Onward, Christian Soldiers on the ocarina
On a 12-hole it starts G, G, G, G. Medium, 74 notes, in C major.
Goes down to low A, so it does not fit a 6-hole or 4-hole.
Onward, Christian Soldiers
Bar 1 of 24
What are the notes for Onward, Christian Soldiers?
On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.
- GGGGGAGDDCDE
- CEGhigh Chigh CBAAEF♯G
- DDGDEFEGGhigh CGA
- AGFGAGFGAGFED
- CCCCTricky spot:Clow Blow Alow BCDDDCDE
- GGhigh CBhigh CGFEDCC
Onward, Christian Soldiers is a marching hymn in four-beat bars, and it opens with four G's, a dotted G, a quick A and a long G. Here it is in C major, from low A up to high C, on a 12-hole ocarina: the verse and the chorus of Arthur Sullivan's tune St Gertrude as Heart Songs printed them in 1909, 24 bars in six lines, each ending on a note held for a whole bar.
What is the tricky spot in Onward, Christian Soldiers?
The second bar of the chorus, where the tune steps down from C through low B to low A and back up. On a 12-hole, Onward, Christian Soldiers goes from C to low B: you cover the right sub-hole.
Low B adds the right sub-hole and low A both sub-holes, the small holes beside your middle fingers: slide each middle finger forward so its pad covers its own hole and the small hole together, and blow gently, as these are the softest notes on the ocarina. Practise C, B, A, B, C slowly until each note speaks cleanly, then add the four C's before them. The verse has its own catch in bar 7, where A, A drop to E and climb to F sharp before the long G; F sharp is a cross-fingering, so learn it on its own first. Keep a steady march beat throughout.
Where do you breathe in Onward, Christian Soldiers?
The first five lines each end on a note held for a whole bar: the E in bar 4, the G in bar 8, the A in bar 12, the D in bar 16 and the E in bar 20. Breathe at the end of each, cutting the long note a little short so the next line still starts on the beat.
Which ocarina can play Onward, Christian Soldiers?
A 6-hole or 4-hole ocarina cannot reach low A and low B, so play Onward, Christian Soldiers 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.
The 11 notes here, on a 12-holeHoles in words, with a picture
| Note | Holes to cover | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| D | Cover every main hole but the right pinky | |
| C | Cover every main hole | |
| E | Cover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky | |
| high C | Cover the left pinky, left thumb and right thumb | |
| B | Cover the left pinky, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| F♯ | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle and right pinky | |
| F | Cover every main hole but the right middle, right ring and right pinky | |
| low B | Cover every main hole, plus the right sub-hole | |
| low A | Cover every main hole, plus the left sub-hole and right sub-hole |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
Where do our Onward, Christian Soldiers tabs come from?
Arthur Sullivan composed the tune in 1871 and named it St Gertrude, for words Sabine Baring-Gould had written in 1865, and Heart Songs (Boston, 1909) prints the hymn under Sullivan's name. These tabs are our own arrangement of that tune, moved from F major to C major. Music: tune "St Gertrude" by Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900); words by Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924).