Drunken Sailor on the ocarina

Updated 2026-10-29

Drunken Sailor hammers one note, A, seven times, then drops to D and climbs back up, D, F, A. The shanty uses only natural notes, no sharps or flats, from C up to high D. Here is the verse, then the chorus.

What are the notes for Drunken Sailor on the ocarina?

Drunken Sailor in D Dorian, 4/4 time, bar by bar: A, A, A, A, A, A | A, D, F, A | G, G, G, G, G, G | G, C, E, G | A, A, A, A, A, A | A, B, high C, high D | high C, A, G, E | D, D | A, A, A | A, D, F, A | G, G, G | G, C, E, G | A, A, A | A, B, high C, high D | high C, A, G, E | D, D. Pick your ocarina, then press Play to hear the tune.

100%
  1. A
  2. A
  3. A
  4. A
  5. A
  6. A
  7. A
  8. D
  9. F
  10. A
  11. G
  12. G
  13. G
  14. G
  15. G
  16. G
  17. G
  18. C
  19. E
  20. G
  21. A
  22. A
  23. A
  24. A
  25. A
  26. A
  27. A
  28. B
  29. high C
  30. high D
  31. high C
  32. A
  33. G
  34. E
  35. D
  36. D
  37. A
  38. A
  39. A
  40. A
  41. D
  42. F
  43. A
  44. G
  45. G
  46. G
  47. G
  48. C
  49. E
  50. G
  51. A
  52. A
  53. A
  54. A
  55. B
  56. high C
  57. high D
  58. high C
  59. A
  60. G
  61. E
  62. D
  63. D

How do you keep the repeated notes in Drunken Sailor even?

With your tongue, not your fingers: keep the fingering still and start each A with a light "tu", in a steady march rhythm. The harder move comes right after them: from A down to D. On a 12-hole, Drunken Sailor goes from A to D: you cover the left ring, right index, right middle and right ring.

In the chorus each line opens with a long note and then two quicker ones on the same pitch, so it is the same tonguing at a different rhythm. If the A's blur into one long note, you are stopping the air between them; keep it flowing and let the tongue make the breaks.

Which ocarina can play Drunken Sailor?

A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D, so play Drunken Sailor 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.

Why do sailors sing Drunken Sailor?

Drunken Sailor is a work song. W. B. Whall, who learned shanties at sea, wrote that it "was sung in chorus, in quick march time, with no pause between the verses", as sailors marched along the deck hauling on a rope. He printed it in 1913 as "Early in the Morning", with a tune a little different from today's. Our tabs follow R. R. Terry's Shanty Book (London, 1921), which has the tune people sing now; Terry called it "a distinctly modal tune". It is in the Dorian mode, D to D with no sharps or flats. The tune is anonymous and in the public domain. Music: traditional sea shanty, anonymous.

More ocarina songs

Next easy song: Auld Lang Syne. More: easy ocarina songs and all the songs.