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SongsYankee Doodle
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Traditional, sung in the American colonies before the Revolution (18th century). Public domain. Written an octave up, so its low notes fit a 17-key.

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

Yankee Doodle — Oud Notes

Yankee Doodle, 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.

  • Notes28, 7 pitches
  • RangeG3–F4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo120 bpm · about 16 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a oud play Yankee Doodle?

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, G3–F4 · loaded above
  • Turkish✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G3–F4 · load it

Yankee Doodle: 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

Yankee Doodle — oud notes (Arabic) · tonalics.com

The 7 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 7 and you can play the whole tune.

  • GG·0×2
  • AG·2×1
  • BG·4×3
  • CC·0×11
  • DC·2×5
  • EC·4×5
  • FC·5×1

What to expect on a oud

  • It runs from G3 to F4, a minor seventh, using 7 different notes. That leaves 19 semitones unused below and 7 above.
  • 78% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, D4 to G3, at note 8.
  • It is played on 2 strings (G and C), crossing between strings 6 times.
  • 13 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 5 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

The tune was already old when British troops sang it to mock colonial militia before the American Revolution; the colonists took it up as their own, and it has been a patriotic song ever since. It is the state song of Connecticut.

Traditional, sung in the American colonies before the Revolution (18th century). Public domain. Written an octave up, so its low notes fit a 17-key. More about Yankee Doodle →

Yankee Doodle 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 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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