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Top half blows, bottom half draws.

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

SongsOld MacDonald Had a Farm
Play a different song (34)

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

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

Traditional, published 1917 in this form. Public domain.

20 reeds · 10 holes · 12 bent notes · C harmonica · 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 — the number row blows holes 1 to 10 and the row under it draws them.

HarmonicaFree · printable · plays in your browser

Old MacDonald — Harmonica Tabs

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, 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 — the harmonica waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes25, 5 pitches
  • RangeC5–A5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a harmonica 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.

  • Equal tuning✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–A5 · loaded above
  • Just tuning✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–A5 · load it

Old MacDonald: harmonica tabs

The large line is the hole — 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.

▶ Play it above

Old MacDonald Had a Farm — harmonica tabs (Equal tuning) · 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.

  • 4C5×8
  • -4D5×4
  • 5E5×4
  • 6G5×5
  • -6A5×4

What to expect on a harmonica

  • It runs from C5 to A5, 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, C5 to G5, at note 4.
  • 17 of its 25 notes are blown and 8 drawn, in holes 4 to 6.
  • No bends: every note is a plain blow or draw.
  • The breath changes direction 8 times.

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 harmonica

All 36 harmonica songs · Christmas songs for harmonica · 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.

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