The Ash Grove on the ocarina
On a 12-hole it starts D, G, B, high D. Medium, 115 notes, in G major.
Goes up to high E, so it does not fit a 4-hole.
The Ash Grove
Bar 1 of 32
What are the notes for The Ash Grove?
On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.
- D GBhigh Dhigh CBGGAhigh CBAGF♯DD
- GBAGF♯ECEDGF♯GD
- GBhigh Dhigh CBGGAhigh CBAGF♯DDD
- GBAGF♯ECEDGF♯GBhigh C
- high DBhigh Chigh Dhigh Ehigh Dhigh CBhigh CABhigh Chigh Dhigh CBA
- BGABhigh CBAGTricky spot:F♯high Dhigh C♯high DD
- GBhigh Dhigh CBGGAhigh CBAGF♯DD
- GBAGF♯ECEDGF♯G
The Ash Grove starts with a lead-in D, then climbs G, B, high D and falls back to G. Here is the whole song in G major, from C up to high E. Its one sharp, F sharp, turns up in almost every line, and the middle part adds a single C sharp just before it settles on high D. The song is four lines of eight bars: the opening line twice, a higher middle line, then the opening line again, so once you know the start you know three quarters of it.
What is the tricky spot in The Ash Grove?
The end of the middle line, where F sharp leaps up a sixth to high D, steps down to C sharp and comes back to a long high D. On a 12-hole, The Ash Grove goes from F♯ to high D: you lift the left ring, left middle, left index, right ring and left thumb. On a 6-hole, you lift the right middle, left index, right index and right thumb.
F sharp and C sharp are both cross-fingered on a 12-hole, and they sit on either side of that leap, so practise F sharp, high D, C sharp, high D slowly until the fingers move as one. The 1892 page marks this spot "rall.", slowing down, so take your time and let the long high D ring for its two beats. Straight after it the tune drops an octave to the low D that leads back into the opening line: ease the breath off for that low D so it does not crack (more on breath). The dotted pairs all through the song give it its lilt: hold the first note for most of the beat and tuck the quick one in just before the next beat.
Where do you breathe in The Ash Grove?
Each line of eight bars ends on a two-beat note, a G or, before the last line, a high D: hold it for both beats, then breathe before the lead-in that starts the next line. If eight bars are too long for one breath, take a small one after the F sharp, D, D halfway through an opening line.
Which ocarina can play The Ash Grove?
A 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high C♯, high D and high E, so play The Ash Grove 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 |
|---|---|---|
| D | Cover every main hole but the right pinky | |
| G | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle, right ring 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 C | Cover the left pinky, left thumb and right thumb | |
| A | Cover the left pinky, left middle, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| F♯ | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle and right pinky | |
| E | Cover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky | |
| C | Cover every main hole | |
| high E | Cover the left pinky | |
| high C♯ | Cover the left pinky, right ring and right thumb |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
| Note | Holes to cover | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| D | Cover every hole but the right middle | |
| G | Cover every hole but the left middle and right middle | |
| B | Cover the right middle, left thumb and right thumb | |
| high D | Cover the left thumb | |
| high C | Cover the left thumb and right thumb | |
| A | Cover the left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| F♯ | Cover every hole but the left middle | |
| E | Cover every hole but the right index | |
| C | Cover every hole | |
| high E | All holes open | |
| high C♯ | Cover the right middle and left thumb |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
How old is the tune of The Ash Grove?
It was a harp tune before it was a song. The tune was first printed in 1802 in The Bardic Museum, a book by the harpist Edward Jones, and a version with Welsh words followed about four years later; the best-known English words, by Thomas Oliphant, came out in 1862. On its page in the 1802 book it is a piece for harp in F major called "Llwyn-onn", with a note that this was "the name of Mr. Jones's Mansion, near Wrexham in Denbighshire"; it starts on the beat, with no lead-in note, and a variation in 6/8 follows it. Our tabs follow the soprano line of The Ash Grove in Songs of the Four Nations, printed in London in 1892, where the tune has the lead-in note and the dotted rhythms people sing today. The music in that book was arranged by Arthur Somervell, who died in 1937, and we take only the tune, not his piano part. We play it an octave higher than printed, in the same key, G major, and the whole first verse as the page writes it out; the second verse is left out. We show the melody only. Music: traditional Welsh air (Llwyn Onn), first printed by the harpist Edward Jones in 1802.