Kids-Songs on 12 Hole Ocarina Tabs

Camptown Races

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Camptown Races
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Doo dah, doo dah. What does it mean? Nothing much, as far as anyone can tell. It is a nonsense refrain that Stephen Foster built into Camptown Races, published in 1850, a song about a long day of horse racing and a bet on a bobtail nag. The refrain stuck, and the tune has been a children’s favorite ever since.

Frere Jacques

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Frere Jacques
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Most children will recognize this one, in French or as Brother John. It is a traditional French nursery song and a round, so a second player can start the melody a phrase behind the first and the two lines fit together. Gustav Mahler borrowed it, slowed down into a minor key, for a funeral march in his First Symphony.

Brahms Lullaby

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Brahms Lullaby
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Johannes Brahms wrote this lullaby in 1868 for his friend Bertha Faber, to mark the birth of her son. Its German title is Wiegenlied, it was published as his Opus 49, No. 4, and it has been sung over cradles ever since. Plenty of people know the tune without knowing it is by Brahms at all.

On Top of Ol Smokey

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About On Top of Ol Smokey
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How many funny versions of this song do you know? Kids seem to collect them, and the joke ones often get sung more than the real words. The original is an American mountain folk song, a sad little warning about a false-hearted lover, and nobody knows who first made it up.

Three Blind Mice

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Three Blind Mice
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It is one of the more violent nursery rhymes I know of. Three Blind Mice is also one of the oldest: a version was printed by Thomas Ravenscroft in 1609, in a book called Deuteromelia. It began as a round, and it still works as one, so two or three players can start a phrase apart and the parts fit together.

Bingo

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Bingo
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Bingo is the song where a farmer’s dog gets his name spelled out, and each time through, one more letter drops away and a clap takes its place. It is simple, fun and cheery, and it is a traditional children’s song with no known author.

Alouette

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Alouette
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Parlez-vous francais? I don’t, but your kids won’t care when you play this on the 12-hole ocarina. Alouette is a French-Canadian children’s song about a lark, with each verse naming another part of the bird, and it is widely thought to come from the fur-trade days, when a steady song could keep a canoe crew paddling in time. The French colonists ate horned larks as game birds, and the lark was the bird that woke everyone too early.

A Tisket a Tasket

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About A Tisket a Tasket
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I always want to sing “a tisket a tasket, I think I blew a gasket,” but that is not how it goes. The real rhyme is an old, anonymous children’s verse about a basket and a letter that gets lost along the way, and its bouncing, sing-song nonsense is what keeps it in people’s heads.

The ABC Song

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About The ABC Song
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I think every nursery-age kid knows this one, and my daughter likes to sing along whenever it comes out. The ABC Song borrows its melody from Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, which comes in turn from the old French tune “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman,” so learning it hands you Twinkle as well.

You Are My Sunshine

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About You Are My Sunshine
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This one went up by special request. The song was first recorded in 1939 and is credited to Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell. Most people only know the cheerful chorus, but the verses are sung by someone whose sweetheart has left, and they are a good deal sadder.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Itsy Bitsy Spider
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Nothing is more enjoyable than singing songs with your 4 year old. Well, a few things are, but playing Itsy Bitsy Spider on the ocarina while your children sing along is pretty fun. Little ones tend to want it again the moment it ends, which is a fine excuse to practice.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
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My daughter loves to sing along when I play this one. It works well for that because the words sit right under the notes in the tab, so whoever is singing and whoever is playing can stay together line by line.

Hot Cross Buns

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Hot Cross Buns
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Hot Cross Buns is about as short as a song gets, two lines on this page, and it makes a fine first tune for anyone just picking up the 12-hole ocarina. It is an old English nursery rhyme, and the tab puts the words under the notes so you can sing along in your head while you play.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

About Mary Had a Little Lamb
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When Thomas Edison tested his new phonograph in 1877, the first words he recorded were the opening of Mary Had a Little Lamb. The verse itself is credited to Sarah Josepha Hale, who published it in 1830, and it has been one of the first songs children learn ever since.

Kids-Songs on 12 Hole Ocarina Tabs

Camptown Races

About Camptown Races #

Frere Jacques

About Frere Jacques #

Brahms Lullaby

About Brahms Lullaby #

On Top of Ol Smokey

About On Top of Ol Smokey #