3
3All songs / This Old Man
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
This Old Man
Free number tabs for This Old Man on the steel tongue drum. 24 notes, C Major scale, Beginner level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
2
21
13
35
55
56
65
54
43
32
23
34
43
32
21
13
35
55
5•1
87
76
65
51
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:
32156487
This Old Man — also known as 'Knick-Knack Paddywhack' — is a beloved counting nursery rhyme from the English and American folk tradition, delightful for all ages. On a steel tongue drum its perky, step-wise melody has a bright, chiming quality that children and adults alike find irresistible. Short phrases and a moderate tempo make it perfectly suited for beginners.
How to play This Old Man 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 This Old Man.
About this melody
English / American traditional.