Pick a song to see what it is, its notes in plain letters, and which instruments have the range for it. Or start from your instrument: kalimba, piano, mbira, guzheng, handpan, oud, violin, cello, erhu, dulcimer, xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, steel drum, ocarina, harmonica, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, flute, recorder, tuba, euphonium, trombone, accordion, harp, lyre.
Christmas songs & carols
Carols and winter songs old enough to belong to everyone. The Christmas collection, by instrument →
- Jingle Bells
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas
- Silent Night
- Deck the Halls
- O Christmas Tree
- Joy to the World
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- O Come, All Ye Faithful
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
- Away in a Manger
- The First Noel
- Good King Wenceslas
- Up on the Housetop
- Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
- O Holy Night
- Auld Lang Syne
- Carol of the Bells
Nursery rhymes & first tunes
The short tunes most people learn an instrument on.
Folk & traditional songs
Songs passed on by singing long before anyone printed them.
Classical melodies
Themes from the concert hall that fit under one hand.
By instrument
How many of the 36 each instrument can play, and what its music is written in. An instrument is counted as playing a song only if every note is one it can sound, in some size, key or octave it actually offers.
| Instrument | Songs | Written as |
|---|---|---|
| Kalimba | 34 of 36 | number tabs with the letter under every note |
| Piano | 36 of 36 | easy letter notes for the right hand, with do-re-mi under every note |
| Mbira | 34 of 36 | the key to press for every note |
| Guzheng | 7 of 36 | number tabs with the letter under every note |
| Handpan | 14 of 36 | the tone field to strike for every note |
| Oud | 36 of 36 | every note with its string and how far up it |
| Violin | 36 of 36 | every note with its string and how far up it |
| Cello | 36 of 36 | every note with its string and how far up it |
| Erhu | 35 of 36 | every note with its string and how far up it |
| Dulcimer | 35 of 36 | fret numbers for the melody string |
| Xylophone | 36 of 36 | letter notes, phrase by phrase |
| Marimba | 36 of 36 | letter notes, phrase by phrase |
| Glockenspiel | 36 of 36 | letter notes, phrase by phrase |
| Steel Drum | 36 of 36 | letter notes, phrase by phrase |
| Ocarina | 24 of 36 | letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one |
| Harmonica | 36 of 36 | hole-by-hole tab with every blow, draw and bend |
| Trumpet | 36 of 36 | written notes with the valves for each one |
| Clarinet | 36 of 36 | letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one |
| Saxophone | 36 of 36 | letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one |
| Flute | 36 of 36 | letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one |
| Recorder | 36 of 36 | letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one |
| Tuba | 36 of 36 | written notes with the valves for each one |
| Euphonium | 36 of 36 | written notes with the valves for each one |
| Trombone | 36 of 36 | every note with its slide position |
| Accordion | 36 of 36 | letter notes, phrase by phrase |
| Harp | 34 of 36 | letter notes, phrase by phrase |
| Lyre | 34 of 36 | number tabs with the letter under every note |
Why only old songs
A tab or a fingering chart of a song is a copy of its melody, whatever it is written in, so this site publishes only music that is in the public domain. Each song names where its notes came from, and the carols were derived from published transcriptions and checked against independent ones rather than written down from memory. There are no lyrics anywhere: these pages are about melodies.