Boccherini Minuet on the ocarina

What are the notes for the Boccherini Minuet?

On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.

1. 1
   Tricky spot:high CBhigh Chigh D ·high CCEG

   GFFFEFG

   FGDF

   FEEhigh CA
2. 2
   GF♯F♯F♯high CA

   GF♯F♯F♯high CA

   BGEhigh CA

   GGrest

The Boccherini Minuet opens with a quick four-note flourish, high C, B, C and D, then a high C that drops a whole octave to C and climbs the C major chord, C, E and G. It is moved here from A major up to C major, so it needs one sharp, F♯, and runs from C to high D. This is the first strain: the four-note flourish and eight bars, up to the repeat sign. The second strain and the trio are left out.

What is the tricky spot in the Boccherini Minuet?

The first full bar, where the tune leaps from the high C a whole octave down to C, then climbs C, E, G. On a 12-hole, the Boccherini Minuet goes from high C to C: you cover the left ring, left middle, left index, right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky. On a 6-hole, you cover the left middle, right middle, left index and right index.

The high C wants a quick, firm breath and the C an octave below it a gentle one, so ease off the air as your fingers go down together. The four sixteenth notes that open the tune, C, B, C, D, are the fastest notes in it: practise them slowly, tongue each one lightly with "du" and let the last one land on the high C of bar 1. In bars 5 and 6 the tune runs G, then three F♯ in a row, then a long high C and a quick A; tongue each F♯ and keep your fingers still. The G in bar 3 and the short G at the very end are a low E in the printing, moved up an octave to fit an ocarina; give each its own light tongued attack, so the bounce of the original survives.

Where do you breathe in the Boccherini Minuet?

The tune has one written rest, the last eighth, so breathe on the quarter notes instead: the G in bar 3, the E in bar 4, before the climb to high C, and the A that ends bar 7 before the last two notes. If you need a breath in the middle of a bar, take it right after a quarter note and keep the next note on the beat.

Which ocarina can play the Boccherini Minuet?

A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D, so play the Boccherini Minuet in this key on a 12-hole or 6-hole ocarina in C. On an ocarina in G or F, use the same fingerings: the tune sounds in a different key, which is fine when you play alone. Each linked chart has every fingering for its ocarina, and you can check your notes with a tuner such as our free ocarina tuner.

Which piece is the Boccherini Minuet from?

It is the third movement of a string quintet for two violins, viola and two cellos, written in 1771 and published in 1775, now catalogued as Op. 11 No. 5, G. 275. The Paris printing of the parts that we read, by G. B. Venier, calls the set "Opera XIII" and this one "Quintetto V", and names Boccherini as composer to Don Luis, Infante of Spain. In the first violin part the minuet is marked "Con un poco di moto" and "Con Sordina", with a mute. The first violin plays the tune while the viola and cello pluck, and the second violin has quick slurred sixteenth notes. Wikipedia adds that the quintet, now known for this minuet, got no special recognition when it was first published. Durand, Schoenewerk et Cie printed a score of the minuet alone in Paris about 1877. Our tabs follow the first violin in Venier's part, from the opening flourish to the first repeat sign, moved from A major to C major, with its trills and one grace note left out and its two low E's played an octave higher. Boccherini died in 1805. We show the melody only. Music: Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), the minuet from his String Quintet in E major, Op. 11 No. 5, G. 275, 1771.

What to play next

• Next song

  Polovtsian DancesAnother medium song.

• Fingering chart

  Every note on the 12-holeWith a printable PDF.

• Tuner

  Sounds off? Check your notesSee if it's you or the ocarina, in 2 minutes.