How do you play Old MacDonald Had a Farm on the piano?

Old MacDonald Had a Farm piano notes

Old MacDonald Had a Farm goes G G G D, E E D for "Old MacDonald had a farm", and B B A A G for "E-I-E-I-O". It uses five white keys: D, E, G, A and B. Put your thumb on D, skip F, and the whole song stays under one hand.

Play it on the virtual piano

The notes, line by line

Each line shows the letters to play, then each key with its octave: C4 is middle C. The box under a key is the computer key that plays it on the virtual piano.

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
G G G D E E D B B A A G
G4TG4TG4TD4WE4EE4ED4WB4UB4UA4YA4YG4T
And on his farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O
D G G G D E E D B B A A G
D4WG4TG4TG4TD4WE4EE4ED4WB4UB4UA4YA4YG4T

How to play it

Put your right thumb on D, just right of middle C, and your second finger on E. Skip F: fingers 3, 4 and 5 rest on G, A and B.
Play G G G D with fingers 3 3 3 1, then E E D with fingers 2 2 1.
For E-I-E-I-O, play B B A A G with fingers 5 5 4 4 3.
The second line starts with one more D, for "and". Then it goes the same way as the first line.

Fingers have numbers: 1 is the thumb, 2 the index finger, 3 the middle finger, 4 the ring finger and 5 the little finger. In the virtual piano, press Listen to hear the rhythm first, and pick a slower speed while you learn.

關鍵事實

層級	簡單
Notes in the melody	25
Keys	5: D4 E4 G4 A4 B4
Black keys	無
Lowest and highest note	D4 – B4
First note	G4
Melody by	Traditional

The notes in do re mi

In fixed do, C is always Do, as in Spanish, French and Italian.

Sol Sol Sol Re Mi Mi Re Si Si La La Sol
Re Sol Sol Sol Re Mi Mi Re Si Si La La Sol

About the song

The oldest known variant of the song is "In the Fields in Frost and Snow", from a 1706 opera by the English writer Thomas d'Urfey.

In 1917, Tommy's Tunes, a book of songs of the First World War, printed a version called "Ohio", where the farmer is Old Macdougal. Records from 1925 and 1927 may be the first with the tune that children sing today.

常見問題

What are the notes of E-I-E-I-O on the piano?

B B A A G. Play the two Bs with your little finger, the two As with your fourth finger, and the G with your third finger.

Does Old MacDonald need any black keys?

No. The song is in G major, which has one black key, F#, but this melody never uses F. Every note is a white key.