Ocarina Song List

by Dennis Silverman

Explanations:

What this page is: Instead of a complete page of pictures of the ocarina with holes closed for each song, I wanted a list of the songs which could be played on the five hole ocarina, and the starting note of each song, often transposed for the ocarina. I was also worried about copyright laws, and so I do not even attempt to provide the complete music. Many of the songs are so common that the words or melodies may be well known, or they appear in general song books. I hope that readers can benefit from knowing more songs that can be played on the five hole ocarina.
Notations: The list of songs is for the ocarina with 4 top holes and one bottom one. It covers a complete octave plus one note, and I will call them from c to high c (called hc) plus the higher d (called hd). This is well described in both of the ocarina links below. The songs in my list have the starting note or notes, the starting words, and maybe the song name.
Cheating for more songs: As five hole ocarina players soon become aware, many songs do not fit into the octave plus one note range. For some such songs, one can cheat by converting the high sequence as (high e, high d, high c) to (a, b, high c) which at least fits into the harmonizing of the original high notes. This can also be done in the lowest range for notes below the octave as (low a, low b, c) being played as (e, d, c). The other method of cheating is "wrapping" the high or low notes that are an octave above or below, back onto the basic octave . Many of the songs listed below involve some minor cheating!
Additions: I would love to find more links to full ocarina music, so please e-mail them to me. If you have your own list of ocarina adaptable songs that you know, please e-mail them also.
Color Coding: For easy location, songs that relate to the sea or to rivers are in blue, and those that are Italian are in red, Irish songs are in green, French songs are in purple, and Jewish songs are in light blue.
Song Books: The Hal Leonard Song Books cannot be purchased at their site, but some can be purchased on Amazon.com or other internet booksellers. I only give their books here since the sheet music is simplified for amateurs, and is all that ocarina players need. No endorsement is intended for any sites or books listed. This is just an informational page.

Ocarina Music Links with Full Sheet Music or Ocarina Diagrams:

Clayz.com
Ocarina Originators
Songbird Ocarina
Lark In The Morning's Musique Shop , which sells a few ocarina music books.

Transposing Guide for the Ocarina:

Number of Sharps	Key	Transposition	Alternate Transposition
1	G	None	1 down
2	D	1 down
3	A	1/2 up	1 1/2 down
4	E	2 down
Number of Flats
1	F	None
2	B flat	1 up
3	E flat	2 down (1 1/2 steps)	1 up
4	A flat	2 down (1 1/2 steps)

Adaptable Songs in the "The Real Little Ultimate Fake Book" 'C' Second Edition, by Hal Leonard

f, Oh beautiful, for spacious skies (America the Beautiful)
f, My country 'tis of thee (America)
hc, You fill up my senses (Annie's Song, John Denver)
e, (Are You Lonesome Tonight, Roy Turk and Lou Handman)
c, (Arrivederci Roma, P. Garinei, S. Giovannini, C. Sigman, R. Rascel)
c, Should auld acquaintance be forgot (Auld Lang Zyne)
c, (Bali Ha'i , Rogers and Hammerstein)
e, Mine eyes have seen the glory (Battle Hymn of the Republic)
c, Somewhere (Beyond the Sea, Jack Lawrence and Charles Trenet)
c, I found my thrill, on (Blueberry Hill, Al Lewis, Larry Stock, and Vincent Rose)
c, East is east, and west is west (Buttons and Bows, from "Paleface", Jay Livingston and Ray Evans)
hc, (California Here I Come, Al Jolson, B.G. DeSylva and Joseph Meyer)
c, A law was made (Camelot, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe)
g, Nothing could be finer than to be in (Carolina In The Moringing, Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson)
c, (Chantilly Lace, by J.P. Richardson)
a, When I was a little baby (Cotton Fields, by Huddie Ledbetter)
c, I love those (Dear Heart and Gentle People, Bobby Hilliard and Sammy Fain)
c, Doe a deer (Do-Re-Me, by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers)
e, (Edelweiss, Rodgers and Hammerstein)
e, (Follow Me, John Denver)
g, It's knowing that your door (Gentle on My Mind, John Hartford)
g, (The Girl That I Marry, Irving Berlin)
c, (Give My Regards to Broadway, George M. Cohan)
d, I'm getting married in the morning (Get Me to the Church On Time, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe)
c, Last Saturday night I got married (Goodnight Irene, by Huddie Ledbetter and John A. Lomax)
e, (Havah Nagilah)
f, (Heart and Soul, by Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael)
g, (Hello Young Lovers, Rodgers and Hammerstein)
c, I believe for every drop of rain that falls (I Believe, E. Drake, I. Graham, J. Shirl, and Al Stillman)
c, (I Could Have Danced All Night, Lerner and Loewe) (at the end, play the high e, d, and f an octave lower.)
c, (I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair, by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers)
c, (I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe) (at the end, move the low a to d).
c, (If I Loved You, Rodgers and Hammerstein) (at the end move the high e,d,e,f,f, down an octave).
e, (It's a Grand Night for Singing, Rodgers and Hammerstein)
g, Down the way where the nights are gay (Jamaica Farewell, by Irving Burgie)
a, (Just a Gigolo, by J. Brammer, I. Caesar and L. Casucci)
hc, Hold me close and hold me tight (La Vie En Rose, Edith Piaf)(play two low b's as d's, and a high e as c.)
hc, (Let's Fall in Love, Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen)
e, Underneath the lantern (Lilli Marlene, Liep, Conner and Schultze)(play low b's as d's.)
c, (Love Me Tender, by Elvis Presley and Vera Matson, transposed from d)
g, We could (Make Believe, Jerome Kern and Hammerstein)
c, (Me and My Shadow, Billy Rose, Al Jolson, and Dave Dreyer)
g, (Moon River, by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini)
hc, In a (Mountain Greenery, by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers)
hc, Put another nickel in (Music! Music! Music!, by Stephan Weiss and Bernie Baum)
e, When Whippoorwills call (My Blue Heaven, George Whiting and Walter Donaldson)
c, (The Night They Invented Champagne, by Lerner and Loewe)
c, (No Other Love, Rodgers and Hammerstein)
g, (Non Dimenticar, by Shelley Dobbins, Michele Galdieri, and P.G. Redi, transposed from b-flat)
hc, (Oklahoma, by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers)(At the end, two high e's become hc.)
c, I have sometime walked down this street before, (On the Street Where You Live, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, transposed from b-flat)
hc, (Puff The Magic Dragon, by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, transposed from a)
c, When I was just a little girl (Que Sera, Sera, by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans)
b, (Red Sails in the Sunset, by Jimmy Kennedy and Hugh Williams)
g, Wish that I was on ol' (Rocky Top, by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, transposed from a)
g, (Some Enchanted Evening, South Pacific, by Rodgers and Hammerstein)
hc, The hills are alive with (The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein)
d, Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry (The Surrey With the Fringe On Top, Rodgers and Hammerstein)
c, Almost Heaven, West Virginia (Take Me Home, Country roads, by John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert, transposed from e)
d, (Thank Heaven for Little Girls, Gigi, by Lerner and Loewe)
c, A way out here they got a name (They Call The Wind Maria, Lerner and Loewe)
f, (This Land is Your Land, by Woody Guthrie)
d, Hang down your head (Tom Dooley, by Frank Warner, John and Alan Lomax and Frank Proffitt)
d, I give to you and you give to me (True Love, by Cole Porter)
c, To everything (Turn, Turn, Turn, by Pete Seeger)
g, Gee! It's great after being out late, (Walking My Baby Back Home, by Fred E. Ahlert)
g, (We Shall Overcome, by Z. Horton, F. Hamilton, G. Caraway, and Pete Seeger)
g, (When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, by Ball, Olcott, and Graff)
g, Just (Whistle While You Work, by Larry Morey and Frank Churchill)
f, All I want is a room somewhere (Wouldn't It Be Loverly, by Lerner and Loewe)
c,a, We come on the sloop "John B" ((The Wreck of the) "John B", by Lee Hays and Carl Sandburg, transposed from d)
e, (Younger Than Springtime, by Rodgers and Hammerstein)

Other Songs

a , I looked over Jordan (Swing Low Sweet Chariot)
g,e,g Over hill, over dale (Caisson)
hc, Bolero (Ravel)
d, Hatikvah
hc, Daisy, daisy (Bicycle built for two)
a, hc, All day, all night, Marianne
c, Love me tender (Elvis Presley)
c, Oh, Suzanna
g, Waltzing Matilda (Chorus), Once a jolly swagman
a, Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
c, Row row row your boat
hc, Irish Washerwoman
g,c,d,e,f,g,c,c,a,f, (Bach's Minuet from Songbird Ocarina)
e, Notre dame fight song
f, Down in the west Texas town of El Paso (Laredo)
e, Toora Loora Loora (Irish Lullaby, J. R. Shannon)
c, c, c, f, a, La Cucaracha
c, f, c, f, c, f, (Mexican Hat Dance)
g, The Camptown ladies sing this song (Camptown Races, Stephen Foster)
c, (Old Man River)
f, c, f Find a wheel, and it goes round, round, round (Round and Round, Lou Stallman and Joe Shapiro)
hc, It's now or never (Elvis Presley)
c, Do not forsake me oh my darling
f, I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy
a, After the ball
c,c,c,f,f,g,g,hc, (The Marseillaise, French National Anthem)
c, From the Halls of Montezuma (Marines Hymn)
c, I have sometimes walked down this street before
e, Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffman (EZPlay Music Book#63, Hal Leonard, p32)
c, I've Just Seen a Face (Lennon and McCartney)
c, hc, Take Me Out to the Ball Game
e, Earth Angel (Dootsie Williams)
c, O Christmas Tree
hc, (Guantanamera, Jose Marti)
g, When Johnny Comes Marching Home
a, aflat, Gonna Lay Down My Burden (Down By the Riverside)
f, Sleep My Child (All Through the Night)
c, If you miss the train I'm on (Five Hundred Miles, Hedy West)
hc, He's got the whole world in his hands
d, Done laid around (Gotta Travel On)
f, Alouette
hc, Blow the Man Down
c, On Top of Old Smoky
d, Are you going to Scarborough Fair
a, Volare
hc, You fill up my senses (Annie's Song, John Denver)
e, Way down upon the Swanee river (Old Folks at Home, Stephen Foster)
d, I'd like to teach the world to sing (In Perfect Harmony, B. Backer, B. Davis, R. Cook, R. Greenaway)
g, (Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan)
g, hc, Some think, the world is made for fun and frolic (Funiculi, Funicula, Luigi Denza), (subsitute d's for the lower b's).
f,c,f, (Eine Kleine Nachtmusic, Wolfgang A. Mozart)
e, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
d, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
a, Adon Olom
a,a,a,hc,bflat,g, La Donna e Mobile, Giuseppi Verdi
hd,hd,a,b-flat,hc,a,b-flat,g,hd,hd,a,f,f,g,g,d,e,f,f,e,d,e,f,d,d, my reconstruction of Poleskaya Pole, played in the movie "Red October"
The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key, wrapped for the ocarina:

g,e,c,e,g,hc,e,d,c,a,b,hc
g,g,e,d,c,b,a,b,hc,hc,g,e,c
e,e,e,f,g,g,f,e,d,e,f,f
f,e,d,c,b,a,b,hc,e,f#,g
g,hc,hc,hc-b,a,a,a,e,f,e,d,c,c,b
g,g,c,d,e,f,g,c,d,e,f,d(trill),c

c, 'Tis (The Last Rose of Summer)
e, Oh, (Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms)
g, The Minstrel Boy
c, Theme from "Last of the Summer Wine"
d, I Want to Be Happy
f, Cuanta La Gusta
a, Bye Bye Blackbird
d, Embracable You
g, If You Could Read my Mind
a, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
d, Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips
f, Tea for Two

Songs from "Beatles Greatest Hits", Easy Electronic Keyboard Music, No. 8, by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, as well as many other Beatles Anthologies

f, Close your eyes (All My Loving, John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
d, I give her all my love (And I Love Her, Lennon and McCartney)
c,hc, I'll buy you a diamond ring (Can't Buy Me Love, Lennon and McCartney)
f, It's been (A Hard Day's Night, Lennon and McCartney)
d, Well, she was just seventeen (I Saw Her Standing There, Lennon and McCartney)
c, When I find myself (Let It Be, Lennon and McCartney)
a, Michelle, ma belle (Michelle, Lennon and McCartney)
a, In the town (Yellow Submarine, Lennon and McCartney), also on Clayz.com
d, (Yesterday, Lennon and McCartney)
d, When I get older (When I'm Sixty-Four, Lennon and McCartney, also on Songbird Ocarina website)

Songs from "John Denver, Anthology, Easy Guitar", edited by Milton Okun, Cherry Lane Music Co.

All of the songs were written by John Denver, unless otherwise noted.
Most of them are transposed just one note lower from the sheet music.
There are many more songs - these are just my favorites, from the early albums.
f,g,b-flat,a,f, All my bags are packed (Leaving on a Jet Plane)
g,g,g,g,g, So you speak to me (Rhymes and Reasons)
e,e,e,e,e,e,g, It's by far the hardest thing (Follow Me)
e,g,g,e,d,f, La-dy are you cry-ing (My Sweet Lady)
c,c,d,c,d,c,d,f, Almost heaven, West Viriginia (Take Me Home, Country Roads, Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver)
hd,hd,hd,hd,hd,hd,hd,hc,hd,a, I'ts a long way from L. A. to Den-ver (Starwood in Aspen) (wrap hf)
c,c,c,c,d,f,g,a, I'll walk in the rain by your side (For Baby (For Bobby))
g,a,b-flat,hc,b-flat,a, It's five o-clock this morning (Goodbye Again)
g,g,g,g,g,g, He was born in the sum-mer (Rocky Mountain High, John Denver and Mike Taylor)
c,c,c,c,d,f, (Wel-come to my morn-in' (Farewell Andromeda))
a,b-flat,hc,hc,hc,b-flat,b-flat,a, There's a storm a-cross the val-ley (Back Home Again)
g,g,e,g, (This old gui-tar)
hc,hc,b,a,hc,b, You fill up my sen-ses (Annie's Song)
a,hc,a,a,d,f, Sat-ur-days, hol-i-days (Cool An' Green An' Shady)
a,a,a,f,b-flat....When I was a lit-tle bit-ty boy (Grandma's Feather Bed, Jim Connor)
c,a,a,g,f,g,a, It's cold here in the city, (I'm Sorry)
c,a,g,f,c, To sail on a dream (Calypso)
a,b-flat,c,b-flat,a,f, All of her days have gone (Fly Away)

Pieces from Tchaikovsky, from "The Masters" series of Easy Electronic Keyboard Music, No. 209, by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation.

These often use tranposition of sections down by one octave to fit the ocarina range.

e,g,e,g,f,e,d,e,f (Capriccio Italian)
c,c,c,c,d,d,e,c,d (The Nutcracker, March)
c,g,e,d,a,g,c (The Nutcracker, Overture)
f,f,f,f,e,f,g,f,e (Swan Lake, Dance of the Swans)
f,e,d,f,e (Symphony No. 5, 2nd Movement, Andante Cantabile)
hc,g,b,a,g,f,g,f,e,d,c (Violin Concerto, 3rd Movement)
a,a,g,f,a,c,g,a,g (Violin Concerto, 1st Movement)

Songs From Hootenany Song Book by Irwin Silber and Jerry Silverman

f, This train is bound for glory
f, Oleanna (English lyrics by Pete Seeger)
c, a, Hush little baby don't say a word
e, We are climbing (Jacob's Ladder)
g, We shall overcome (arranged by Horton, Hamilton, Caraway and Seeger)
d, Hang down your head Tom Dooley

Song List From Clayz.com Where You Can Find the Complete Music

hc, Joy to the World
c, Dashing through the snow (Jingle Bells)
a, Oh little town of Bethlehem
f, Frere Jacques
c, Oh give me a home (Home on the Range)
c, Do a deer (The Do-Re-Mi Song)
hc, Summer Time
c, Kumbaya
c, From this valley (Red River Valley)
e, Lullaby, and good night (Brahm's Lullaby)
g, Where have all the flowers gone (Blowing in the Wind, Pete Seeger)
f, Oh my darling (Clementine)
a, In the town, where I was born (Yellow Submarine, the Beatles)
hc, Hey Mr. Tambourine man (Bob Dylan)

Dennis Silverman at d.silverman@cox.net