About Lullaby of Takeda#
This is a Japanese cradle song, “Takeda no Komoriuta,” from the Takeda district of Kyoto. It is sung in the voice of a young girl sent away to mind another family’s baby, and its sorrow is not decorative: the song is tied to the history of Japan’s burakumin outcast communities. That weight is why it sounds mournful even before you know the words.
The melody is spare and slow, which suits the 6-hole ocarina well. It spans a full octave from C to high C, so the reach is modest, and the long held notes give you room to shape each breath.
Lullaby of Takeda Ocarina Tab#
| C | D | F | G | A | G | F | D | ||||
| D | F | G | A | G | G | ||||||
| C | D | F | G | C | A | G | F | ||||
| D | F | F | D | D | |||||||
| C | D | F | G | C | A | G | F | ||||
| D | F | F | D | D |