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SongsJoy to the World
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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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The tune “Antioch”, arranged by Lowell Mason in the 1830s. 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

Joy to the World — Kalimba Tabs

Joy to the World, 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.

  • Notes57, 8 pitches
  • RangeC4–C5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo92 bpm · about 25 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a kalimba play Joy to the World?

4 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, which it does not have
  • 8-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · load it
  • 10-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · load it
  • 17-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · loaded above
  • 21-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · load it

Joy to the World: 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

Joy to the World — kalimba tabs (17-key) · tonalics.com

The 8 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 8 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 1C4×3
  • 2D4×7
  • 3E4×13
  • 4F4×8
  • 5G4×8
  • 6A4×6
  • 7B4×5
  • 1•C5×7

What to expect on a kalimba

  • It runs from C4 to C5, an octave, using 8 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 16 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, C4 to C5, at note 49.
  • The left thumb plays 28 notes and the right 26, with 3 on the centre tine. Once 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 4th tine out.

About the tune

The tune is called “Antioch”. The Boston hymn composer Lowell Mason published it in the 1830s, describing it as “from Handel”; the resemblance is to a few phrases of Messiah rather than to any one piece. It has been sung to Isaac Watts’s 1719 text ever since.

The tune “Antioch”, arranged by Lowell Mason in the 1830s. 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 Joy to the World →

Joy to the World 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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