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Number tabs for the steel tongue drum
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Free number tabs for Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring on the steel tongue drum. 45 notes, C Major scale, Intermediate level — play it instantly in the free Tongue Drum Online player.
The tab
6
65
53
35
56
6•1
87
76
67
7•1
87
75
57
7•1
8•3
0•2
9•1
8•2
9•1
87
75
57
7•1
86
67
76
64
46
67
75
56
65
53
35
56
6•1
85
53
35
56
6•1
87
76
65
51–7 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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Watch this song played
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring from Bach's cantata BWV 147 (1723) is one of classical music's most treasured melodies, its rolling triplet figure symbolising an unbroken spiritual journey. On a steel tongue drum the flowing, circular motion becomes deeply meditative, the warm overtones filling the space between notes with a choir-like resonance. Its continuous triplet stream gives intermediate players a satisfying test of rhythmic fluency.
How to play Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring 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 intermediate arrangement and a simplified, single-instrument version of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
About this melody
J.S. Bach, BWV 147, 1723 (public domain).