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3All songs / Bengawan Solo
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Bengawan Solo
Free number tabs for Bengawan Solo on the steel tongue drum. 27 notes, C Major Pentatonic scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
5
46
55
43
35
43
32
23
35
43
32
21
12
26
55
43
32
23
35
46
5•1
66
55
43
32
23
31–7 scale note• above = higher octave• below = lower octaveabc = key in the app
▶ Play it in Tongue Drum Online
Open the free player on the C Major Pentatonic scale, then tap the petals or press these keyboard keys in order, following the tab above:
345216
Bengawan Solo is Indonesia's most famous folk song, a sentimental ode to the great Solo River of Java composed by Gesang Martohartono in 1940. Its tender, flowing melody translates with remarkable beauty to the steel tongue drum, each note resonating like water over smooth stones. The lyrical, unhurried phrasing suits easy-level players looking for expressive, soulful repertoire.
How to play Bengawan Solo on a tongue drum
The numbers above are the standard tongue-drum number notation. Each digit is a note of the C Major Pentatonic scale, counting up from the lowest tongue. A dot above a number raises it one octave; a dot below lowers it. The small teal letters show the matching key in the Tongue Drum Online player.
Start slowly, one phrase at a time. Let each note ring out fully before striking the next — the long decay is the whole character of the instrument. This is a easy arrangement and a simplified, single-instrument version of Bengawan Solo.
About this melody
Indonesian folk.