“Old MacDonald Had a Farm” is built from one line that comes three times, with an animal section in the middle. It uses five notes on the piano. This page gives letter notes for the piano and the recorder.
Quick facts
- Notes: five
- Time signature: 4/4
- Pattern: the opening line comes three times, with an animal section in the middle
- New skill: a drop to a low note and back
On this page, a dash after a letter means “hold this note longer.” A comma after a letter, as in G, means a low note.
On the piano
Line 1: C C C G, A, A, G,-,
Line 2: E E D D, C-,
Line 3: G, C C C G, A, A, G,-,
Line 4: E E D D, C-,
Line 5: G, G, C C C, G, G, C C C,
Line 6: C C C, C C C, C C C C C C,
Line 7: C C C G, A, A, G,-,
Line 8: E E D D, C-
G, and A, are the two white keys just below middle C. The tune sits on five keys: low G, low A, C, D, and E.
What repeats
| Lines | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | The farm line and its answer |
| 3 and 4 | The same again, with one extra note at the start |
| 5 and 6 | The animal section, which stays on one note for a long time |
| 7 and 8 | The farm line and its answer, one more time |
A child who learns lines 1 and 2 has learned six of the eight lines.
Where the hand goes
The tune reaches below middle C, so the usual hand position does not fit. Here is one way with the right hand.
| Key | Low G | Low A | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finger | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The thumb sits on the low G. There is a gap of one white key, B, between finger 2 and finger 3.
A second way uses two hands. The left hand plays the low G and the low A. The right hand plays C, D, and E.
On the recorder
Line 1: G G G D, E E D-,
Line 2: B B A A, G-,
Line 3: D, G G G D, E E D-,
Line 4: B B A A, G-,
Line 5: D D G G G, D D G G G,
Line 6: G G G, G G G, G G G G G G,
Line 7: G G G D, E E D-,
Line 8: B B A A, G-
The D and the E here are the low D and the low E. The tune needs five notes: low D, low E, G, A, and B. For the fingerings, read easy recorder songs with letter notes.
The rhythm
Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 move in even beats, with a long note at the end of each.
Line 6 is the fast one. The groups of three go quick, quick, slow. The last six notes go quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, slow. Say the animal sounds while you play, and the rhythm will follow the words.
Add the left hand
| Line | Left-hand note |
|---|---|
| 1, 3, and 7 | C, with F under the two As |
| 2, 4, and 8 | C. Change to G under the two Ds, and back to C at the end |
| 5 and 6 | C |
How to learn it
- Sing it with a favorite animal.
- Play line 1. Practice the drop from C to the low G.
- Play line 2. It steps down to the home note.
- Play line 6 at a slow speed. Count the Cs out loud.
- Join the lines. Then pick a new animal for each time through.
Where the song comes from
Nobody knows who wrote it. Songs about a farmer and the sounds of his animals go back hundreds of years in Britain. A version close to the one we sing was in print by 1917.
Things to do together
Animal sounds on the piano. A low, slow note for a cow. A high, quick note for a chick. Let your child choose a sound for each animal.
Loud and soft. Play the cow verse loud and the mouse verse soft. Read dynamics in music.
Fast and slow. Play the horse verse fast and the turtle verse slow.
Hear real animals in music. Play The Carnival of the Animals and guess each animal.
Print and play
Print the piano keyboard chart. For more first tunes, read first piano songs for kids and Mary Had a Little Lamb on piano and recorder. For music about animals, read classical music about animals for kids.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.