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Cwritten C4 · sounds B♭3open · 2nd 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
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  10. 2
  11. 3
  12. 5
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  14. 3
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  26. 1

Traditional; Lowell Mason setting, 1831. Public domain.

31 notes · F♯3–C6 written · sounds E3–B♭5 · 31 notes · A B♭ trumpet: a mostly cylindrical bore, the bright one.

Tap a note, or slide along them to slur from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is middle C, the open low C, and they climb a semitone at a time to the high C.

TrumpetFree · printable · plays in your browser

Mary Had a Little Lamb — Trumpet Notes

Mary Had a Little Lamb, written out for the trumpet as written notes with the valves for each one and set up above on the Trumpet. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the trumpet waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes26, 4 pitches
  • RangeC4–G4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a trumpet 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.

  • Trumpet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · loaded above
  • Cornet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it
  • Flugelhorn✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it

The notes here are written pitch, which is what a trumpet player reads. On the Trumpet this sounds in B♭ major.

Mary Had a Little Lamb: trumpet notes

The large line is the written note; the small line under it is the valves to press — 0 is none. 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 — trumpet notes (Trumpet) · 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.

  • C0×3
  • D1-3×10
  • E1-2×11
  • G0×2

What to expect on a trumpet

  • It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 92% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, E4 to G4, at note 12.
  • It uses 3 valve combinations (1-2, 1-3 and open), and 5 of its 26 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 2 partials of the harmonic series (2, 3).

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 trumpet

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

Playing it on a real trumpet?

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

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