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left handright handRTAG♯123EFF♯C♯1234123EFF♯G♯upper joint · left handlower joint · right handRTAG♯123EFF♯C♯1234123EFF♯G♯
E3sounds D3Chalumeau+ register key → B4
SongsMary Had a Little Lamb
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  1. 3
  2. 2
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 3
  7. 3
  8. 2
  9. 2
  10. 2
  11. 3
  12. 5
  13. 5
  14. 3
  15. 2
  16. 1
  17. 2
  18. 3
  19. 3
  20. 3
  21. 3
  22. 2
  23. 2
  24. 3
  25. 2
  26. 1

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain.

33 notes · E3–C6 written · sounds D3–B♭5 · 33 notes · The clarinet almost everyone plays: band, jazz, school. Sounds a whole step below the part.

Tap a note, or slide along them to slur from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is written G3 and they climb a semitone at a time.

ClarinetFree · printable · plays in your browser

Mary Had a Little Lamb — Clarinet Notes

Mary Had a Little Lamb, written out for the clarinet as letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one and set up above on the B♭ clarinet. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the clarinet waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeC4–G4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a clarinet play Mary Had a Little Lamb?

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.

  • B♭ clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · loaded above
  • A clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it
  • E♭ clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it
  • Bass clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it

The notes here are written pitch, which is what a clarinet player reads. On the B♭ clarinet this sounds in B♭ major.

Mary Had a Little Lamb: clarinet notes

The large line is the note, and the drawing is its fingering — a filled hole or key is one that is down. 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

Mary Had a Little Lamb — clarinet notes (B♭ clarinet) · tonalics.com

The 4 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 4 and you can play the whole tune.

  • CC4×3
  • DD4×10
  • EE4×11
  • GG4×2

What to expect on a clarinet

  • It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 8 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, E4 to G4, at note 12.
  • It stays below the break, so the register key is never used.

About the tune

The poem is by Sarah Josepha Hale, published in Boston in 1830; the hymn composer Lowell Mason set it to this tune the following year. In 1877 Thomas Edison recited its opening lines to test his phonograph, which makes it the first verse ever recorded and played back.

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain. More about Mary Had a Little Lamb →

Mary Had a Little Lamb on other instruments

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

More songs for the clarinet

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

Playing it on a real clarinet?

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

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