•1
8All songs / On Top of Old Smoky
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
On Top of Old Smoky
Free number tabs for On Top of Old Smoky on the steel tongue drum. 18 notes, C Major scale, Beginner level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
•1
8•3
0•5
W•5
W•5
W•3
0•2
9•3
0•3
0•3
0•2
9•1
8•1
8•2
9•1
87
7•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:
80W97
"On Top of Old Smoky" is a tender American Appalachian folk song whose sweeping melody has floated across mountain hollows for generations. Its broad waltz phrases unfold slowly and beautifully on a steel tongue drum, inviting players to focus on tone quality and gentle dynamics rather than speed. The simple, arching melody with minimal leaps is ideal for true beginners who want a song that already sounds deeply musical from the very first attempt.
How to play On Top of Old Smoky 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 On Top of Old Smoky.
About this melody
American folk song.