Kalimba Sheet Music for Yiruma’s “River Flows in You”

Do you love the compositions of South Korean pianist Yiruma and want to try playing his famous melody "River Flows in You" on your kalimba? It won’t be easy—the notes move quickly—but with practice and the sheet music and tabs you’ll find later in this article, you’ll give yourself the best chance of performing "River Flows in You" successfully.

Let’s start by looking at this thumb piano sheet music.

Check this before tackling the River Flows in You sheet music for kalimba

If you’ve never read kalimba sheet music or you plan to use the tablature, we strongly recommend reading this guide, which covers all the key points for deciphering thumb piano scores. Otherwise, you might get stuck on certain signs or symbols that could make learning the melody harder than it needs to be.

Also, checking your instrument’s tuning from time to time is essential. If it’s been a while, or if you’ve never done it before, take a look at how to tune a kalimba perfectly. Taking a minute to do this helps ensure the notes you play stay in tune.

Use a tutorial to learn Yiruma's piece faster

Sheet music or tablature is great for studying a melody, but a tutorial can be even more effective. Use this one to see exactly when to press the kalimba’s tines.

If you’re not yet familiar with Yiruma’s original work, it’s the perfect time to watch one of his performances.

Easily play River Flows in You with simplified sheet music using numbers

Simplified sheet music, which is a simple sequence of numbers or letters, lets beginners play any melody on their kalimba without needing to read standard music notation.

The lettered sheet music for River Flows in You for mbira

If you haven't already noticed, there are two main ways to write notes for the kalimba: numbers and letters. Here you’ll find the simplified sheet music with letters, which matches exactly the numbered version you saw above.

A tablature of Yiruma's song adapted for the mbira

Tablature is written specifically for each instrument. The one below is designed for a 17-tine kalimba. Enjoy!

Save the River Flows in You melody as a PDF

It’s frustrating when you can’t play a melody simply because you don’t have an internet connection. With the PDF file containing all the sheet music and tablature for River Flows in You, that will never be an issue again. Save it to your device or print it out so you’re always ready to play. And of course, it’s all completely free!

Who composed River Flows in You?

The piece "River Flows in You" was composed in 2001 by Yiruma, whose real name is Lee Ru-ma, a South Korean pianist born on 15 February 1978. It is one of the artist's two huge international hits, along with his other song called "Kiss The Rain." "River Flows in You" is a romantic composition directly inspired by Parisian classical music, particularly the works of Samuel Vallée, another French composer and pianist.

Yiruma began playing the piano at the age of 5 and moved to England with his family at the age of 10 in 1988. He graduated from prestigious English music schools in 2000. Quickly recognised for his talents as a composer, the artist produced his first album in 2001, which he named "Love Scene." It was on his second album, "First Love," released on 1 December 2001, that the track "River Flows in You" could be heard. Given the global success of this piece, a dedicated single was released in 2011. Since 2004, Yiruma has performed in numerous concerts around the world, particularly in South Korea.

Why did Yiruma call his song "River Flows in You"?

Yiruma has never shared the exact reasons behind this enigmatic choice, so there’s no official explanation. It could evoke falling in love or discovering your inner music—ultimately, it’s up to each listener to find their own meaning.

Add finesse to your playing with a high-quality kalimba

Yiruma’s piano compositions aren’t the easiest to play, and the same goes for the kalimba. But now you have the sheet music and tablature you need to succeed. After a few hours of practice, this beautiful piece of classical music will be well within your reach, and you can relax to the rhythm of the notes of "River Flows in You."

Still, don’t expect a melody as beautiful as the one Yiruma plays if you don’t have a high-quality kalimba. There are plenty of low-end models out there that won’t feel satisfying when you’re tackling a piece this nuanced. To give you the best possible experience, Instruments du Monde invites you to discover this superb instrument from Gecko, a leading brand in the world of kalimbas. You can be sure you’re getting a premium instrument with truly impressive acoustic performance.

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View the Gecko kalimba

Want to learn a new song on your mbira? We invite you to try the legendary “Zombie” by The Cranberries with our kalimba sheet music. You’re sure to impress your audience with this track, just like with all the songs we share on our website in our 17-tine kalimba sheet music and tablature collection.