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β€Ή Marimba songs
SongsMary Had a Little Lamb
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Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. 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

Mary Had a Little Lamb β€” Marimba Letter Notes

Mary Had a Little Lamb, 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.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeC4–G4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm Β· about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a marimba play Mary Had a Little Lamb?

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–G4 Β· loaded above
  • 4.3 octavesβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 Β· load it

Mary Had a Little Lamb: 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

Mary Had a Little Lamb β€” marimba letter notes (5 octaves) 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.

  • C1Γ—3
  • D2Γ—10
  • E3Γ—11
  • G5Γ—2

What to expect on a marimba

  • It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 24 semitones unused below and 29 above.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, E4 to G4, at note 12.
  • It uses only the front row β€” no sharps or flats in this key.

About the tune

The poem is by Sarah Josepha Hale, published in Boston in 1830; the hymn composer Lowell Mason set it to this tune the following year. In 1877 Thomas Edison recited its opening lines to test his phonograph, which makes it the first verse ever recorded and played back.

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain. More about Mary Had a Little Lamb β†’

Mary Had a Little Lamb 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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