Old MacDonald — Kalimba Tabs

• Notes25, 5 pitches
• RangeC4–A4
• Key hereC major
• Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
• LevelEasy

Can a kalimba play Old MacDonald?

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.

• 7-note✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
• 8-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
• 10-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
• 17-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above
• 21-key✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it

Old MacDonald: 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.

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.

• 1C4×8
• 2D4×4
• 3E4×4
• 5G4×5
• 6A4×4

What to expect on a kalimba

• It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 19 semitones of range are left above it.
• 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 4.
• The left thumb plays 8 notes and the right 9, with 8 on the centre tine. 2 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 3rd tine out.

About the tune

A cumulative farm song with 18th-century English ancestors; the version sung today, with this tune and this farmer’s name, was printed in 1917 in a collection of songs from the First World War.

Traditional, published 1917 in this form. Public domain. More about Old MacDonald →

Old MacDonald on other instruments

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

• Old MacDonald — pianoletter notes
• Old MacDonald — mbiratabs
• Old MacDonald — guzhengtabs
• Old MacDonald — handpantabs
• Old MacDonald — oudnotes
• Old MacDonald — violinnotes
• Old MacDonald — cellonotes
• Old MacDonald — erhunotes
• Old MacDonald — dulcimertab
• Old MacDonald — xylophoneletter notes
• Old MacDonald — marimbaletter notes
• Old MacDonald — glockenspielletter notes
• Old MacDonald — steel drumletter notes
• Old MacDonald — ocarinanotes
• Old MacDonald — harmonicatabs
• Old MacDonald — trumpetnotes
• Old MacDonald — clarinetnotes
• Old MacDonald — saxophonenotes
• Old MacDonald — flutenotes
• Old MacDonald — recordernotes
• Old MacDonald — tubanotes
• Old MacDonald — euphoniumnotes
• Old MacDonald — trombonenotes
• Old MacDonald — accordionletter notes
• Old MacDonald — harpletter notes
• Old MacDonald — lyretabs

More songs for the kalimba

• Hot Cross BunsNursery rhymes · major third
• Lightly RowNursery rhymes · fifth
• Twinkle Twinkle Little StarNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Mary Had a Little LambNursery rhymes · fifth
• Row, Row, Row Your BoatNursery rhymes · octave
• London BridgeNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Frère JacquesNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Going Home (New World Largo)Classical melodies · fifth

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