TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Erhu songs
SongsMary Had a Little Lamb
Play a different song (28)

8 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the tuning brings some of them into reach.

Play along
  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.

2 strings · D4–A4 open · A5 at the octave · D key · 1 = D · A perfect fifth, the same interval a violin uses between neighbours. Those two notes are the entire tuning; everything above them is your hand.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never leaves the strings. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — the inner string is the upper key — hold one and the note holds.

ErhuFree · printable · plays in your browser

Mary Had a Little Lamb — Erhu Notes

Mary Had a Little Lamb, written out for the erhu as every note with its string and how far up it. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the erhu waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeD4–A4
  • Key hereD major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a erhu play Mary Had a Little Lamb?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the erhu, in D major from D4 to A4. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Mary Had a Little Lamb: erhu notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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 — erhu notes · 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.

  • DD·0×3
  • ED·2×10
  • F♯D·4×11
  • AA·0×2

What to expect on a erhu

  • It runs from D4 to A4, a fifth, using 4 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 12 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, F♯4 to A4, at note 12.
  • It is played on 2 strings (D and A), crossing between strings 2 times.
  • 5 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 4 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

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 erhu

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

Playing it on a real erhu?

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

🎙 Open the Erhu Tuner