House of the Rising Sun Kalimba Tab — Letter Notes & Numbered Tabs
The full House of the Rising Sun arrangement for a 17-key kalimba in C major, written out in both letter notes and numbered notation — with an honest difficulty note and practice tips for the parts that need them.
Difficulty
Intermediate
Key
C Major (17-key)
Range
E4 – F5
Tempo
80 BPM
House of the Rising Sun is an old folk song with tangled roots — nobody knows who wrote it, and versions have drifted between English and American singers for at least two centuries. Then in 1964 The Animals turned it into a roaring electric hit, and suddenly a ballad older than anyone alive was number one on both sides of the Atlantic. It has been a rite of passage for guitar players ever since, and kalimba players are starting to claim it too.
The melody lives up to its name: each phrase rises like a sun coming up, curls over, and rolls back down the other side. That rising-and-falling shape is exactly what a kalimba does best, because the instrument's long sustain smoothes the climbs and lets the descents ring. This arrangement is slow — a relaxed 80 BPM — and uses only 30 notes, so it is much shorter than it sounds when you hear the record.
Below you get the complete tab in letter notes and numbered notation for a standard 17-key kalimba, plus a difficulty guide and tips for the two phrases the whole song is built from. Learn those two and you have learned the song.
Hear House of the Rising Sun first
The 1964 recording that made the song famous. Listen once for the mood, then notice how the kalimba tab below follows the same rising melody line.
Video: The Animals — House Of The Rising Sun (Official 4K Video) (YouTube). Want to test the fingerings as you listen? Open our virtual kalimba in a second tab and pluck along with the recording.
House of the Rising Sun Kalimba Tabs — Letter Notes
How to read the letter tabs: each note shows the letter and the octave, like C4 or G5. On a 17-key kalimba in C, the lowest tine is C4 and the highest is E6, so the octave number tells you which side of the instrument to play on — smaller numbers are the longer, lower tines. A dash after a note (C4 -) means let it ring.
| C5 D5 E5 F5 E5 D5 | C5 A4 C5 D5 E5 C5 | | A4 G4 E4 C5 D5 | E5 F5 E5 D5 C5 A4 | | C5 D5 E5 C5 A4 G4 | E4 |
House of the Rising Sun Kalimba Tabs — Numbered Notation
How to read the numbered tabs: numbers 1–7 are the scale notes (1 = C, 2 = D, and so on). 1° is the low octave tine, plain 1 is the middle one, and 1′ is the high one — the same markings you see next to the numbers on your kalimba. Notes in parentheses ( ) play together, and a dash after a number means let it ring.
| 1 2 3 4 3 2 | 1 6° 1 2 3 1 | | 6° 5° 3° 1 2 | 3 4 3 2 1 6° | | 1 2 3 1 6° 5° | 3° |
Prefer to hear it first? Open House of the Rising Sun in the interactive player and follow along while it plays. For more songs in the same style, browse the free kalimba tabs hub.
How hard is House of the Rising Sun on kalimba?
We rate this arrangement Intermediate. We rate this arrangement Intermediate, mostly because of the minor-flavored key and the constant rises and falls — the melody is always leaning up or down rather than sitting still. There are no fast passages, no chords, and only 30 notes. If you can already play a simple folk song cleanly, this one is very reachable; the work is shaping the phrases, not finding the notes.
Learning path: phrase by phrase
Work through these phrases in order. Each one is short enough to master in a few minutes, and together they cover the whole song.
The rising opening — “there is a house in New Orleans”
C5 D5 E5 F5 E5 D5 C5 A4. A steady climb to F5, then a gentle curl back down to A4. This is the signature line of the song, and its shape repeats throughout the arrangement.
The long walk down
C5 D5 E5 C5 A4 G4 E4. A second climb that only reaches E5, then a stepwise descent that ends on E4, the lowest note in the tab. Give the final E4 room to ring.
The repeat
Those two phrases, in that order, are the entire arrangement — the song simply tells its story twice. Play the second pass slightly softer; it reads like the second verse of a ballad and gives the performance an ending.
Playing tips
- The whole song opens with a climb: C5 D5 E5 F5 E5 D5 C5 A4. Practice that single line until the rise to F5 and the curl back down feel like one motion, because almost every phrase in the arrangement borrows this shape.
- Watch the drop to A4 at the end of the opening line. It is the lowest note in the phrase and it lands on the left side of the instrument — move your left thumb down early instead of darting over at the last moment.
- Keep the tempo patient. The famous recording feels faster than it is because of the drums; on a solo kalimba, a steady 80 BPM with ringing notes sounds far better than rushing through 30 of them.
- Low notes on a kalimba are louder and longer than the notes around them. When the melody walks down to G4 and E4, play those tines a little softer so they support the phrase instead of swallowing it.
- Sing or hum the words while you practice. This is a story song, and the natural rise and fall of the lyrics tells you exactly how each phrase should be shaped.
House of the Rising Sun kalimba FAQ
Is House of the Rising Sun hard to play on kalimba?
It is a fair intermediate piece. Only 30 notes and a slow tempo keep it approachable, but the melody never rests — it is always rising or falling — and the minor-flavored key asks for careful listening. Taken phrase by phrase, most players get a confident version within a week of short sessions.
Why does the song sound sad or haunted?
The traditional melody leans on minor-sounding notes, which gives it that aching quality even at a slow tempo. Our arrangement keeps the character of the folk original while staying on a standard C-major kalimba — the mood comes from the melody itself, not from any retuning.
Can I play it on a 10-key kalimba?
Check your tines first. The arrangement needs the notes E4 through F5, including F4 and F5, which many smaller C-major kalimbas leave out. Every 17-key instrument covers the full range, so the tab is guaranteed to work there.
What should I play next?
Scarborough Fair is the natural companion: another centuries-old folk ballad with a wistful, rising-and-falling melody. If you would rather switch mood completely, Bella Ciao brings the same folk roots but with marching energy.
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Related tabs & guides
- Amazing Grace kalimba tabs — the other slow classic with wide, singing phrases; it pairs beautifully with this song at gatherings.
- 7 note kalimba songs — melodies that fit on small kalimbas, if you are playing on fewer than 17 tines.
- Kalimba tabs with numbers — more practice reading the numbered notation used in the tab above.
- 17-key kalimba tabs — arrangements written for the standard layout, including the high and low tines.