O Holy Night on the ocarina
On a 12-hole it starts E, E, E, G. Hard, 96 notes, in C major.
Goes up to high E, so it does not fit a 4-hole.
O Holy Night
Bar 1 of 26
What are the notes for O Holy Night?
On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.
- restEEEGGAAFAhigh CGrestGEDCEFGFD
- CrestrestEEEGGAAFAhigh CGrestGF♯E
- BGABhigh CBErestGGADGAGhigh CEAGrestG
- GADGAGhigh CEGresthigh CBABrestB
- high DAAATricky spot:high Chigh Cresthigh Chigh Ehigh DGhigh CBA
- GGAGGresthigh Chigh DGhigh Ehigh D
- high CBhigh Chigh Dhigh Crest
O Holy Night begins softly on E, E, E, rises to G and A, and builds to its refrain, "Fall on your knees", which reaches high E twice. Here is one verse with the refrain in C major, the solo line as a 1916 carol book prints it. Most beats split into a long note and a short one, which gives the tune its slow, rocking walk.
What is the tricky spot in O Holy Night?
The leap from C up to high E on "O night divine", the top of the refrain. On a 12-hole or 6-hole, O Holy Night goes from high C to high E: you lift the left thumb and right thumb.
High E is above high D, so it needs a faster, firmer breath than anything before it (why high notes go airy or flat). Breathe in the short rest just before that C, then let the E ring for its two beats and fall to D. The verse has its own catch: the dotted pairs, a long note and a quick one, are written as the book prints them, so keep the short notes short instead of evening them out. F sharp, the one cross-fingered note, falls on "He" in "Till He appeared".
Where do you breathe in O Holy Night?
The printing gives you rests to breathe in: a whole bar after the first "birth", and a short rest before most of the "O"s in the refrain. Use every one. The longest stretch with no rest is the ending, from the second high E to the last C, so fill up in the rest before the last "O night".
Which ocarina can play O Holy Night?
A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D and high E, so play O Holy Night 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.
The 11 notes here, on a 12-holeHoles in words, with a picture
| Note | Holes to cover | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| E | Cover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky | |
| G | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky | |
| A | Cover the left pinky, left middle, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| F | Cover every main hole but the right middle, right ring and right pinky | |
| high C | Cover the left pinky, left thumb and right thumb | |
| D | Cover every main hole but the right pinky | |
| C | Cover every main hole | |
| F♯ | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle and right pinky | |
| B | Cover the left pinky, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| high D | Cover the left pinky and right thumb | |
| high E | Cover the left pinky |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
| Note | Holes to cover | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| E | Cover every hole but the right index | |
| G | Cover every hole but the left middle and right middle | |
| A | Cover the left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| F | Cover every hole but the right middle and right index | |
| high C | Cover the left thumb and right thumb | |
| D | Cover every hole but the right middle | |
| C | Cover every hole | |
| F♯ | Cover every hole but the left middle | |
| B | Cover the right middle, left thumb and right thumb | |
| high D | Cover the left thumb | |
| high E | All holes open |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
Who wrote O Holy Night?
Adolphe Adam, the French composer of the ballet Giselle. In 1847 he set "Minuit, chrétiens", a Christmas poem by Placide Cappeau, and in 1855 the American music critic John Sullivan Dwight wrote the English words sung today. Our tabs follow the solo line of Carol 741 in Carols Old and Carols New, a carol book published in Boston in 1916, which prints it in E flat for soprano or tenor; we move it to C and play one verse with its refrain. Adam died in 1856, Cappeau in 1877 and Dwight in 1893. We show the melody only. Music: Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), to Placide Cappeau's poem "Minuit, chrétiens"; English words by John Sullivan Dwight (1813-1893).