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SongsMo Li Hua · Jasmine Flower (茉莉花)
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Chinese traditional, Jiangsu region; the tune dates to the Qianlong era (1735–1796) and was first printed in the West in 1804. Public domain.

6 courses · C2–C4 open · C5 at the octave · The most widespread modern Arabic tuning. Fourths, except for the major third between the 5th and 4th courses.

Tap a course, or slide along a course to bend the note the way a fretless neck does. On a keyboard the letters on the courses are the ones to press — they run down the courses, 1 at the top.

OudFree · printable · plays in your browser

Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) — Oud Notes

Mo Li Hua · Jasmine Flower (茉莉花), written out for the oud as every note with its string and how far up it and set up above on the Arabic. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the oud waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes67, 8 pitches
  • RangeG2–C4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo84 bpm · about 40 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a oud play Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower)?

Yes — every one 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.

  • Arabic✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G2–C4 · loaded above
  • Turkish✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G2–C4 · load it

Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower): oud notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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

Mo Li Hua · Jasmine Flower (茉莉花) — oud notes (Arabic) · 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.

  • GF·2×2
  • AA·0×3
  • CA·3×8
  • DD·0×9
  • ED·2×14
  • GG·0×17
  • AG·2×9
  • CC·0×5

What to expect on a oud

  • It runs from G2 to C4, an octave and a fourth, using 8 different notes. That leaves 7 semitones unused below and 12 above.
  • 62% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fourth, C4 to G3, at note 50.
  • It is played on 5 strings (F, A, D, G and C), crossing between strings 32 times.
  • 34 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 3 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

A folk song from the Jiangsu region dating to the Qianlong era of the 18th century. It was the first Chinese melody to become widely known in Europe, printed in London in 1804 by John Barrow, and Puccini used it throughout his opera Turandot.

Chinese traditional, Jiangsu region; the tune dates to the Qianlong era (1735–1796) and was first printed in the West in 1804. Public domain. More about Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) →

Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) on other instruments

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

More songs for the oud

All 36 oud songs · Christmas songs for oud · The online oud on its own

Playing it on a real oud?

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

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