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Asounds A4 · 0 of 12 holes open
SongsJoy to the World
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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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The tune “Antioch”, arranged by Lowell Mason in the 1830s. Public domain.

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

Joy to the World — Ocarina Notes

Joy to the World, 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.

  • Notes57, 8 pitches
  • RangeC4–C5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo92 bpm · about 25 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a ocarina play Joy to the World?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the ocarina, in C major from C4 to C5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Joy to the World: 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

Joy to the World — ocarina notes · tonalics.com

The 8 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 8 and you can play the whole tune.

  • CC4×3
  • DD4×7
  • EE4×13
  • FF4×8
  • GG4×8
  • AA4×6
  • BB4×5
  • CC5×7

What to expect on a ocarina

  • It runs from C4 to C5, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 3 semitones unused below and 5 above.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, C4 to C5, at note 49.
  • Its lowest note covers 10 of the 12 holes and its highest 3; the biggest change between two neighbouring notes moves 7 fingers at once.

About the tune

The tune is called “Antioch”. The Boston hymn composer Lowell Mason published it in the 1830s, describing it as “from Handel”; the resemblance is to a few phrases of Messiah rather than to any one piece. It has been sung to Isaac Watts’s 1719 text ever since.

The tune “Antioch”, arranged by Lowell Mason in the 1830s. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 2 other transcriptions. More about Joy to the World →

Joy to the World on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng or handpan, which do 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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