Easy ocarina songs for beginners, in the order to learn them
These are the easy ocarina songs worth learning first, in the order that suits a 12-hole alto C ocarina. Each one needs only the notes you have met so far, so you never have to jump ahead. Every song is a public-domain tune, free to play, with its first two bars as tabs and a link to the song’s page, where it continues.
New to reading tabs? Each diagram is the ocarina, a filled circle is a covered hole, and the width of a note is how long it lasts. How to play the ocarina explains it in a minute.
How to use this list
Work down the list, but do not rush it. A song is learnt when you can play it from start to finish at a steady pace, with every note clean and every repeat tongued. The tabs below show only the first two bars, enough to see whether a song suits you; the song’s page shows more, with the tempo and the time signature, and the app has the whole song.
- Play it slowly first. Half the speed you think you need. Speed comes by itself.
- Practise the hard bar alone. Loop the two or three bars that go wrong, then play the whole song.
- Sing it or hum it before you play. If you can hear the tune, your fingers find it faster.
- Two or three songs at a time is plenty: one new, one you are polishing, one you simply enjoy.
Hot Cross Buns
Three notes, E, D and C, and a rhythm you already know. This is where to start; once you can play it cleanly, the others come easily.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
C, D, E and G. Lots of repeated notes, so it is the best practice for tonguing: start every note with “doo”.
Lightly Row
Five notes, C to G, in falling lines with repeated Ds and Es to tongue. A good steady-breath exercise.
Ode to Joy
Beethoven’s theme moves step by step from C to G. It teaches you to move from one finger to the next without a gap.
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Reaches A for the first time, with a bouncy rhythm and quick repeated notes at the end.
London Bridge Is Falling Down
Up and down between D and A, then home to C. The skips between neighbouring notes build confidence on the left hand.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
A leap from C straight up to G, then up to A. Move several fingers at once and keep the air steady through the jump.
Hot Cross Buns (up high)
The first tune again, on B, A and G. The same shape under new fingers is a quick way to learn the left hand.
Hotaru Koi
A Japanese children’s song on four notes, A, B, G and E, with soft repeated As to tongue and rests to breathe in.
Kagome Kagome
Nearly every note is A, with B, G and E around it. Tongue each one lightly and listen for an even tone.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
The first tune that climbs to high C, on “merrily”, and rolls back down. Blow a little firmer for the top note.
Arirang
Korea’s best-loved song, on the five-note scale from C to high C, in a slow, swaying three. Long notes need a patient breath.
Brahms’ Lullaby
A gentle waltz with no sharps or flats, from low C up to high C. Play it softly and keep the three-beat sway.
Drunken Sailor
Fast repeated notes, then a climb to high D. Start slowly and speed up only when every repeat is clean.
Going Home
A slow, singing tune for long, steady breaths. The last line climbs to high E, so it asks for a firm, even stream of air.
Au Clair de la Lune
Gentle steps from G to B, then a walk down to D with one F♯. Your first sharp, and a pretty one.
Sakura Sakura
Slow and soft. Two lines dip to low B, which means covering the tiny right sub hole with the side of a finger, and blowing very gently.
Hot Cross Buns (down low)
The first tune once more, now in a minor key: C, low B and low A. A good test of the sub holes.
When a song feels too hard
Go back one song, not one lesson. Nearly every stumble comes from one thing: a leap between fingerings, a repeated note that blurs, or a high note that sags. Name the one, practise only that, and come back. The songs near the top of the list are short on purpose, so that a fix takes minutes.
More songs
There are more in the ocarina tabs collection. For the short tunes from the games, with their button sequences, see the Zelda ocarina songs: five to eight notes each, and a lot of fun once you know C to F.
Practise with the app
Ocarina Quest listens while you play and tells you which note it hears, how well it sits and what to change.
Coming soon to Google Play