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β€Ή Lyre songs
SongsSakura Sakura (さくらさくら)
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3 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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Japanese traditional, Edo period; first published in the 1880s. Public domain.

16 strings Β· G3–A5 Β· C major Β· The common size, and what most lyre tabs assume. Two full octaves and a bit.

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

LyreFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

Sakura Sakura β€” Lyre Tabs

Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら), written out for the lyre as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 16-string. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the lyre waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes28, 4 pitches
  • RangeF4–C5
  • Key hereA minor
  • Tempo80 bpm Β· about 26 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a lyre play Sakura Sakura?

2 of the 3 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-stringβœ• Cannot play itNeeds C5, which it does not have
  • 10-stringβœ“ Plays as writtenIn A minor, F4–C5 Β· load it
  • 16-stringβœ“ Plays as writtenIn A minor, F4–C5 Β· loaded above

Sakura Sakura: lyre tabs

The large line is the note’s number in the scale; the small line under it is the string to pluck. 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

Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら) β€” lyre tabs (16-string) Β· tonalics.com

The 4 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 4 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 4str. 7Γ—2
  • 6str. 9Γ—14
  • 7str. 10Γ—10
  • 1β€’str. 11Γ—2

What to expect on a lyre

  • It runs from F4 to C5, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 10 semitones unused below and 9 above.
  • 89% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, A4 to F4, at note 14.
  • It is played on strings 7 to 11 of 16, 4 strings in all.

About the tune

A Japanese melody from the Edo period, known as a beginner’s piece for the koto before it was published in the 1880s in a collection for teaching that instrument. It is the tune most often used abroad to stand for Japan.

Japanese traditional, Edo period; first published in the 1880s. Public domain. More about Sakura Sakura β†’

Sakura Sakura 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 lyre

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

Playing it on a real lyre?

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

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