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1All songs / Michael Row the Boat Ashore
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Michael Row the Boat Ashore
Free number tabs for Michael Row the Boat Ashore on the steel tongue drum. 21 notes, C Major Pentatonic scale, Beginner level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
1
12
23
33
32
23
33
35
46
55
43
33
32
22
21
13
32
21
12
21
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 Pentatonic scale, then tap the petals or press these keyboard keys in order, following the tab above:
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Michael Row the Boat Ashore is a spiritual folk song that emerged from the Sea Islands of South Carolina around 1865, sung by freed enslaved people. Its simple, soul-stirring melody resonates with extraordinary depth on a steel tongue drum, each sustained note carrying a sense of hope and forward motion. The gentle hallelujah rhythm is ideal for meditative beginner practice.
How to play Michael Row the Boat Ashore 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 beginner arrangement and a simplified, single-instrument version of Michael Row the Boat Ashore.
About this melody
American folk (Sea Islands, c.1865).