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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.

29 notes · C4–E6 · 29 notes in three rings · The lead pan of a steel band, in the fourths-and-fifths layout almost every tenor is built in today.

Tap a note, or drag across them to roll from note to note. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — they climb the pan a semitone at a time from the low C.

Steel DrumFree · printable · plays in your browser

Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) — Steel Drum Letter Notes

Mo Li Hua · Jasmine Flower (茉莉花), written out for the steel drum as letter notes, phrase by phrase. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the steel drum waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes67, 8 pitches
  • RangeC4–F5
  • Key hereF major
  • Tempo84 bpm · about 40 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a steel drum play Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower)?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the steel drum, in F major from C4 to F5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower): steel drum letter notes

The large line is the note stamped on the pan; the small line under it is its number in the scale. 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) — steel drum letter 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.

  • C5×2
  • D6×3
  • F1×8
  • G2×9
  • A3×14
  • C5×17
  • D6×9
  • F1×5

What to expect on a steel drum

  • It runs from C4 to F5, an octave and a fourth, using 8 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 11 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 62% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fourth, F5 to C5, at note 50.
  • Its notes sit in 2 of the pan’s three rings, so the stick moves in and out as well as around.

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 steel drum

All 36 steel drum songs · Christmas songs for steel drum · The online steel drum on its own

Playing it on a real steel drum?

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

🎙 Open the Handpan Tuner