Für Elise on the ocarina

Updated 2026-10-29

Für Elise opens on its famous rocking figure: high E, high D sharp, high E, high D sharp, high E, then B, high D, high C and A. These are the first eight bars, the part everyone knows, in Beethoven's key of A minor. They run from C up to high E, so they need a 12-hole or a 6-hole ocarina in C.

What are the notes for Für Elise on the ocarina?

Für Elise in A minor, 3/8 time, bar by bar: high E, high D♯ | high E, high D♯, high E, B, high D, high C | A, C, E, A | B, E, G♯, B | high C, E, high E, high D♯ | high E, high D♯, high E, B, high D, high C | A, C, E, A | B, E, high C, B | A. Pick your ocarina, then press Play to hear the tune.

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  1. high E
  2. high D♯
  3. high E
  4. high D♯
  5. high E
  6. B
  7. high D
  8. high C
  9. A
  10. C
  11. E
  12. A
  13. B
  14. E
  15. G♯
  16. B
  17. high C
  18. E
  19. high E
  20. high D♯
  21. high E
  22. high D♯
  23. high E
  24. B
  25. high D
  26. high C
  27. A
  28. C
  29. E
  30. A
  31. B
  32. E
  33. high C
  34. B
  35. A

What is the tricky spot in Für Elise?

The opening rock between high E and high D sharp, five notes a semitone apart. On a 12-hole, Für Elise goes from high E to high D♯: you cover the right ring.

Keep the finger movement as small as you can and the breath steady: high notes need a firm, fast airstream, and if it wavers the semitone sounds out of tune. Practise high E and high D sharp back and forth slowly, then speed up. After the rock the tune drops to A and climbs C, E, A from the bottom of the ocarina, and those low notes need much less air than the high E, so let the breath fall with them.

Which ocarina can play Für Elise?

A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D, high D♯ and high E, so play Für Elise 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.

Who was Elise, and when was Für Elise first printed?

Nobody knows who Elise was; Wikipedia lists several candidates. Beethoven wrote the piece in 1810 and never published it. It first appeared in 1867, forty years after his death, in a book of his letters edited by Ludwig Nohl, who copied it from a manuscript inscribed "Für Elise am 27 April zur Erinnerung von L. v. Bthvn". Nohl's footnote calls it a previously unknown, "not exactly significant but quite charming" little piano piece (our translation). The manuscript has since been lost, so the familiar score goes back to that printing, and our tabs are arranged from it. Beethoven died in 1827, so it is public domain. We show the right-hand melody only. Music: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).

More ocarina songs

Next hard song: Greensleeves. More: all the songs.