Written by Ambre Montespan - Updated on May 8, 2026
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Do you own a 7-tine kalimba and want to learn a simple, easy song on your percussion instrument? Would you like to study the sheet music or tablature for You Are My Sunshine, a beautiful country melody recorded by Jimmie Davis in 1939? If so, you’ve come to the right place! With the musical documents and helpful tips you’ll find in this article, you’ll soon be able to play this lovely piece.
Let’s start learning this 7-key kalimba score right away.
First, tune your instrument
Kalimba models with 7 tines offer very limited options in terms of playable melodies. So, to play You Are My Sunshine, you’ll need 7 notes from the C major scale—but not just any 7. You’ll need to tune your thumb piano according to the diagram below. Without this specific tuning, you won’t be able to play the melody.
If you’ve never tuned your kalimba differently, don’t worry—it’s very simple. Just slide the tines up or down, then check each note with a tuner until it matches the target pitch. We explain this process in detail in our free guide to tuning the kalimba. It includes detailed explanations and photographs to show you how to change the tuning of your African instrument.
Next, make sure you know how to read sheet music and tablature for this instrument. Again, it’s not difficult to learn, but it’s essential for playing melodies well on a kalimba—especially if you plan to use tablature, which we strongly recommend.
Use our video tutorial to learn the song You Are My Sunshine faster
What could be better than following a short video where you simply copy what you see on the screen with your fingers to play You Are My Sunshine? You’ll pick it up faster. So watch the video below:
You Are My Sunshine is a very well-known song in the United States, but you might not be familiar with it. You can also listen to a cover of this melody by a promising young singer.
The sheet music with numbers for a 7-tine kalimba
Once your instrument is properly tuned as described above, you can use this simplified sheet music made up of a series of numbers that correspond to musical notes. If you follow it carefully, you’ll be able to play the melody of You Are My Sunshine with ease.
Choose a score with letters for a 7-key thumb piano
Are you used to reading sheet music with letters instead of numbers? No worries—we’ve already done the conversion for you, and you can find that version below.
Use the tablature for You Are My Sunshine
Tablature may seem complicated at first glance, but it’s actually quite straightforward. It’s a bit more detailed than the simplified sheet music you saw above, but it comes with so many benefits that we can only recommend it. For example, it gives you a clearer visual of which tines to play and how long to hold each note.
Print out the sheet music for the melody You Are My Sunshine
Some musicians find it easier to use paper when learning a song. That’s why we’re offering a free PDF file that includes the sheet music and tablature for You Are My Sunshine for the 7-tine kalimba. You can print what you want, whenever you want, so you can study this piece in perfect conditions.
Who composed the song You Are My Sunshine?
According to a study published by the Rockford Institute in 1990, the song You Are My Sunshine was originally composed by a certain Oliver Hood, a musician living in the town of LaGrange, Georgia. However, this information is far from certain.
In fact, it has been proven that singer Jimmie Davis bought the rights to this song from Paul Rice in 1939 for €30 when Rice urgently needed money to pay his wife’s hospital bills. However, there’s some doubt as to whether Paul Rice may have claimed the song as his own, as it’s believed to be the work of Oliver Hood—the two artists had previously worked together in the music industry. According to Paul Rice, he wrote and composed this song in 1937 after receiving a long letter from his daughter while she was living in South Carolina. For Oliver Hood and his family, Paul Rice stole credit for the melody, without further details. Ultimately, it seems the truth may remain unclear for many years to come.
Choose a 17-note kalimba to play hundreds of songs
Even though a 7-tine kalimba is limited by its small number of notes, you can still play beautiful melodies like You Are My Sunshine, a classic tune in the US. With the sheet music and tablature we’ve shared above, you’ll have no trouble playing this song on your 7-note instrument.
That said, it’s clear that this 7-note thumb piano isn’t ideal if you want to play lots of well-known, popular songs. If that’s your goal, we recommend choosing a 17-tine model with a much wider range. For this reason, Instruments du Monde recommends a 17-key kalimba that’s perfect for getting started. Made from beautiful solid mahogany, it will let you play many more melodies.
Discover this 17-key kalimba now by clicking on the image below:
Christmas is just around the corner. To celebrate the season, pick up your 7-key kalimba and play Vive le Vent (Jingle Bells) on your kalimba. It’s quick and easy to learn. You may also be interested in our other sheet music for 7-key kalimbas.
