5
5All songs / Waltzing Matilda
Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Waltzing Matilda
Free number tabs for Waltzing Matilda on the steel tongue drum. 36 notes, C Major scale, Easy level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
5
56
65
53
33
35
56
66
67
76
65
55
55
56
65
53
33
35
5•1
87
76
65
55
55
56
65
53
31
13
35
52
23
32
21
11
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:
5637812
Waltzing Matilda is Australia's unofficial anthem, Banjo Paterson's bush ballad set to a lilting waltz-march rhythm that is utterly unlike any other national song in the world. On the steel tongue drum the dotted-note phrases swing with a distinctive bush swagger, the instrument's warmth perfectly evoking the wide Australian landscape. The familiar tune and moderate tempo make it an enjoyable easy piece with genuine storytelling energy.
How to play Waltzing Matilda 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 Waltzing Matilda.
About this melody
Banjo Paterson / Marie Cowan, 1895, Australian.