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SongsUp on the Housetop
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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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  1. 5
  2. 5
  3. 6
  4. 5
  5. 3
  6. 2
  7. 1
  8. 3
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 6
  12. 5
  13. 3
  14. 2
  15. 5
  16. 5
  17. 5
  18. 5
  19. 6
  20. 5
  21. 3
  22. 2
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  25. 5
  26. 6
  27. 6
  28. 6
  29. 5
  30. 5
  31. 3
  32. 3
  33. 2
  34. 5
  35. 1
  36. 4
  37. 4
  38. 6
  39. 5
  40. 5
  41. 5
  42. 3
  43. 2
  44. 4
  45. 4
  46. 3
  47. 5
  48. 5
  49. 1
  50. 3
  51. 5
  52. 5
  53. 6
  54. 5
  55. 3
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  60. 5
  61. 6
  62. 5
  63. 3
  64. 3
  65. 2
  66. 5
  67. 1

Benjamin Hanby, 1864. 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

Up on the Housetop — Kalimba Tabs

Up on the Housetop, 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.

  • Notes67, 6 pitches
  • RangeC4–A4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo126 bpm · about 30 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a kalimba play Up on the Housetop?

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

Up on the Housetop: 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

Up on the Housetop — 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.

  • 1C4×5
  • 2D4×6
  • 3E4×13
  • 4F4×5
  • 5G4×27
  • 6A4×11

What to expect on a kalimba

  • It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 19 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 65% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G4 to C4, at note 35.
  • The left thumb plays 22 notes and the right 40, with 5 on the centre tine. 13 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

Written by Benjamin Hanby in New Paris, Ohio, in 1864. It is usually counted as the first Christmas song to be about Santa Claus.

Benjamin Hanby, 1864. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Up on the Housetop →

Up on the Housetop 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 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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