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Old Macdonald Had A Farm — Sheet Music, Tab & Chord Directory

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About Old Macdonald Had A Farm

Old Macdonald Had A Farm is a nursery rhyme in G major — beginner-friendly, running from D to B and staying in first position on banjo, mandolin and fiddle.

Type
Nursery rhyme
Key
G major · 2/2
Range
D to B · first position
Notes used
D E G A B
Level
Beginner-friendly

Old Macdonald Had A Farm — sheet music

G major · 2/2

The notes

Letter names, bar by bar · capitals up to C in the third space, lower case from the D on the 4th line

G G G D | E E D | B B A A | G D G G G D | E E D | B B A A | G D D G G G D D | G G G | G G G G G G | G G G G G G G G G D | E E D | B B A A | G

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Old Macdonald Had A Farm — tab

Tenor banjo · mandolin · fiddle · guitar · ukulele — tap one to open it

Old Macdonald Had A Farm — Tenor banjo tab

G D A E (Irish tuning) · open position

E|---------|-------|---------|-----|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|-----|
D|-5-5-5-0-|-2-2-0-|---------|-5-0-|
G|---------|-------|---------|-----|
E|---------|-------|---------|-------|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|-------|
D|-5-5-5-0-|-2-2-0-|---------|-5-0-0-|
G|---------|-------|---------|-------|
E|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
A|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
D|-5-5-5-0-0-|-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-5-5-|
G|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
E|---------|-------|---------|---|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|---|
D|-5-5-5-0-|-2-2-0-|---------|-5-|
G|---------|-------|---------|---|

Numbers are frets. Tenor banjo sounds an octave below the written notes.

Old Macdonald Had A Farm — Mandolin tab

G D A E · open position

E|---------|-------|---------|-----|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|-----|
D|-5-5-5-0-|-2-2-0-|---------|-5-0-|
G|---------|-------|---------|-----|
E|---------|-------|---------|-------|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|-------|
D|-5-5-5-0-|-2-2-0-|---------|-5-0-0-|
G|---------|-------|---------|-------|
E|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
A|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
D|-5-5-5-0-0-|-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-5-5-|
G|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
E|---------|-------|---------|---|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|---|
D|-5-5-5-0-|-2-2-0-|---------|-5-|
G|---------|-------|---------|---|

Numbers are frets. Same strings as the fiddle, so the same notes fall in the same places.

Old Macdonald Had A Farm — fiddle fingering

G D A E · first position — finger numbers

E|---------|-------|---------|-----|
A|---------|-------|-1-1-0-0-|-----|
D|-3-3-3-0-|-1-1-0-|---------|-3-0-|
G|---------|-------|---------|-----|
E|---------|-------|---------|-------|
A|---------|-------|-1-1-0-0-|-------|
D|-3-3-3-0-|-1-1-0-|---------|-3-0-0-|
G|---------|-------|---------|-------|
E|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
A|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
D|-3-3-3-0-0-|-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-|
G|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
E|---------|-------|---------|---|
A|---------|-------|-1-1-0-0-|---|
D|-3-3-3-0-|-1-1-0-|---------|-3-|
G|---------|-------|---------|---|

0 = open string · 1–4 = finger · L = low (half step back), H = high.

Old Macdonald Had A Farm — Guitar tab

E A D G B E · open position

e|---------|-------|---------|-----|
B|---------|-------|-0-0-----|-----|
G|-0-0-0---|-------|-----2-2-|-0---|
D|-------0-|-2-2-0-|---------|---0-|
A|---------|-------|---------|-----|
E|---------|-------|---------|-----|
e|---------|-------|---------|-------|
B|---------|-------|-0-0-----|-------|
G|-0-0-0---|-------|-----2-2-|-0-----|
D|-------0-|-2-2-0-|---------|---0-0-|
A|---------|-------|---------|-------|
E|---------|-------|---------|-------|
e|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
B|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
G|-0-0-0-----|-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
D|-------0-0-|-------|-------------|-------------|
A|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
E|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
e|---------|-------|---------|---|
B|---------|-------|-0-0-----|---|
G|-0-0-0---|-------|-----2-2-|-0-|
D|-------0-|-2-2-0-|---------|---|
A|---------|-------|---------|---|
E|---------|-------|---------|---|

Numbers are frets; the bottom line is the low E string.

Old Macdonald Had A Farm — Ukulele tab

G C E A (high G) · open position

A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|-----|
E|---------|-0-0---|---------|-----|
C|-------2-|-----2-|---------|---2-|
G|-0-0-0---|-------|---------|-0---|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|-------|
E|---------|-0-0---|---------|-------|
C|-------2-|-----2-|---------|---2-2-|
G|-0-0-0---|-------|---------|-0-----|
A|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
E|-----------|-------|-------------|-------------|
C|-------2-2-|-------|-------------|-------------|
G|-0-0-0-----|-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
A|---------|-------|-2-2-0-0-|---|
E|---------|-0-0---|---------|---|
C|-------2-|-----2-|---------|---|
G|-0-0-0---|-------|---------|-0-|

Numbers are frets; the top line is the A string, the bottom line the high G.

Old Macdonald Had A Farm chords

G major · 4 chords: G, C, D7, G/D

G
C G
G D7
G
G
C G
G D7
G
G C G
C G
G C
G C
G
C G
G/D D7
G

One box per bar, in the same order as the sheet music. A faded chord carries on from the bar before. A slash chord like G/D means play G with D as the lowest note.

Guitar chords for Old Macdonald Had A Farm

Strings E A D G B E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it

GC×D7××G/D××

Ukulele chords for Old Macdonald Had A Farm

Strings G C E A, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it

GCD7G/D

Tenor banjo & mandolin chords for Old Macdonald Had A Farm

Strings G D A E, low to high · o = open string, × = don't play it

GCD7G/D

More nursery rhymes and tunes like it

Mary Had A Little LambTwinkle, Twinkle, Little StarLondon Bridge Is Falling DownRow, Row, Row Your BoatPop Goes The WeaselThis Old ManFrère JacquesHere We Go 'Round The Mulberry Bush

This melody comes from The Public Domain Song Anthology (David Berger & Chuck Israels), released CC0. The song is in the public domain. Tabs and letter names worked out by The Music Arcade.

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