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3All songs / Simple Gifts
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Simple Gifts
Free number tabs for Simple Gifts on the steel tongue drum. 39 notes, C Major scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
5
55
56
65
53
31
13
32
23
34
42
21
11
13
35
56
6•1
86
65
53
32
23
35
54
43
35
56
6•1
86
65
53
32
23
35
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:
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Simple Gifts is a Shaker dancing song composed by Elder Joseph Brackett in 1848, celebrating simplicity and spiritual freedom with one of America's most beloved folk melodies. On a steel tongue drum the nimble, syncopated tune feels both meditative and subtly playful, the clear ring of each note perfectly matching the Shaker ideal of unadorned beauty. Its moderate energy and singable contour make it a joy for players of all backgrounds.
How to play Simple Gifts 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 Simple Gifts.
About this melody
Shaker hymn, Joseph Brackett 1848.