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The Irish Washerwoman on the ocarina

Updated 2026-10-29

The Irish Washerwoman is a jig: it skips along in groups of three quick notes, E, C, C, then G, C, C, two groups to a bar. Here are both parts in C major, from C up to high E, with no sharps or flats, so a 12-hole or a 6-hole ocarina plays it. The second part answers the first an octave higher, around high C. One change from the old printing: in the first, third and fifth full bars, the fourth note jumps up to G where the printing drops down, because as printed the tune is one semitone wider than a 12-hole ocarina's range.

What are the notes for The Irish Washerwoman on the ocarina?

The Irish Washerwoman, played here in C major, 6/8 time, bar by bar: G, F | E, C, C, G, C, C | E, C, E, G, F, E | F, D, D, G, D, D | F, D, F, A, G, F | E, C, C, G, C, C | E, C, E, G, F, E | F, E, F, D, G, F | E, C, C, C, high C, high D | high E, high C, high C, G, high C, high C | high E, high C, high E, high E, high D, high C | high D, B, B, G, B, B | B, G, B, high D, high C, B | A, high C, high C, G, high C, high C | F, high C, high C, E, high C, high C | G, F, E, D, G, F | E, C, C, C. Pick your ocarina, then press Play to hear the tune.

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  1. G
  2. F
  3. E
  4. C
  5. C
  6. G
  7. C
  8. C
  9. E
  10. C
  11. E
  12. G
  13. F
  14. E
  15. F
  16. D
  17. D
  18. G
  19. D
  20. D
  21. F
  22. D
  23. F
  24. A
  25. G
  26. F
  27. E
  28. C
  29. C
  30. G
  31. C
  32. C
  33. E
  34. C
  35. E
  36. G
  37. F
  38. E
  39. F
  40. E
  41. F
  42. D
  43. G
  44. F
  45. E
  46. C
  47. C
  48. C
  49. high C
  50. high D
  51. high E
  52. high C
  53. high C
  54. G
  55. high C
  56. high C
  57. high E
  58. high C
  59. high E
  60. high E
  61. high D
  62. high C
  63. high D
  64. B
  65. B
  66. G
  67. B
  68. B
  69. B
  70. G
  71. B
  72. high D
  73. high C
  74. B
  75. A
  76. high C
  77. high C
  78. G
  79. high C
  80. high C
  81. F
  82. high C
  83. high C
  84. E
  85. high C
  86. high C
  87. G
  88. F
  89. E
  90. D
  91. G
  92. F
  93. E
  94. C
  95. C
  96. C

What is the tricky spot in The Irish Washerwoman?

The end of the first part, where a held C leaps a whole octave to the quick high C and high D that lead into high E at the start of the second part. On a 12-hole, The Irish Washerwoman goes from C to high C: you lift the left ring, left middle, left index, right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky.

Count every bar as two groups of three, "ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three", and lean a little on the first note of each group; that lilt is what makes it a jig. Tongue each quick note lightly with a "du", and keep the fingers low over the holes, because the notes never stop. The only rest for your breath is the held C at the end of each part, so breathe there, and if you need more, drop the last note of a group rather than gasp in the middle. The second part sits around high C and climbs to high E: give it a firmer, faster breath than the first part (more on high notes), and ease off again when it comes back down to C.

Which ocarina can play The Irish Washerwoman?

A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D and high E, so play The Irish Washerwoman 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 wrote The Irish Washerwoman?

No name has come down with it. The jig is anonymous, in print by 1790 and 1792, and one claim traces it to the older English tune Dargason, so it is public domain. Our tabs follow Ryan's Mammoth Collection (Boston, 1883), moved from G major to C, with one change. As printed, the first part dips to a low note in its first, third and fifth full bars, and the second part climbs an octave and a sixth above it: one semitone more than the whole range of a 12-hole ocarina, in any key. So the tabs play those three low notes an octave higher, as the G that jumps up after E, C, C or F, D, D; every other note is as printed. Music: traditional jig, anonymous.

More ocarina songs

Next medium song: Minuet in G. More: all the songs.