TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Erhu songs
SongsOld MacDonald Had a Farm
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. 1
  2. 1
  3. 1
  4. 5
  5. 6
  6. 6
  7. 5
  8. 3
  9. 3
  10. 2
  11. 2
  12. 1
  13. 5
  14. 1
  15. 1
  16. 1
  17. 5
  18. 6
  19. 6
  20. 5
  21. 3
  22. 3
  23. 2
  24. 2
  25. 1

Traditional, published 1917 in this form. 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

Old MacDonald — Erhu Notes

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, 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.

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

Can a erhu play Old MacDonald?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the erhu, in D major from D4 to B4. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Old MacDonald: 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

Old MacDonald Had a Farm — erhu notes · 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.

  • DD·0×8
  • ED·2×4
  • F♯D·4×4
  • AA·0×5
  • BA·2×4

What to expect on a erhu

  • It runs from D4 to B4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 10 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, D4 to A4, at note 4.
  • It is played on 2 strings (D and A), crossing between strings 6 times.
  • 13 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

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 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