Mo Li Hua · Jasmine Flower (茉莉花)

• Rangeoctave and a fourth
• Notes67, 8 different
• ScalePentatonic
• Length hereabout 40 s

About Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower)

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.

It is pentatonic, and it dips to the fifth below its tonic — a note under middle C in the register the library is written in, which is why only the larger instruments reach it as written.

Play Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) on your instrument

25 of the 27 playable instruments here have every note it needs. 20 play it where the library writes it; the rest move it to another key or octave, and each page says which. Every page has the instrument itself, with the song loaded, above the notes.

• Kalimba tabsmoved · G4–C6 · octave and a fourth · an octave higher
• Piano letter notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Mbira tabsas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Guzheng tabsas written · A3–D5 · octave and a fourth
• Oud notesas written · G2–C4 · octave and a fourth
• Violin notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Cello notesas written · G2–C4 · octave and a fourth
• Erhu notesmoved · D4–G5 · octave and a fourth · in G key
• Dulcimer tabas written · A3–D5 · octave and a fourth
• Xylophone letter notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Marimba letter notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Glockenspiel letter notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Steel Drum letter notesas written · C4–F5 · octave and a fourth
• Harmonica tabsmoved · G5–C7 · octave and a fourth · an octave higher
• Trumpet notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Clarinet notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Saxophone notesmoved · G4–C6 · octave and a fourth · an octave higher
• Flute notesas written · D4–G5 · octave and a fourth
• Recorder notesmoved · G4–C6 · octave and a fourth · an octave higher
• Tuba notesas written · F1–B♭2 · octave and a fourth
• Euphonium notesas written · F2–B♭3 · octave and a fourth
• Trombone notesas written · F2–B♭3 · octave and a fourth
• Accordion letter notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Harp letter notesas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth
• Lyre tabsas written · G3–C5 · octave and a fourth

Instruments that cannot play it

• Handpan — it would need G3, which it does not have in any size or key here.
• Ocarina — it would need G3, which it does not have in any size or key here.

Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) letter notes

Written in C major, from G3 to C5, with each note’s number in the scale under it — the form that transfers to any instrument. A dash holds a note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and each line is one phrase.

Where these notes come from

Chinese traditional, Jiangsu region; the tune dates to the Qianlong era (1735–1796) and was first printed in the West in 1804. Public domain.

No lyrics are printed on this page or any other here: these pages are about a melody and how to play it.

More folk & traditional songs

• Happy BirthdayPatty and Mildred Hill, 1893
• Yankee Doodle18th century
• When the Saints Go Marching In1896 (in print)
• Amazing Grace1835
• Sakura SakuraEdo period
• Linstead Market1907 (in print)
• Auld Lang Syne18th century