There are not many songs these days that are easily available for people who love to play the cute 8 note kalimba which is why we have compiled the best easy songs for this instrument and will continue to build upon our library. This resource is perfectly suited to our pocket sized kalimbas.
Most songs use other octaves that are not readily available on this instrument but a lot of them can be simplified to be suitable. As 8 note kalimbas are typically tuned to C-major they can be tuned differently which is why in this blog we will be using the letter notes and not number notation as it is universal to everyone!
1. You Raise Me Up
G A B C° B B A G F G E
G C° C° C° B B A G F G
2. River flows in you
C° B C° B C° G C° F
C E C° B C° B C G C° F
3. Happy Birthday
Happy birthday is one of the easiest songs to play on the kalimba. Its a great song for playing on the pocket sized 8 note thumb piano too!
Download the Happy Birthday Kalimba Tab
4. Somewhere over the rainbow
C C. B G A B C°
C A (C E G) D F E
C D E F D C C D E C
5. Titanic theme song (My heart will go on)
C D C G F E D
E F E D C C D
D C C C D
6. Faded
C G G E G E G A (G B)
G G D (G B) B
G G G (D F) F F E G
7. Country Roads
C D E D C D
E D C E G A
A G G E D C D E
8. Hallelujah
E (G C) G G G (A E) A A
E (G C) G G G G (A E) A A
A (A C) A A A
9. You are my sunshine
C D E F F F E F
C C C D E F A
10. Fly Me to the Moon
C° B A G F G A
C° B A G F E
11. Concerning hobbits
C D E G E D C
E G A C° B G E F E D
12. Twinkle Twinkle little star
Twinkle Twinkle little star is a classic nursery rhyme that sounds so sweet on the 8 note kalimba. Its super fun to learn.
13. Sound of silence
C C C C E D C
C C C C C D C C
14. Four Seasons spring
C E E E D C G
G F E E E D C G
15. Minuet Bach
(C E G) C D E F (G C) C C
(F A) F G A B (C° C) C C
16. Avatar the Last Airbender
G G F E G G F E
D E E E D C
E E E D C
17. Pirates of the caribbean
D D D E F F
F G E E D C C D
C C D D D E
18. Ode to Joy
E E F G G F E D
C D E E D D
19. Bohemian Rhapsody
C E A G C E A G
(C E) E C E A G
C D E E E (F D) G F E D
20. Angels we have heard on high
E E E E G G F E
E D E G E D C
21. Jingle Bells
E E E E E E
E G C D E
22. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
G E F G G
G A B C° C°
23. Never gonna give you up
C D F D A A G
C D F D G G F
24. Death bed
E G G E E A E E G
G D D G E D D D C
25. Killing me softly
C° C° C° C° A E G
F B B B B G D E
The Only Pocket Kalimba Songbook You’ll Ever Need!
The 8-Note Pocket Kalimba Songbook gives you 78 real songs—from nursery rhymes and folk tunes to classical and seasonal favourites—arranged specifically for the 8-note kalimba, so you can start playing music that actually sounds good immediately. There are no lessons, no theory, and no filler—just clear, colour-coded tablature in a downloadable PDF that works on any device, helping you build timing, accuracy, and confidence simply by playing. If you already know the basics and want a beautiful, long-term library of music you’ll actually enjoy, this book is the fastest way to turn your pocket kalimba into a real instrument.
