Old MacDonald — Handpan Tabs

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

Can a handpan play Old MacDonald?

3 of the 5 here do. 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.

• D Kurd✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above
• D Celtic Minor✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
• D Hijaz✕ Cannot play itNeeds C5, D5, which it does not have
• E Amara✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, D4–B4 · load it
• E Equinox✕ Cannot play itNeeds A4, which it does not have

Old MacDonald: handpan tabs

The large line is the tone field, numbered from the lowest; 0 is the ding; the small line under it is its 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.

• 3C4×8
• 4D4×4
• 5E4×4
• 7G4×5
• 8A4×4

What to expect on a handpan

• It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. Its top note is the highest this instrument has.
• 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 4.
• It uses 5 tone fields of this scale’s 8: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8.
• 17 notes fall to the left hand and 8 to the right.

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 — oudnotes
• Old MacDonald — violinnotes
• Old MacDonald — cellonotes
• Old MacDonald — erhunotes
• Old MacDonald — dulcimertab
• 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 handpan

• 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 14 handpan songs · The online handpan on its own