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Swing Low, Sweet Chariot on the ocarina

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot starts on A, drops to F and back to A, then falls through F and D to C: that is the first line of the refrain everyone knows. The whole refrain is eight bars of F major built from six notes, C, D, F, G, A and high C, with no sharps or flats. It is slow, but each half has a quick run of repeated F's that climbs to a long high C or settles on F.

Updated 2026-10-29Public domainMedium30 notes · 8 barsF major · 2/4Fits 12, 6 and 4-hole
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What are the notes for Swing Low, Sweet Chariot on the ocarina?

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, played here in F major, 2/4 time, bar by bar: A, F, A | F, F, D, C | F, F, F, F, A, high C, high C | high C | high C, A, high C | F, F, D, C | F, F, F, F, A, A, G | F. Pick your ocarina to see its fingerings. To hear the tune, press Play in the player further down.

CoveredOpen

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

What is the tricky spot in Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?

The snap in the second bar, a very quick D and then a longer C, the lowest note in the song; it comes back in the sixth bar. On a 12-hole, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot goes from D to C: you cover the right pinky.

Play the D as a flick and lean on the C. Then come the fast notes, four F's in a row, all sixteenths: keep the fingers still and tongue them lightly before the tune lifts to A and high C. Breathe at the end of each half, after the long high C and after the final F.

Which ocarina can play Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?

Any 12-hole, 6-hole or 4-hole ocarina in C plays Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 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.

Who wrote Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?

The song is credited to Wallace Willis, a Choctaw Freedman in what is now Oklahoma, and his daughter Minerva; a missionary, Alexander Reid, heard them sing it and passed it to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, whose tours made it famous. It was first printed in Jubilee Songs in New York in 1872, where the music was "reduced to writing by Theo. F. Seward"; in the book's preface Seward notes that the effect on the last syllable of "chariot" recurs often in the singers' songs. Our tabs follow the refrain on that page, the top voice, up to "Fine". Willis is thought to have died around 1880 and Seward in 1902, so the tune is public domain. We show the melody only. Music: African American spiritual credited to Wallace Willis; first printed in 1872 as sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

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