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SongsAway in a Manger
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The tune “Mueller”, James R. Murray, 1887. Public domain.

29 notes · C4–E6 · 29 notes in three rings · The lead pan of a steel band, in the fourths-and-fifths layout almost every tenor is built in today.

Tap a note, or drag across them to roll from note to note. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — they climb the pan a semitone at a time from the low C.

Steel DrumFree · printable · plays in your browser

Away in a Manger — Steel Drum Letter Notes

Away in a Manger, written out for the steel drum as letter notes, phrase by phrase. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the steel drum waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes44, 8 pitches
  • RangeC5–C6
  • Key hereF major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 29 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a steel drum play Away in a Manger?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the steel drum, in F major from C5 to C6. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Away in a Manger: steel drum letter notes

The large line is the note stamped on the pan; 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.

▶ Play it above

Away in a Manger — steel drum letter notes · tonalics.com

The 8 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 8 and you can play the whole tune.

  • C5×8
  • D6×5
  • E7×4
  • F1×7
  • G2×6
  • A3×7
  • B♭4×3
  • C5×4

What to expect on a steel drum

  • It runs from C5 to C6, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 4 above.
  • 84% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor seventh, C5 to B♭5, at note 35.
  • Its notes sit in 2 of the pan’s three rings, so the stick moves in and out as well as around.

About the tune

An American carol of the 1880s that was long, and wrongly, said to be by Martin Luther. This is the tune called “Mueller”, published by James R. Murray in 1887 and the one sung in North America. In Britain the same words go to a different melody, William J. Kirkpatrick’s “Cradle Song” of 1895.

The tune “Mueller”, James R. Murray, 1887. Public domain. The notes follow Wikipedia, “Away in a Manger” (engraved score), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Away in a Manger →

Away in a Manger on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, handpan or ocarina, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the steel drum

All 36 steel drum songs · Christmas songs for steel drum · The online steel drum on its own

Playing it on a real steel drum?

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

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