Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star✧
A familiar melody. Six simple notes. Your first little bit of magic.
Sheet music
Tap a staff note or finger tab to hear it.
Opening
Middle
Return
D whistle · D major · 4/4 · 100 BPM · + upper octave
Opening
Middle
Return
Lyrics
Jane Taylor · The Star (1806)
The five stanzas of the original poem. When singing, repeat the opening two lines at the end of each stanza to fit the six-line melody.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone, When he nothing shines upon, Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveller in the dark, Thanks you for your tiny spark; He could not see which way to go, If you did not twinkle so.
In the dark blue sky you keep, And often through my curtains peep, For you never shut your eye, Till the sun is in the sky.
’Tis your bright and tiny spark, Lights the traveller in the dark: Though I know not what you are, Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
About this tune
This lullaby joins Jane Taylor’s poem The Star, published in 1806, to the older French melody Ah! vous dirai-je, maman. The same tune is also familiar as the alphabet song.
The words turn a small light in the night sky into a source of wonder and reassurance. Repeated phrases frame a gently descending middle section before the opening melody returns.
Performances
Watch musicians play this tune on tin whistle. Keys and arrangements may differ from the tabs above.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star — D whistle
Tim Price (tinwhistlerevolution)
An unaccompanied performance on a Susato D tin whistle.
Watch on YouTube — Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star — D whistle by Tim Price (tinwhistlerevolution) (opens in a new tab) ↗Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star — tin whistle cover
CutiePie
A simple performance on a Clarke Sweetone D whistle, followed by a beginner lesson.
Watch on YouTube — Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star — tin whistle cover by CutiePie (opens in a new tab) ↗