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SongsYankee Doodle
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Traditional, sung in the American colonies before the Revolution (18th century). Public domain. Written an octave up, so its low notes fit a 17-key.

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

Yankee Doodle — Steel Drum Letter Notes

Yankee Doodle, 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.

  • Notes28, 7 pitches
  • RangeC5–B♭5
  • Key hereF major
  • Tempo120 bpm · about 16 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a steel drum play Yankee Doodle?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the steel drum, in F major from C5 to B♭5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Yankee Doodle: 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

Yankee Doodle — steel drum letter notes · tonalics.com

The 7 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 7 and you can play the whole tune.

  • C5×2
  • D6×1
  • E7×3
  • F1×11
  • G2×5
  • A3×5
  • B♭4×1

What to expect on a steel drum

  • It runs from C5 to B♭5, a minor seventh, using 7 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 6 above.
  • 78% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G5 to C5, at note 8.
  • Every note is in one ring of the pan, so the stick never crosses between rings.

About the tune

The tune was already old when British troops sang it to mock colonial militia before the American Revolution; the colonists took it up as their own, and it has been a patriotic song ever since. It is the state song of Connecticut.

Traditional, sung in the American colonies before the Revolution (18th century). Public domain. Written an octave up, so its low notes fit a 17-key. More about Yankee Doodle →

Yankee Doodle on other instruments

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

🎙 Open the Handpan Tuner