5
5All songs / Kumbaya
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Kumbaya
Free number tabs for Kumbaya on the steel tongue drum. 31 notes, C Major scale, Beginner level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
•1
8•1
8•1
8•2
9•1
87
76
65
5•1
85
5•1
8•1
8•1
8•2
9•1
87
76
65
56
6•1
8•3
0•2
9•1
87
76
65
56
65
53
31
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:
58976031
Kumbaya is a traditional African-American spiritual whose name is believed to come from the Gullah phrase "come by here," a heartfelt call for divine presence. On a steel tongue drum the spare, unhurried melody becomes deeply meditative, each long-held note sounding like a prayer rising into open air. Its gentle pacing and repetitive structure make it one of the most calming and approachable pieces on the instrument.
How to play Kumbaya 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 beginner arrangement and a simplified, single-instrument version of Kumbaya.
About this melody
Traditional African / American spiritual, pre-1928 (public domain).