On Wings of Song on the ocarina

What are the notes for On Wings of Song?

On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.

1. 1
   C ·AAAB♭high C

   high CEC

   GGGAB♭

   Arest
2. 2
   AAAAB♭high C

   high CDD

   GDEFFE

   Eresthigh C
3. 3
   high CGGAGA

   B♭high DG

   high CGAGA

   B♭restB♭
4. 4
   B♭B♭high Dhigh CB♭

   AAA

   AAhigh CB♭A

   GrestC
5. 5
   AAAB♭high C

   high C

   (hold)EF♯

   GGB♭A
6. 6
   Frest

   restC

   AAAAB♭high C

   high CErest
7. 7
   GGGGAB♭

   Aresthigh C

   B♭B♭high Dhigh CB♭

   AArestA
8. 8
   GGB♭AG

   high C

   BB♭

   GA
9. 9
   B♭EE

   Frest

   high C

   B♭A
10. 10
    A

    (hold)rest

On Wings of Song is a slow song in 6/8: a short low C leads up to three A's, and the tune climbs A, B flat, C again and again before it settles. Here it is in F major, from low C up to high D, so a 12-hole or a 6-hole ocarina in C plays it. The tabs give the first verse and the last one, which ends differently, as a C. F. Peters edition from Leipzig sets them, a printing the Internet Archive dates to 1910.

What is the tricky spot in On Wings of Song?

The opening, where a short low C leaps up a sixth to A. The same leap comes back twice: before the climb to the long high C in the first verse, and where the last verse starts. On a 12-hole, On Wings of Song goes from C to A: you lift the left ring, right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky. On a 6-hole, you lift the left middle, right middle and right index.

Low C needs every hole covered and gentle air, and the A after it needs a little more, so change the air as you lift the fingers, not after. Practise low C, A, A slowly until the A comes in clean on the beat. Then practise A, B flat, C as one group: that climb comes in most lines, and the B flat is a cross-fingering, the note most likely to sound out of tune. The long notes are long: the high C near the end of the first verse lasts a bar and a half, so keep the air steady and do not let it sag. The widest jump, high C down to D in bar 6, comes only once: ease the air off as you drop, since a low D blown as hard as the high C goes sharp. Feel two slow beats in each bar, not six.

Where do you breathe in On Wings of Song?

Breathe where the voice rests. In the first verse that is after the long A in bar 4, the E in bar 8, the long B flat in bar 12, the long G in bar 16 and the F that ends the verse in bar 21. The last verse breathes more often: after the E in bar 24, the A's in bars 26 and 28, the B in bar 31, just before the line drops to B flat, and the F in bar 34. From the long high C in bar 35 to the end is one slow breath.

Which ocarina can play On Wings of Song?

A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D, so play On Wings of Song 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 On Wings of Song?

Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote it in 1834 as the second of his six songs Op. 34, to a poem by Heinrich Heine. Our tabs follow the low-voice edition from C. F. Peters in Leipzig, pages 20 and 21, a printing the Internet Archive dates to 1910. Its heading says "Orig. As dur.": Mendelssohn wrote the song in A flat, and this edition sets it lower, in F major, which is also a key that fits a C ocarina, so the tabs keep its notes, an octave up. The song has three verses: the second sings the first verse's tune again, so we give the first and the last, leaving out the piano's bars between them and a few small grace notes. We show the melody only. Music: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Auf Flügeln des Gesanges, Op. 34 No. 2, to a poem by Heinrich Heine.

What to play next

• Next song

  Carry Me Back to Old VirginnyAnother medium song.

• Fingering chart

  Every note on the 12-holeWith a printable PDF.

• Tuner

  Sounds off? Check your notesSee if it's you or the ocarina, in 2 minutes.