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Yankee Doodle on the ocarina

Updated 2026-10-29

Yankee Doodle on the ocarina starts with a quick G, then jumps to high C and steps up through high D to high E and back: a march in short, even notes. In C major it runs from E up to high F, so it needs a 12-hole: the notes are easy, with not a single sharp or flat, but they sit high. These tabs give one verse and the "keep it up" chorus from an 1881 songbook, an octave higher.

What are the notes for Yankee Doodle on the ocarina?

Yankee Doodle, played here in C major, 2/4 time, bar by bar: G | high C, high C, high D, high E | high C, high E, high D, B | high C, high C, high D, high E | high C, B, G | high C, high C, high D, high E | high F, high E, high D, high C | B, G, A, B | high C, high C | A, B, A, G | A, B, high C | G, A, G, F | E, G | A, B, A, G | A, B, high C, A | G, high C, B, high D | high C, high C. Press Play to hear the tune.

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  1. G
  2. high C
  3. high C
  4. high D
  5. high E
  6. high C
  7. high E
  8. high D
  9. B
  10. high C
  11. high C
  12. high D
  13. high E
  14. high C
  15. B
  16. G
  17. high C
  18. high C
  19. high D
  20. high E
  21. high F
  22. high E
  23. high D
  24. high C
  25. B
  26. G
  27. A
  28. B
  29. high C
  30. high C
  31. A
  32. B
  33. A
  34. G
  35. A
  36. B
  37. high C
  38. G
  39. A
  40. G
  41. F
  42. E
  43. G
  44. A
  45. B
  46. A
  47. G
  48. A
  49. B
  50. high C
  51. A
  52. G
  53. high C
  54. B
  55. high D
  56. high C
  57. high C

What is the tricky spot in Yankee Doodle?

The step from high E up to high F near the end of the verse, the highest note in the song, which then runs straight down: high F, high E, high D, high C. On a 12-hole, Yankee Doodle goes from high E to high F: you lift the left pinky.

The verse keeps coming back to high E, so set a firm, steady airstream for the whole verse instead of pushing on each high note, and give high F only a touch more. The chorus sits much lower, down to E, so relax the breath as it starts. Its "Yankee" pairs are dotted: the first note is three times as long as the second, so tongue them long-short, "taa-ta", not as two even notes. Breathe after "keep it up", where the printing has a short rest, and again after the E and G that end the second line of the chorus.

Which ocarina can play Yankee Doodle?

A 6-hole ocarina cannot reach high F, and a 4-hole ocarina cannot reach high D, high E and high F, so play Yankee Doodle 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.

Where does Yankee Doodle come from?

From a joke at the Americans' expense. A British army surgeon, Richard Shuckburgh, wrote the first words around 1755 to mock the colonial troops he served with; the Americans then took the song over as their own, and the tune is probably much older than any of the words. Our tabs follow Helen Kendrick Johnson's Our Familiar Songs (New York, 1881), which prints the verse that starts "Father and I" and the chorus in C major; our tabs keep the key and move it up an octave. Heart Songs (Boston, 1909) prints the same verse and chorus a tone lower, with small differences, among them one note a semitone lower in the first and fifth bars of the chorus. The tune is anonymous and the words are more than 240 years old, so the song is public domain. We show the melody only. Music: traditional tune, sung by British soldiers from the 1750s and American soldiers in the Revolution; words from the 1750s and 1770s.

More ocarina songs

Next hard song: Greensleeves. More: all the songs.