Recorder fingering chart

Fingering with your fingers in the correct sequence over the keys, buttons, valves of a musical instrument is called fingering. In the case of the recorder, we are talking about the note holes.

The fingerings for winds, keyboards, and strings look different. It's all about the way you get the sound. For example, in a piano or piano, one key is responsible for one note; only one finger is needed to receive it. Hence, keyboard fingering is a melody acquisition scheme.

In wind instruments - pipes, flutes, and others - several fingers must work simultaneously to produce one note. Based on this, the fingering for the recorder is a schematic representation of the fingers closing the holes to get a melody.

During rehearsal, the student has to memorize the position of the fingers for each individual note. Only after such training, when all fingers firmly "know" their place during the game, the musician is able to play a melody.

This is what the recorder fingering looks like.

Usually, the manufacturer puts fingering drawings into each package with the instrument. If for some reason they are not there, there are many different options on the internet.

There are 2 types of fingerings: Baroque and German. Before learning to play a melody, you need to understand the notation of the schemes:

• a clean circle means an open hole;
• the tinted circle is a covered hole;
• a circle with a blackened half - a slightly opened note hole;
• gray coloring - alternative note extraction using various combinations of closed and open holes;
• designation G above the column - the note is played on a German recorder;
• letter B - the note is played on a musical instrument of the baroque system, that is, English;
• oval with two holes, where one is larger, the other is smaller - double holes of notes C and D;
• an oval with a large open and a small blackened circle - a single hole is only half covered with a finger;
• an unpainted pair of holes - a single one is completely open, black circles - a single hole is completely closed with a finger.

Learning begins with mastering the B note of the first octave and gradual transition to the next. The study of the scale from the last to the first note occurs with the aim of easier and faster mastering of a musical instrument. The explanation of the technique is quite simple - in a similar sequence, the note holes are closed:

• 1 top hole;
• then 2 holes are closed;
• after that comes the turn of 3 holes and so on.

There are several types of flutes, and they all depend on the size. The larger the instrument, the lower the sound it is capable of producing, while, on the contrary, the smallest recorder produces a higher sound. Each of these instruments is responsible for certain notes of different octaves, for example, G or D of the second octave:

• soprano (Descant);
• viola ("treble");
• sopranino;
• tenor;
• bass.

Recorders less commonly used among flute players:

• grossbass;
• double bass;
• subgrossbass;
• sub-bass;
• garklein (sopranissimo).

Another feature in mastering the recorder is to pay special attention to low notes - D and up to the first octave. To obtain a clear sound, it is necessary to smoothly supply air at a low voltage, without exerting much effort. That is why it is difficult for a beginner to learn the D and C notes - training will be required.

Sometimes the musical notation looks quite complicated even for a simple melody, when several rows of notes are shown. The purpose of this recording is simultaneous musical notation for multiple instruments. In this particular case, we are talking about a duet of two recorders and guitar accompaniment. The presence of letter symbols on the musical notation means chords for the guitarist.

Sharp and flat signs in musical notation are alteration signs, and they mean a decrease or increase in sound by half a tone, they are put down in two ways:

1. the alteration sign is placed near a specific note and is required within the measure in which it is put;
2. the sign stands in front of the staff and is required for all notes of the melody of any octave.

The notes of B flat and E flat are somewhat more difficult to play; they start learning after mastering the initial notes. To get the note B flat with the thumb of your left hand, you must press the B flat lever, which closes the B valve and the B flat valve located next to A.

Finger position for playing E flat.

The arrangement of the fingers of the right and left hands on the recorder to obtain the note F sharp.

Tablature (tabs) - one of the types of recording of musical notation, a schematic indication of the location of the fingers to fix the pitch. Used for keyboards, strings, and sometimes wind instruments. Today this technique has almost gone out of practice, preserved in the notation for guitarists.

Any novice musician must first master the musical notation and learn to read the fingerings. In addition, it is imperative to "number" the fingers and remember the number of each of the ten fingers.

The holes are closed with pads of slightly bent fingers, which are in a free, straightened state. Breathing should be smooth.

And one more piece of advice for the novice recorder is the obligatory daily playing of scales. This is what professional musicians do, this is what a beginner should do - diatonic and chromatic scales always, every day.

A great help for beginners in mastering practical skills will help "Svirelka" - a training program, not only playing melodies, but showing the fingering to get each note. It demonstrates in great detail all the skills that a musician must master to play the chosen instrument.

You will learn how to understand the fingering of a recorder in the next video.