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Minuet in G on the ocarina

Updated 2026-10-29

The Minuet in G opens on G, then runs quickly up from C: C, D, E, F, then G, C, C. It is moved here from G to C major, so it has no sharps or flats and runs from low B to high C, which puts it on a 12-hole ocarina. This is the first half of the minuet; the second half dips to a low G below the bottom of a 12-hole.

What are the notes for Minuet in G on the ocarina?

Minuet in G, played here in C major, 3/4 time, bar by bar: G, C, D, E, F | G, C, C | A, F, G, A, B | high C, C, C | F, G, F, E, D | E, F, E, D, C | low B, C, D, E, C | D | G, C, D, E, F | G, C, C | A, F, G, A, B | high C, C, C | F, G, F, E, D | E, F, E, D, C | D, E, D, C, low B | C. Press Play to hear the tune.

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

What is the tricky spot in Minuet in G?

The fourth bar, where the tune reaches high C and drops straight down a whole octave to C, then plays that C again. On a 12-hole, Minuet in G goes from high C to C: you cover the left ring, left middle, left index, right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky.

The high C needs 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 runs of quick notes, C, D, E, F and F, G, A, B, are the heart of the piece: tongue each one lightly with "du" and keep them even, as a minuet is a dance and the first beat of each bar is the step. The low B in bars 7 and 15 is the only sub-hole note; practise low B to C and back on its own until both sound cleanly. The minuet falls into two eight-bar phrases that each end on a long note, D and then C: breathe after those, and if you need one more, take it quickly after bar 4.

Which ocarina can play Minuet in G?

A 6-hole or 4-hole ocarina cannot reach low B, so play Minuet in G in this key on a 12-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. The linked chart has every fingering, and you can check your notes with a tuner such as our free ocarina tuner.

Did Bach write the Minuet in G?

No, although it was printed as his for about a century. It survives in the music notebook Anna Magdalena Bach began in 1725, copied in her hand with no composer named, and the Bach Society printed it in 1894 in its complete edition of Bach's works, as the fourth piece of that notebook. In an article for the 1979 Bach-Jahrbuch, the Bach scholar Hans-Joachim Schulze showed that the minuet belongs to a harpsichord suite by Christian Petzold, an organist in Dresden who died in 1733. Petzold's minuet is about 300 years old, so it is public domain. Our tabs follow the 1894 printing: the right-hand melody of the first half, moved from G to C, with its trills and one grace note left out. Music: Christian Petzold (1677-1733), long credited to Johann Sebastian Bach; BWV Anh. 114.

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