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Asounds A4 · 0 of 12 holes open
SongsJingle Bells
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13 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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James Lord Pierpont, published 1857 as “One Horse Open Sleigh”. Public domain. The chorus.

21 notes · A4–F6 sounding · 21 notes · written an octave lower · The standard modern ocarina: ten finger holes, two thumb holes and two subholes that reach the A and B below the C.

Tap a note, or slide along them to slur from note to note without a new breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — they run up the ocarina a semitone at a time from the low A.

OcarinaFree · printable · plays in your browser

Jingle Bells — Ocarina Notes

Jingle Bells (the chorus), written out for the ocarina as letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the ocarina waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes51, 5 pitches
  • RangeC4–G4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo132 bpm · about 28 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a ocarina play Jingle Bells?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the ocarina, in C major from C4 to G4. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Jingle Bells: ocarina notes

The large line is the note, and the drawing is its fingering — a filled hole or key is one that is down. 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

Jingle Bells — ocarina notes · 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.

  • CC4×3
  • DD4×6
  • EE4×26
  • FF4×11
  • GG4×5

What to expect on a ocarina

  • It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 3 semitones unused below and 10 above.
  • 84% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G4 to C4, at note 9.
  • Its lowest note covers 10 of the 12 holes and its highest 6; the biggest change between two neighbouring notes moves 4 fingers at once.

About the tune

James Lord Pierpont published it in Boston in 1857 under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”; it was reissued two years later with the name everyone knows. It is a sleighing song and does not mention Christmas at all, but it has belonged to the season for well over a century.

James Lord Pierpont, published 1857 as “One Horse Open Sleigh”. Public domain. The chorus. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Jingle Bells →

Jingle Bells on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the ocarina

All 24 ocarina songs · Christmas songs for ocarina · The online ocarina on its own

Playing it on a real ocarina?

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

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