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8All songs / Old Black Joe
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Old Black Joe
Free number tabs for Old Black Joe on the steel tongue drum. 24 notes, C Major scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
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8•1
86
65
53
35
56
66
66
65
53
3•1
8•1
8•1
8•3
0•2
9•1
86
65
56
67
75
5•1
81–7 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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Old Black Joe is Stephen Foster's 1853 song of memory and mortality, a wistful minor-inflected melody that moves with the measured pace of someone looking back on a long life. On a steel tongue drum the simple, descending phrases feel quiet and introspective, the instrument's natural decay lending each note a sense of fading recollection. Its unhurried tempo and clear phrase structure make it a moving and manageable choice for players drawn to reflective repertoire.
How to play Old Black Joe 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 Old Black Joe.
About this melody
Stephen Foster, 1853.