Old MacDonald — Dulcimer Tab

• Notes25, 5 pitches
• RangeD4–B4
• Key hereD major
• Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
• LevelEasy

Can a dulcimer 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.

• DAD✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, D4–B4 · loaded above
• DAA✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, D4–B4 · load it

Old MacDonald: dulcimer tab

The large line is the fret, on the melody string unless a string is named; the small line under it is the note. 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.

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.

• 0D4×8
• 1E4×4
• 2F♯4×4
• 4A4×5
• 5B4×4

What to expect on a dulcimer

• It runs from D4 to B4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 15 above.
• 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, D4 to A4, at note 4.
• It uses 5 fret positions: 0, 1, 2, 4, 5.
• The whole tune is on the melody string, so it can be played with a noter while the other strings drone.

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.

• Old MacDonald — kalimbatabs
• Old MacDonald — pianoletter notes
• Old MacDonald — mbiratabs
• Old MacDonald — guzhengtabs
• Old MacDonald — handpantabs
• Old MacDonald — oudnotes
• Old MacDonald — violinnotes
• Old MacDonald — cellonotes
• Old MacDonald — erhunotes
• Old MacDonald — xylophoneletter notes
• Old MacDonald — marimbaletter notes
• Old MacDonald — glockenspielletter notes
• Old MacDonald — steel drumletter notes
• Old MacDonald — ocarinanotes
• Old MacDonald — harmonicatabs
• Old MacDonald — trumpetnotes
• Old MacDonald — clarinetnotes
• Old MacDonald — saxophonenotes
• Old MacDonald — flutenotes
• Old MacDonald — recordernotes
• Old MacDonald — tubanotes
• Old MacDonald — euphoniumnotes
• Old MacDonald — trombonenotes
• Old MacDonald — accordionletter notes
• Old MacDonald — harpletter notes
• Old MacDonald — lyretabs

More songs for the dulcimer

• Hot Cross BunsNursery rhymes · major third
• Lightly RowNursery rhymes · fifth
• Twinkle Twinkle Little StarNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Mary Had a Little LambNursery rhymes · fifth
• Row, Row, Row Your BoatNursery rhymes · octave
• London BridgeNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Frère JacquesNursery rhymes · major sixth
• Going Home (New World Largo)Classical melodies · fifth

All 35 dulcimer songs · Christmas songs for dulcimer · The online dulcimer on its own