4, at note 13.
  • The left thumb plays 33 notes and the right 15. 5 times one thumb plays two different tines in a row — those are the spots to slow down for.
  • The furthest it reaches from the centre is the 5th tine out.

About the tune

An American children’s song whose words appeared as a poem in the 1860s. The music was first published in 1874 and is generally attributed to James R. Murray, the composer of the “Mueller” tune for Away in a Manger.

American, 19th century; the music was first published in 1874. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 2 other transcriptions. More about Jolly Old Saint Nicholas →

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas on other instruments

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

More songs for the kalimba

All 34 kalimba songs · Christmas songs for kalimba · 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.

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