Old MacDonald — Marimba Letter Notes

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

Can a marimba 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.

• 5 octaves✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above
• 4.3 octaves✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it

Old MacDonald: marimba letter notes

The large line is the note printed on the bar; the small line under it is its number in the scale. 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.

• C1×8
• D2×4
• E3×4
• G5×5
• A6×4

What to expect on a marimba

• It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 24 semitones unused below and 27 above.
• 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 4.
• It uses only the front row — no sharps or flats in this key.

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 — handpantabs
• Old MacDonald — oudnotes
• Old MacDonald — violinnotes
• Old MacDonald — cellonotes
• Old MacDonald — erhunotes
• Old MacDonald — dulcimertab
• Old MacDonald — xylophoneletter 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 marimba

• 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 36 marimba songs · Christmas songs for marimba · The online marimba on its own