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Cwritten C4 · sounds B♭3open · 2nd partial
SongsOld MacDonald Had a Farm
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  4. 5
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  7. 5
  8. 3
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  10. 2
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  12. 1
  13. 5
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Traditional, published 1917 in this form. 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

Old MacDonald — Trumpet Notes

Old MacDonald Had a Farm, 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.

  • Notes25, 5 pitches
  • RangeC4–A4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo116 bpm · about 15 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a trumpet 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.

  • Trumpet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · loaded above
  • Cornet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • Flugelhorn✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it

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

Old MacDonald: 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

Old MacDonald Had a Farm — trumpet notes (Trumpet) · 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.

  • C0×8
  • D1-3×4
  • E1-2×4
  • G0×5
  • A1-2×4

What to expect on a trumpet

  • It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 15 above.
  • 75% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 4.
  • It uses 3 valve combinations (open, 1-2 and 1-3), and 13 of its 25 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 3 partials of the harmonic series (2, 3, 4).

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 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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