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SongsOld MacDonald Had a Farm
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  1. 1,
  2. 1,
  3. 1,
  4. 5,
  5. 6,
  6. 6,
  7. 5,
  8. 3,
  9. 3,
  10. 2,
  11. 2,
  12. 1,
  13. 5,
  14. 1,
  15. 1,
  16. 1,
  17. 5,
  18. 6,
  19. 6,
  20. 5,
  21. 3,
  22. 3,
  23. 2,
  24. 2,
  25. 1,

Traditional, published 1917 in this form. 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

Old MacDonald — Oud Notes

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, 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.

  • Notes25, 5 pitches
  • RangeC3–A3
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a oud play Old MacDonald?

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, C3–A3 · loaded above
  • Turkish✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C3–A3 · load it

Old MacDonald: 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

Old MacDonald Had a Farm — oud notes (Arabic) · 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.

  • CA·3×8
  • DD·0×4
  • ED·2×4
  • GG·0×5
  • AG·2×4

What to expect on a oud

  • It runs from C3 to A3, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 15 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C3 to G3, at note 4.
  • It is played on 3 strings (A, D and G), crossing between strings 8 times.
  • 9 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 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.

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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