TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Xylophone songs
SongsBrahms' Lullaby
Play a different song (17)

19 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

Play along
  1. 3
  2. 3
  3. 5
  4. 3
  5. 3
  6. 5
  7. 3
  8. 5
  9. 1'
  10. 7
  11. 6
  12. 6
  13. 5
  14. 2
  15. 3
  16. 4
  17. 2
  18. 2
  19. 3
  20. 4
  21. 2
  22. 4
  23. 7
  24. 6
  25. 5
  26. 7
  27. 1'

Johannes Brahms, "Wiegenlied", Op. 49 No. 4, 1868. Public domain. The first half of the melody.

8 bars · one octave of C major · The rainbow xylophone from the toy box — eight big bars, one for each note of the scale.

Tap a bar, or drag across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the bars are the ones to press — they run up the bars from the lowest note.

XylophoneFree · printable · plays in your browser

Brahms' Lullaby — Xylophone Letter Notes

Brahms' Lullaby (the first half), written out for the xylophone as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the Toy · 8 bars. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the xylophone waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes27, 7 pitches
  • RangeD4–C5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo92 bpm · about 16 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a xylophone play Brahms' Lullaby?

Yes — 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.

  • Toy · 8 bars✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, D4–C5 · loaded above
  • Concert · 3½ octaves✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, D4–C5 · load it

Brahms' Lullaby: xylophone 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.

▶ Play it above

Brahms' Lullaby — xylophone letter notes (Toy · 8 bars) · 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.

  • D2×4
  • E3×7
  • F4×3
  • G5×5
  • A6×3
  • B7×3
  • C1×2

What to expect on a xylophone

  • It runs from D4 to C5, a minor seventh, using 7 different notes. Its top note is the highest this instrument has.
  • 54% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a tritone, F4 to B4, at note 23.
  • It uses only the front row — no sharps or flats in this key.

About the tune

Brahms published it in 1868 as “Wiegenlied”, Op. 49 No. 4, written for his friend Bertha Faber on the birth of her second son. It is the tune most music boxes play.

Johannes Brahms, "Wiegenlied", Op. 49 No. 4, 1868. Public domain. The first half of the melody. More about Brahms' Lullaby →

Brahms' Lullaby 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 xylophone

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

Playing it on a real xylophone?

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.

🎙 Open the Marimba Tuner