5
5All songs / Coventry Carol
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Coventry Carol
Free number tabs for Coventry Carol on the steel tongue drum. 29 notes, C Major scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
3
34
45
56
65
54
43
32
23
35
53
34
45
56
67
76
65
57
77
7•1
87
76
65
54
43
32
23
35
51–7 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 scale, then tap the petals or press these keyboard keys in order, following the tab above:
5346278
The Coventry Carol is a hauntingly beautiful minor-mode lullaby from a 16th-century English mystery play, one of the oldest surviving carols in the repertoire. On a steel tongue drum its mournful, arching melody acquires a raw, ancient quality, the sustained tones capturing a sense of deep historical longing. The gentle triple metre and narrow range make it accessible while offering real emotional depth.
How to play Coventry Carol on a tongue drum
The numbers above are the standard tongue-drum number notation. Each digit is a note of the C Major 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 Coventry Carol.
About this melody
Traditional English, 16th century (public domain).