77 Songs for 13-note C-major Tongue Drum. Songbook for Beginners. Play by Note or by Number

Book excerpt: Tongue drums are very versatile and can be manufactured with different notes, this book is designed for the most popular and widely used model. If you have a 13-note tongue drum but are unsure of its tuning, it is likely in C major. To confirm, compare its notes with the chart in the introduction. C major is the most common and popular tuning for tongue drums, and our book is perfectly suited for drums in this key. The notes are typically G (5), A (6), B (7), C (1), D (2), E (3), F (4), G (5), A (6), B (7), C (1), D (2), E (3). The tongue drum (also known as a tong drum, tank drum, gluck-o-phone, or hapi drum) and the handpan (also referred to as a hank drum, UFO drum, or zen drum) are percussion instruments designed to help you focus on your emotions, sensations, and body. You don’t need formal music training or knowledge of music theory to play them. Their main purpose is to encourage relaxation, meditation, and exploration of your inner world. In this songbook, we've compiled a collection of traditional English-language songs and ballads from various countries, including England, Ireland, Scotland, the USA, and Australia. The book features 77 songs, all of which can be played on any C-major tongue drum with 13 or more keys. Most of the songs can also be played on an 11-key tongue drum. All melodies are written in traditional musical notation, but this book is beginner-friendly as well. For those unfamiliar with reading sheet music, we’ve added corresponding numbers above each note. The numbering system in this book uses the common diatonic scale, with numbers ranging from 1 to 7 to represent the notes of each octave. Each page includes QR codes that link to recordings of the songs. While these recordings may not exactly match the traditional versions notated in this book, they serve as useful guides for understanding the melodies and rhythms. Playing by Numbers For tongue drums with numbered musical notation, the numbers 1 to 7 represent the notes of the diatonic major scale. Dots above or below the numbers indicate notes from a higher or lower octave, respectively. The songs in this books are adapted for the tongue drums with C-major scale. The number of notes available to you will depend on the range of your tongue drum. Playing the Tongue Drum Most steel tongue drums come with mallets, and if you’ve never played a percussion instrument before, using mallets is the recommended way to start. Mallets make it easy to produce beautiful notes effortlessly, bouncing off the surface to create a clear, resonant sound. Contents Alabama Gal Annie Laurie Aura Lee Barbara Polka Bayou Sara Beautiful Brown Eyes Bella Ciao Big Rock Candy Mountains Blood on the Saddle Bound for South Australia Brennan on the Moor Bridal Chorus Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie Butcher Boy Cliffs of Doneen Come Back Liza Cotton Eyed Joe Daddy Fox Down by the Salley Gardens Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes Drunken Sailor Fire In the Mountains For He Is a Folly Good Fellow Get Along Little Doggies Henry My Son Hi’ilawe Hopping Dance I Gave My Love a Cherry Isn’t It Grand, Boys? Italian Waltz James Connoly Land of the Silver Birch Largo from the “New World Symphone” by Dvorak Lavender's Blue Long, Long Ago Man of Constant Sorrow Molly Malone My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean My Home’s in Montana My Paddle My Singing Bird My Wild Irish Rose O Christmas Tree Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be Oh How Lovely the Evening Is Old Folks at Home Old Jim Slack Grey Horse Peace Round Pigeon on the Gate Scarborough Fair She Wore a Yellow Ribbon She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain Skibbereen Spancil Hill Sweet Betsy From Pike The Banks of Claudy The Bonny Boy The Boys of Fairhill The Curragh of Kildare The Galway Races The Irish Rover The Kerry Recruit The Meeting of the Waters The Northern Lights of Aberdeen The Rocks of Bawn The Snowy-Breasted Pearl The Spanish Lady Three Score and Ten Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ra Town of Ballybay Trees Grow Tall Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree Vive L’Amour Wanderin’ Weile Walia Wildwood Flower Wreck of Old ‘97