Loy Krathong Kalimba Tab — Letter Notes & Numbered Tabs
The full Loy Krathong 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
Beginner
Key
C Major (17-key)
Range
C5 – A5
Tempo
100 BPM
Every November, when the full moon rises over Thailand, millions of people carry small decorated baskets to the rivers and set them afloat. That festival is Loy Krathong, and this gentle song is the tune everyone sings on that night — children learn it in school, and whole cities sing it together on the riverbanks. The words wish the river well and ask it to carry off the year's misfortunes, which is why the melody feels like something drifting calmly downstream.
It is also one of the most satisfying festival songs you can learn on kalimba. The melody moves in smooth arcs — up and then back down, the way a krathong rocks on the water — and every note sits on the middle tines of a 17-key instrument, between C5 and A5. You never have to stretch toward the edges of the kalimba.
Below you get the full arrangement in two formats: letter tabs (C, D, E...) if you think in note names, and numbered tabs (1 2 3...) if you follow the numbers on your tines. Both are the same arrangement — the same one the interactive player on this site plays — so pick whichever feels natural.
Hear Loy Krathong first
Listen to the traditional Loy Krathong song before you play it — this is the version Thai children sing at the festival, and hearing it once makes the arcs in the tab below feel obvious.
Video: Best Loy Krathong Song (เพลงลอยกระทง) (YouTube). Want to test the fingerings as you listen? Open our virtual kalimba in a second tab and pluck along with the recording.
Loy Krathong 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 C5 E5 G5 A5 G5 | E5 C5 D5 E5 F5 E5 | | D5 C5 D5 E5 C5 | C5 E5 G5 A5 G5 E5 | | C5 D5 E5 F5 E5 D5 | C5 C5 |
Loy Krathong 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 1 3 5 6 5 | 3 1 2 3 4 3 | | 2 1 2 3 1 | 1 3 5 6 5 3 | | 1 2 3 4 3 2 | 1 1 |
Prefer to hear it first? Open Loy Krathong 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 Loy Krathong on kalimba?
We rate this arrangement Beginner. We rate this arrangement Beginner. The melody uses only six different tines, all in the comfortable middle of the instrument, and the tempo is a relaxed 100 BPM. The only idea worth practicing is the shape of the phrases: each one climbs to a peak note and glides back down, like something floating away. Let the melody breathe instead of rushing between phrases, and the song practically plays itself.
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.
Phrase 1 — the basket sets off
C5 C5 E5 G5 A5 G5 E5 C5. A rising arc to A5 followed by a gentle return. This is the song's signature shape, and it opens both halves of the arrangement.
Phrase 2 — drifting downstream
D5 E5 F5 E5 D5 C5, then D5 E5. A small rolling wave that touches F5 — the only new note in the song — before settling back toward home.
Phrase 3 — the float away
The opening arc returns, then the arrangement closes with D5 E5 F5 E5 D5 C5 C5. Land the last C5 softly; that fading note is the basket disappearing around the bend.
Playing tips
- See the arcs before you play them. The first phrase rises C5 C5 E5 G5 A5 and then walks back down the same hill. When you think of the phrase as one wave instead of eight separate notes, your thumb glides between tines far more smoothly.
- The high point is A5, on the upper-middle tines of a 17-key kalimba. It arrives early, in the very first phrase. Practice the approach from G5 a few times so the peak lands softly rather than with a jab.
- Keep the two opening C5s even and gentle. They set the floating mood of the whole song — if they come out heavy, everything after them sounds rushed.
- Let the notes ring into each other. This is a water song, and the kalimba's natural sustain does most of the work: avoid damping the tines between notes, and the arrangement starts to sound like the river it was written for.
Loy Krathong kalimba FAQ
Is Loy Krathong a good song for beginners?
Yes — it is one of the friendliest festival songs in our library. Six tines, stepwise motion, and a slow tempo. The arcing phrases take a little shaping, but there are no hard reaches and no chords anywhere in the arrangement.
What is the song about?
It is sung during the Loy Krathong festival on the November full moon. People float small decorated baskets called krathongs, and the lyrics thank the river and ask it to carry away the year's bad luck. You do not need to speak Thai to play it — the melody carries the feeling on its own.
Can I play it on a smaller kalimba?
You need the notes C5 through A5, the middle range of the instrument. Every 17-key kalimba covers that range, and most 10-key and 15-key instruments do too, which makes this one of the easiest songs to transfer to a smaller kalimba.
When should I play it?
It is the song of the Loy Krathong festival, which falls in November, but nothing stops you from playing it all year. Teachers use it in classrooms, and it is a lovely calm piece for evening practice — the melody was written to be sung by a crowd, so it never feels fragile.
What should I learn next?
Sakura Sakura is the perfect companion piece: another beloved festival melody built on beginner-friendly repetition. If you want to keep exploring Southeast Asian tunes, Bengawan Solo is a beautiful next step once your thumb movement feels smooth.
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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.