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Ukrainian Anthem on the ocarina

On a 12-hole it starts A, A, A, G. Medium, 112 notes, in D minor.

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Ukrainian Anthem

Bar 1 of 24

A
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What are the notes for the Ukrainian Anthem?

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

  1. AAAGAB♭
    high CB♭AG
    FAEA
    DC♯DEFG
  2. AAAGAB♭
    high CB♭AG
    Tricky spot:FDAC♯
    DDrest
  3. EEAGFE
    DEFDEE
    FFGG
    AArest
  4. EEAGFE
    DEFDEE
    FAEA
    DEFGAB♭
  5. high CBhigh CA
    GGhigh CB♭AG
    FFGG
    AGFGAB♭
  6. high CBhigh CA
    GGhigh CB♭AG
    FDAC♯
    DDrest

The Ukrainian national anthem starts on a held A, circles round it and climbs to high C. Here it is in D minor, the whole tune once through, 24 bars of 4/4 from C sharp up to high C, taken from a songbook printed in Vienna in 1918. Several lines open with the same two bars, so there is less to learn than 24 bars suggest.

Ukrainian Anthem ocarina tabs for a 12-hole ocarina: the fingering for each note, then the letter notes bar by bar
The Ukrainian Anthem as one picture, with the tabs for a 12-hole, to save to your phone. Open the picture

What is the tricky spot in the Ukrainian Anthem?

The drop at the end of the second and last lines, from a held A down to C sharp, a leap of a sixth, just before the tune lands on D. On a 12-hole, the Ukrainian Anthem goes from A to C♯: you cover the left ring, right index, right middle, right ring and right sub-hole. On a 6-hole or 4-hole, you cover the left middle and right index.

The C sharp is a short note that leads into a held D, so it must come on time without being pressed. Practise the bar slowly with the D that follows it. The tune is full of quick eighth notes in groups of three and four, such as D, C sharp, D, E near the end of the first line; tongue each one lightly. The 1918 page writes dotted rhythms where a modern recording plays even beats, and our tabs follow the page.

Where do you breathe in the Ukrainian Anthem?

At the quarter rests that end the second, third and last lines, bars 8, 12 and 24. A longer line would be too much for one breath, so take another at the bar line before each run of eighth notes.

Which ocarina can play the Ukrainian Anthem?

Any 12-hole, 6-hole or 4-hole ocarina in C plays the Ukrainian Anthem 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.

The 9 notes here, on a 12-holeHoles in words, with a picture
NoteHoles to coverPicture
ACover the left pinky, left middle, left index, left thumb and right thumb
GCover every main hole but the right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky
B♭Cover the left pinky, left index, right ring, left thumb and right thumb
high CCover the left pinky, left thumb and right thumb
FCover every main hole but the right middle, right ring and right pinky
ECover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky
DCover every main hole but the right pinky
C♯Cover every main hole but the right pinky, plus the right sub-hole
BCover the left pinky, left index, left thumb and right thumb

Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.

Who wrote the tune of the Ukrainian anthem?

Mykhailo Verbytsky, a priest and composer in Galicia, set the tune in 1863 to a poem by Pavlo Chubynsky. The anthem's article says it was first sung by a choir in Lviv in 1864 and that Ukraine's parliament adopted its music as the state anthem in 1992 and its words in 2003. Our tabs follow a 1918 songbook of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, printed in Vienna. A modern recording has the same notes but plays three bars with even beats where the 1918 page has dotted rhythms; we follow the page. We show the melody only. Music: Mykhailo Verbytsky (1815-1870), to a poem by Pavlo Chubynsky, 1863.

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