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1All songs / Down by the Bay
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Down by the Bay
Free number tabs for Down by the Bay on the steel tongue drum. 22 notes, C Major scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
3
35
56
65
53
3•1
87
76
65
53
35
56
65
53
32
21
13
35
56
65
51
11–7 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:
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"Down by the Bay" is a popular North American camp song built on rhyming questions — "Did you ever see a bear, combing his hair?" — that children love to improvise and extend. On a steel tongue drum the gently rocking melody is relaxed and melodically satisfying, with a smooth arc that rewards a light, fluid touch across the tongues. The short, symmetrical phrases make it easy to learn while the song's improvisation tradition keeps it fresh and creative every time it is played.
How to play Down by the Bay 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 Down by the Bay.
About this melody
Traditional North American camp song.