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β€Ή Marimba songs
SongsHot Cross Buns
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  1. 3
  2. 2
  3. 1
  4. 3
  5. 2
  6. 1
  7. 1
  8. 1
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Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. Public domain.

61 bars Β· C2–C7, 61 bars Β· The concert and solo marimba β€” the full five octaves, down to the low C a cello plays.

Tap a bar, or drag across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the bars are the ones to press β€” they run up the bars from middle C.

MarimbaFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

Hot Cross Buns β€” Marimba Letter Notes

Hot Cross Buns, written out for the marimba as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the 5 octaves. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the marimba waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes17, 3 pitches
  • RangeC4–E4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo100 bpm Β· about 10 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a marimba play Hot Cross Buns?

Yes β€” 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.

  • 5 octavesβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· loaded above
  • 4.3 octavesβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 Β· load it

Hot Cross Buns: marimba letter notes

The large line is the note printed on the bar; the small line under it is its number in the scale. 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

Hot Cross Buns β€” marimba letter notes (5 octaves) Β· tonalics.com

The 3 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 3 and you can play the whole tune.

  • C1Γ—7
  • D2Γ—7
  • E3Γ—3

What to expect on a marimba

  • It runs from C4 to E4, a major third, using 3 different notes. That leaves 24 semitones unused below and 32 above.
  • 94% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, C4 to E4, at note 4.
  • It uses only the front row β€” no sharps or flats in this key.

About the tune

Hot Cross Buns began as a street cry: the call of London bakers selling spiced buns on Good Friday. It was in print as a rhyme by the end of the 18th century, and the tune it settled on is about as small as a tune can be β€” three neighbouring notes, most of it a single falling step repeated.

Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. Public domain. More about Hot Cross Buns β†’

Hot Cross Buns on other instruments

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

More songs for the marimba

All 36 marimba songs Β· Christmas songs for marimba Β· The online marimba on its own

Playing it on a real marimba?

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

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