TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
β€Ή Harmonica songs

Top half blows, bottom half draws.

Hold a reed to blow or draw it. To bend, drag a draw note down β€” or a high blow note up β€” into the notes marked beside it. On a keyboard, ↓ sets a bend for the keys.

SongsMary Had a Little Lamb
Play a different song (34)

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

Play along
  1. 5
  2. -4
  3. 4
  4. -4
  5. 5
  6. 5
  7. 5
  8. -4
  9. -4
  10. -4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 6
  14. 5
  15. -4
  16. 4
  17. -4
  18. 5
  19. 5
  20. 5
  21. 5
  22. -4
  23. -4
  24. 5
  25. -4
  26. 4

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain.

20 reeds Β· 10 holes Β· 12 bent notes Β· C harmonica Β· Every reed on the piano’s pitch. Melodies sound the way you expect; chords beat a little.

Tap a reed, or slide along the holes to run through the notes in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the reeds are the ones to press β€” the number row blows holes 1 to 10 and the row under it draws them.

HarmonicaFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

Mary Had a Little Lamb β€” Harmonica Tabs

Mary Had a Little Lamb, written out for the harmonica as hole-by-hole tab with every blow, draw and bend and set up above on the Equal tuning. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the harmonica waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeC5–G5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm Β· about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a harmonica play Mary Had a Little Lamb?

Yes β€” 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.

  • Equal tuningβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–G5 Β· loaded above
  • Just tuningβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–G5 Β· load it

Mary Had a Little Lamb: harmonica tabs

The large line is the hole β€” a minus means draw, each apostrophe a semitone of bend; the small line under it is the note it sounds. 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.

β–Ά Play it above

Mary Had a Little Lamb β€” harmonica tabs (Equal tuning) Β· 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.

  • 4C5Γ—3
  • -4D5Γ—10
  • 5E5Γ—11
  • 6G5Γ—2

What to expect on a harmonica

  • It runs from C5 to G5, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, E5 to G5, at note 12.
  • 16 of its 26 notes are blown and 10 drawn, in holes 4 to 6.
  • No bends: every note is a plain blow or draw.
  • The breath changes direction 14 times.

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 β†’

Mary Had a Little Lamb on other instruments

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

More songs for the harmonica

All 36 harmonica songs Β· Christmas songs for harmonica Β· The online harmonica on its own

Playing it on a real harmonica?

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

πŸŽ™ Open the Harmonica Tuner