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SongsOld MacDonald Had a Farm
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3 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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Traditional, published 1917 in this form. Public domain.

16 strings · G3–A5 · C major · The common size, and what most lyre tabs assume. Two full octaves and a bit.

Tap a string, or sweep across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they follow the strings left to right.

LyreFree · printable · plays in your browser

Old MacDonald — Lyre Tabs

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, written out for the lyre as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 16-string. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the lyre waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

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

Can a lyre play Old MacDonald?

Yes — every size 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.

  • 7-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • 10-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • 16-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above

Old MacDonald: lyre tabs

The large line is the note’s number in the scale; the small line under it is the string to pluck. 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 — lyre tabs (16-string) · 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.

  • 1str. 4×8
  • 2str. 5×4
  • 3str. 6×4
  • 5str. 8×5
  • 6str. 9×4

What to expect on a lyre

  • It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 5 semitones unused below and 12 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 4.
  • It is played on strings 4 to 9 of 16, 5 strings in all.

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 lyre

All 34 lyre songs · Christmas songs for lyre · The online lyre on its own

Playing it on a real lyre?

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

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