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B♭B♭3 · concert pitch1st position · 4th partialalso 5th position · 5th partial
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.

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

Old MacDonald — Trombone Notes

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, 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.

  • Notes25, 5 pitches
  • RangeB♭2–G3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a trombone 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.

  • Tenor✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–G3 · loaded above
  • Tenor + F trigger✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–G3 · load it
  • Alto in E♭✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–G3 · load it

Old MacDonald: 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

Old MacDonald Had a Farm — trombone notes (Tenor) · 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.

  • B♭1st×8
  • C6th×4
  • D4th×4
  • F1st×5
  • G4th×4

What to expect on a trombone

  • It runs from B♭2 to G3, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 22 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, B♭2 to F3, at note 4.
  • It uses 3 slide positions: 1st, 4th and 6th.
  • The longest move between two neighbouring notes is 5 positions.

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 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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