# Xylophone sheet music - 8 keys



## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

DD1 got a "Litle Tikes" Xylophone for Christmas and I am trying to put it into rotation but I'm not good with music and I lost the piece of the box I saved with the four color coded songs.

Does anyone know if I can get free sheet music online preferably color coded for the musically challenged?,

Or is it too much to hope the color coding would be standardized? If so, I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to color code real shhet music.

The colors we have, from left to right, are: Dark Blue, Medium (Lighter) Blue, Green (Aquaish), Green (Avacadoish), Yellow, Orange, Bright Red, and Brick Red.

TIA, ~Cath


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

I found some elementary sheet music at "About.com". Of course I went back to get the link so I could post it here and I can't find it now.

Some of their music was from another free site: www.pitt.edu/~deben. Of course I can't get that link to work.

Some of the pieces are numbered, not colored, that would seem to be enough for really simple pieces. However, even something as seemingly simple as "Row Row Row Your Boat" might not work with a Xylophone. It may have something to do with the fact that the number 2 under "left hand over right" doesn't seem to work on the Xylophone. It is positioned higher than the other "2" that appears earlier in the piece.

So, it looks like I have a lot to learn.
~Cath


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## LaughingHyena (May 4, 2004)

Just had a look at your link.

It looks like the numbering indicates which finger you would play the note with on a piano, not which note you are playing. It's been a while since I played a piano though, I'm more of a guitar person.

You should be able to play it on your xylophone, dark blue, dark blue, bark blue, light blue, green etc.


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

I have a different xylophone so I can't be sure, but it is most likely in the key of C (ours is.) Every thing I am about to say is based on that assumption.

Do you know your do/re/me/fa/so/la/te/do. Hit the bars as you sing do-re-me and figure out which direction the notes are going in. The dark blue and brick red are both going to be "do" but one will be high and the other low. On music this is "C."

Start assosiating your colors with notes. Play the lower "do" and remember that it is "C." The next one over is "re" or "D," then "me" is "E," "fa" is "F," "so" is "G," "la" is "A," "te" is "B," and then finally your back to "do" which is "C."

Now that we have established which color is which note you need to read the music.

F______________________________
E
D______________________________
C
B______________________________
A
G______________________________
F
E______________________________

Above I have done my best to show a bar of music. There are five lines and four spaces in between them. The lines correspond to the notes E, G, B, D, and F going from bottom to top. A good way to remember this is "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge." The spaces correspond to the notes F, A, C, and E. A good way to remember this is "there's a FACE in the space." Extra lines can be added above or below the line to acomidate higher or lower notes, they continue in the same alfabetical sequence.

You will need music arranged into the key of "C." Once you find it simply color over the notes with magic markers or crayons.

HTH


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CathMac* 
Some of their music was from another free site: www.pitt.edu/~deben. Of course I can't get that link to work.

~Cath

Under first pieces everything up till "_For Health and Strength_" should be playable on your xylaphone. just color it in the way I decribed.


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Thanks for the replies, you have both been helpful. I did a little more poking around and I think I've confirmed I need right handed music. The numbered music isn't as hard to follow as I would have thought. The only real difficulty is that with most tunes only some of the notes are numbered. I have no idea why.

I'll keep looking as time permits, otherwise I'll just work with the numbered ones I found and either fill in the missing numbers or color all of them. I think the colors would be easier for DD1.

If anyone has any other suggestions I'd love to hear them.
~Cath


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

The reason the numbers are working on most of the music at that link is b/c the 1 finger happens to correspond to the C. The numbers will only work if you have music that is using only 5 notes that are in a row.


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## birdie22 (Apr 1, 2005)

DS has that same xylophone.

Alas, the color coding system is not universal. Colors and numbers are often used for "easy" piano music, but the systems vary among sources.

I threw away (ahem, recycled) the box, or else I would copy it for you. If you're looking for a certain song, post it and we can try to figure it out!Even if you never find the music, it's still fun to noodle around with it and figure out your own songs. Have you tried playing harmonies with an additional stick?

Sometimes I even let ds play with it!


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Eepster and Birdie22,
Thanks for the input. Regarding the key of C and 5 notes in a row, if there are 8 color coded keys with 7 notes: "Do", "Re", "Me", "Fa", "So", "La", "Tee", which brings us back to "Do", then why couldn't you have at least 7 notes in a row? Does this have to do with "Every Boy Deserves Good Fudge?

I printed out Eepster's first reply. I think I'll have to re-read it a couple of times before it sinks in.
Thanks, ~Cath


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CathMac* 
Eepster and Birdie22,
Thanks for the input. Regarding the key of C and 5 notes in a row, if there are 8 color coded keys with 7 notes: "Do", "Re", "Me", "Fa", "So", "La", "Tee", which brings us back to "Do", then why couldn't you have at least 7 notes in a row? Does this have to do with "Every Boy Deserves Good Fudge?

The numbers on that music correspond to fingers not notes, so if you have happen to be playing a song with five notes that are all next to each other and it's in the key of C you're going to use finger 1 for C, and finger 2 for D, and finger 3 for E, etc. Basicly if there are more than five notes in a song or they aren't all grouped they aren't next to each other you would have to move your hands so you might end up using finger 3 (middle finger) to play both C at one point in the song then use it to play an F later.

The "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" is just a memory trick to help you remember which notes th line are in musical notation.


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## birdie22 (Apr 1, 2005)

You are right on track with the do re mi, etc. Don't worry so much about what key things are in. A major scale (which is what you have) can start on any note.

The easiest thing might be to figure out songs yourself, and write down the sequence, either by numbering the tones, using the colors, or calling them do re mi (or Frank, Henry and Ted for that matter). DS's xylophone is in the car right now, or I would check out the actual note name of the pitch for you, but it really doesn't matter for the purposes of playing around.

For example, using numbers, Twinkle Twinkle is 1155665, 4433221, 5544332, 5544332, 1155665, 4433221
You supply the rhythm









The real trick is finding songs that don't need more than the 8 notes. (For example, The Wheels on the Bus requires that low note that's missing. I always have to sing that note EXTRA LOUD.)

Have fun and experiment together! The biggest lesson you're teaching your child at this age is that music is fun and anybody can do it, and there's no such thing as a wrong note as long as you're in the spirit.


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