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SongsLightly Row
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  1. 5,
  2. 3,
  3. 3,
  4. 4,
  5. 2,
  6. 2,
  7. 1,
  8. 2,
  9. 3,
  10. 4,
  11. 5,
  12. 5,
  13. 5,
  14. 5,
  15. 3,
  16. 3,
  17. 4,
  18. 2,
  19. 2,
  20. 1,
  21. 3,
  22. 5,
  23. 5,
  24. 1,
  25. 2,
  26. 2,
  27. 2,
  28. 2,
  29. 2,
  30. 3,
  31. 4,
  32. 3,
  33. 3,
  34. 3,
  35. 3,
  36. 3,
  37. 4,
  38. 5,
  39. 5,
  40. 3,
  41. 3,
  42. 4,
  43. 2,
  44. 2,
  45. 1,
  46. 3,
  47. 5,
  48. 5,
  49. 1,

German folk song “Hänschen klein”, 19th century; the English “Lightly Row” uses the same melody. Public domain.

6 courses · C2–C4 open · C5 at the octave · The most widespread modern Arabic tuning. Fourths, except for the major third between the 5th and 4th courses.

Tap a course, or slide along a course to bend the note the way a fretless neck does. On a keyboard the letters on the courses are the ones to press — they run down the courses, 1 at the top.

OudFree · printable · plays in your browser

Lightly Row — Oud Notes

Lightly Row, written out for the oud as every note with its string and how far up it and set up above on the Arabic. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the oud waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes49, 5 pitches
  • RangeC3–G3
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo120 bpm · about 32 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a oud play Lightly Row?

Yes — every one 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.

  • Arabic✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C3–G3 · loaded above
  • Turkish✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C3–G3 · load it

Lightly Row: oud notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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

Lightly Row — oud notes (Arabic) · tonalics.com

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.

  • CA·3×5
  • DD·0×12
  • ED·2×15
  • FD·3×6
  • GG·0×11

What to expect on a oud

  • It runs from C3 to G3, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G3 to C3, at note 24.
  • It is played on 3 strings (A, D and G), crossing between strings 16 times.
  • 23 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 3 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

Lightly Row is the English name for the German children’s song “Hänschen klein”, whose words were written by the Dresden teacher Franz Wiedemann around 1860 to a folk melody already in circulation. The tune travelled further than the words did: it is sung with different texts across Europe, Japan and the Americas.

German folk song “Hänschen klein”, 19th century; the English “Lightly Row” uses the same melody. Public domain. More about Lightly Row →

Lightly Row 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 oud

All 36 oud songs · Christmas songs for oud · The online oud on its own

Playing it on a real oud?

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

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