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Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Sweet Betsy from Pike
Free number tabs for Sweet Betsy from Pike on the steel tongue drum. 24 notes, C Major Pentatonic scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
•1
6•2
7•1
6•3
8•2
7•1
6•3
8•2
7•1
6•2
75
45
4•1
6•1
6•2
7•3
8•2
7•1
65
46
55
43
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 Pentatonic scale, then tap the petals or press these keyboard keys in order, following the tab above:
4678531
"Sweet Betsy from Pike" is a humorous American frontier ballad that followed gold-rush pioneers across the Rockies, packed with tall-tale adventure. Its lilting triple meter and dotted rhythms give the melody a cheerful, story-telling quality that rings out beautifully on a steel tongue drum. Dotted notes add just enough rhythmic interest to make this a fun challenge for players ready to move beyond perfectly even rhythms.
How to play Sweet Betsy from Pike 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 easy arrangement and a simplified, single-instrument version of Sweet Betsy from Pike.
About this melody
American frontier song.