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B♭B♭3 · concert pitch1st position · 4th partialalso 5th position · 5th partial
SongsMary Had a Little Lamb
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  1. 3,
  2. 2,
  3. 1,
  4. 2,
  5. 3,
  6. 3,
  7. 3,
  8. 2,
  9. 2,
  10. 2,
  11. 3,
  12. 5,
  13. 5,
  14. 3,
  15. 2,
  16. 1,
  17. 2,
  18. 3,
  19. 3,
  20. 3,
  21. 3,
  22. 2,
  23. 2,
  24. 3,
  25. 2,
  26. 1,

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain.

38 notes · E2–F5 · the pedal B♭1 on the ladder · 38 notes · The B♭ tenor trombone: nine feet of tube and seven positions — the one in every band.

Tap a note, or slide along them to play legato, from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is the low F in 6th position, and they climb a semitone at a time.

TromboneFree · printable · plays in your browser

Mary Had a Little Lamb — Trombone Notes

Mary Had a Little Lamb, written out for the trombone as every note with its slide position and set up above on the Tenor. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the trombone waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeB♭2–F3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a trombone play Mary Had a Little Lamb?

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.

  • Tenor✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–F3 · loaded above
  • Tenor + F trigger✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–F3 · load it
  • Alto in E♭✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–F3 · load it

Mary Had a Little Lamb: trombone notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the slide position — T means with the F trigger held. 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 — trombone notes (Tenor) · 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.

  • B♭1st×3
  • C6th×10
  • D4th×11
  • F1st×2

What to expect on a trombone

  • It runs from B♭2 to F3, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 24 above.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, D3 to F3, at note 12.
  • It uses 3 slide positions: 1st, 4th and 6th.
  • The longest move between two neighbouring notes is 5 positions.

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 trombone

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

Playing it on a real trombone?

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

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