Play Ocarina

Pop Goes the Weasel on the ocarina

Pop Goes the Weasel starts C, C, D, D, then E, G, E and a long C. Three of its four short lines begin with that same C, C, D, D, so you learn the opening once and play it three times. It uses six notes, C up to A, with no sharps or flats. It is in 6/8: each bar is two slow beats, each split into three, and the tune skips along in long-short pairs.

Updated 2026-10-29Public domainEasy27 notes · 8 barsC major · 6/8Fits 12, 6 and 4-hole
Play along with the page

What are the notes for Pop Goes the Weasel on the ocarina?

Pop Goes the Weasel, played here in C major, 6/8 time, bar by bar: C, C, D, D | E, G, E, C | C, C, D, D | E, C | C, C, D, D | E, G, E, C | A, D, F | E, C. Pick your ocarina to see its fingerings. To hear the tune, press Play in the player further down.

CoveredOpen

    1. C
    2. C
    3. D
    4. D
    1. E
    2. G
    3. E
    4. C
    1. C
    2. C
    3. D
    4. D
    1. E
    2. C
    1. C
    2. C
    3. D
    4. D
    1. E
    2. G
    3. E
    4. C
    1. A
    2. D
    3. F
    1. E
    2. C
The 6 notes here, on a 12-hole
NoteHoles to coverPicture
CCover every main hole
DCover every main hole but the right pinky
ECover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky
GCover every main hole but the right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky
ACover the left pinky, left middle, left index, left thumb and right thumb
FCover every main hole but the right middle, right ring and right pinky

What is the tricky spot in Pop Goes the Weasel?

The "pop": the jump from a long C straight up to A, the highest note in the tune. On a 12-hole, Pop Goes the Weasel goes from C to A: you lift the left ring, right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky.

Land the A cleanly and give it a whole slow beat; in the 1854 printing a short rest follows it, which our tabs fold into the note. From there the line walks home: D, F, E and a long C. The long-short pairs at the start of the first three lines, C then C, D then D, stay on one fingering each, so your tongue does the work: a long "tu" and a short one. Keep them bouncy rather than even, and the tune sounds like a dance.

Which ocarina can play Pop Goes the Weasel?

Any 12-hole, 6-hole or 4-hole ocarina in C plays Pop Goes the Weasel in this key. 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.

Where does Pop Goes the Weasel come from?

Pop Goes the Weasel began as a dance. An 1854 Baltimore sheet calls it "a very popular but ancient English Country Dance lately revived", and an undated Edinburgh book of country dances has it too. The verses children sing now came later, and they differ between Britain and America. Our tabs follow Septimus Winner's accordion method of 1854, which prints the melody alone on one staff; the Baltimore sheet has the same notes in every bar. Nobody knows who wrote the tune, and it was in print by 1854, so it is public domain. We show the melody only. Music: traditional English country dance tune, printed from the 1850s.

Play along

100%

More ocarina songs

Next easy song: Arirang. More: easy ocarina songs, songs for a 12-hole ocarina, songs for a 6-hole ocarina, songs for a 4-hole ocarina and all the songs.