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SongsOld MacDonald Had a Farm
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Traditional, published 1917 in this form. Public domain.

41 keys · F3–A6 · 41 keys · The standard piano accordion: a 41-key keyboard, the same notes push or pull.

Tap a key, or slide along them to run from note to note on one breath of the bellows. On a keyboard the letters on the keys are the ones to press — A to ' are middle C up to F like a piano's white keys, W E T Y U O P the black ones; Z to / are ten bass notes and 1 to 0 their major chords (Shift for counterbass and minor); Space turns the bellows.

AccordionFree · printable · plays in your browser

Old MacDonald — Accordion Letter Notes

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, written out for the accordion as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the Piano keys. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the accordion waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes25, 5 pitches
  • RangeC4–A4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a accordion play Old MacDonald?

Yes — every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • Piano keys✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above
  • Buttons · C-system✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • Buttons · B-system✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • Diatonic · one row✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it

Old MacDonald: accordion letter notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is its number in the scale. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Old MacDonald Had a Farm — accordion letter notes (Piano keys) · tonalics.com

The 5 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 5 and you can play the whole tune.

  • C1×8
  • D2×4
  • E3×4
  • G5×5
  • A6×4

What to expect on a accordion

  • It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 7 semitones unused below and 24 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 4.

About the tune

A cumulative farm song with 18th-century English ancestors; the version sung today, with this tune and this farmer’s name, was printed in 1917 in a collection of songs from the First World War.

Traditional, published 1917 in this form. Public domain. More about Old MacDonald →

Old MacDonald on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation.

More songs for the accordion

All 36 accordion songs · Christmas songs for accordion · The online accordion on its own

Playing it on a real accordion?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The accordion tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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