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Asounds A4 · 0 of 12 holes open
SongsMary Had a Little Lamb
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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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Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. 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

Mary Had a Little Lamb — Ocarina Notes

Mary Had a Little Lamb, 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.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeC4–G4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a ocarina play Mary Had a Little Lamb?

✓ 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.

Mary Had a Little Lamb: 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

Mary Had a Little Lamb — ocarina notes · tonalics.com

The 4 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 4 and you can play the whole tune.

  • CC4×3
  • DD4×10
  • EE4×11
  • GG4×2

What to expect on a ocarina

  • It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 3 semitones unused below and 10 above.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, E4 to G4, at note 12.
  • Its lowest note covers 10 of the 12 holes and its highest 6; the biggest change between two neighbouring notes moves 2 fingers at once.

About the tune

The poem is by Sarah Josepha Hale, published in Boston in 1830; the hymn composer Lowell Mason set it to this tune the following year. In 1877 Thomas Edison recited its opening lines to test his phonograph, which makes it the first verse ever recorded and played back.

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain. More about Mary Had a Little Lamb →

Mary Had a Little Lamb on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation.

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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