Composing for Recorders: Your How-To Guide | Team Recorder

Thinking of composing for recorders? Amazing! Here is a comprehensive guide to instruments, ranges, notation, dynamics, extended techniques and much more!
I have definitely left out a lot, so if you have your own tips or questions please put em in the comments. Also, this way isn't the only way, so feel free to disregard this advice..!
Want feedback on your composition? Shout it out in the comments section and hopefully you can partner up with a recorder player!
/// TIMESTAMPS
00:03 Introduction
01:05 Instrumentation
03:29 Notation: ranges and octaves
07:07 Registers
09:23 The most important question!
09:42 Blending with other instruments
10:41 Dynamics
13:09 Articulation
14:27 Fingerings
17:40 Extended technqiues
19:28 Extra hints and tips
/// LINKS
Meng-Heng Chen conducting 'Recorder Rhapsody': • Pieter Campo: Kardos 坎...
'Cold Song' by Purcell performed by Sarah Jeffery/recorder; Andrea Voets/hapr; Evi Filippou/vibraphone: fb.watch/6k9fLM_H25/
'Sin Descanso' by Roderik de Man, performed by Sarah Jeffery: • Sarah Jeffery - 'Sin D...
/// INSTRUMENTS
In this video I play on :
a 442Hz garklein by Küng
a 442Hz sopranino by Küng
a 442Hz soprano by Mollenhauer Concert Edition
a 442Hz alto by Yoav Ran
a 442Hz tenor by Yamaha
a 442Hz basset by Yamaha
a 442 C great bass by Paetzold
a 442 F contrabass by Paetzold
//////
Website: www.sarahjeffery.com
Tiktok / instagram / twitter: @team_recorder
//// ONLINE COURSE!
Check out my online courses for recorder players: sarahjeffery.com/Online-Course
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Join my mailing list to stay up to date on future news and events: mailchi.mp/0d849f2fb5c7/100k
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'Constellations' is out!! It can be ordered on (signed) CD or digital download here: team-recorder.myshopify.com/
LISTEN NOW ON SPOTIFY! open.spotify.com/artist/3wL36...
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[@natheniel]

0:00 - introduction 1:05 - instrumentation (who are you writing for?) 2:31 - (types of ensembles) 3:01 - (instrumentation conclusion) 3:29 - notation (let's meet the instruments!) - 4:12 - garklein - 4:32 - sopranino - 4:47 - soprano - 5:13 - alto - 5:30 - tenor - 5:46 - basset - 6:07 - great bass - 6:25 - contrabass - 6:40 - even lower? (no demostration) 7:07 - register 9:40 - blending with other instruments 10:20 - (recorders don’t always play in equal temperament) 10:42 - dynamics [

[@Team_Recorder]

Thanks, pinned!

[@DBruce]

Fantastic video Sarah! We need lots more recorder pieces in the world, such a great instrument(s)!

[@Team_Recorder]

Thanks, David! Indeed, I think recorders are the best but then I’m biased 😁 But working with composers is always lots of fun!

[@scarlocnebelwandler1253]

So... is the next five composers video going to be music for the recorder?

[@AquilaLupus9]

@@scarlocnebelwandler1253 That would be a pleasant treat!

[@AquilaLupus9]

@David Bruce Composer, make it happen. Not enough pieces are heard (not saying that not many exist), but not many are heard because it is thought of as a toy. Even if it isn't explicitly stated, classical music aficionados look down upon the instrument. I know quite a few. As a result, the recorder is rarely on concert hall repertoires. I would like to see, rather hear, more exposure of this beautiful instrument.

[@Team_Recorder]

@@scarlocnebelwandler1253 why what an excellent idea 😎

[@mid9moth]

"Don't forget; ✨we need to breathe✨ some composers forget this! EHEM Bach" Me: *cries in bwv 1013*

[@Team_Recorder]

EXACTLYYY

[@mid9moth]

@@Team_Recorder I always die on the inside during the Allemande 😭🤣🤣🤣

[@jobkaashoek]

I'm working on this piece too! I am almost moved to learn circular breathing for it...

[@minerscale]

Not enough back pressure on the recorder to circular breathe :(

[@mechwarrior5727]

@@minerscale you can, its just difficult, easier to learn than on flute lol

[@twothreebravo]

This was amazing. There is nothing cooler than watching an artist who is a master with their tools do things you just didn't even know were possible.

[@flutechannel]

Very inspiring Sarah. I've been working on a similar video and is around the same length in time. I was so engaged in your video, the whole way through!

[@Team_Recorder]

Ahh thank you Amelie! Looking forward to watching yours 😊

[@composemylife9994]

Gosh, imagine how fun it would be to compose with Sarah. I'd love to try write something with her.

[@HosamAdeebNashed]

I would add one thing, both as a composer and player myself: I would avoid keys with more than four flats, or more than two sharps! Really!!!

[@ElsweyrDiego]

why no more than two sharps? it's harder on recorder? or something more?

[@HosamAdeebNashed]

@@ElsweyrDiego Let me just say, it's what I found out to be practical within the circles around me. Where I live, Egypt, recorders are almost only known to amateurs. Unlike music students, who study at the Conservatory, who can read just about anything, amateurs panic when they see D# instead of Eb, or G#/Ab!!!

[@willemkossen]

i'm not a professional recorder player, but i'm not bad at it either. though these keys are a bit harder, the instrument is fully chromatic, and all these keys can be played even though they tend te be a bit more difficult. also, they keep being difficult if we never use them. so there's that too.

[@HosamAdeebNashed]

@@willemkossen I completely understand. But this relative difficulty you're alluding to makes a player concentrate almost exclusively on playing the notes right, with little in the way of ornamentation or expression, if at all.

[@willemkossen]

@@HosamAdeebNashed i don't think that is necessarily true. the initial practice may take a bit longer, and then you start adding ornamentation and work on expression. if you stop once you can 'just play the notes' you didn't finish the process at all. and that applies to easier pieces and more novice players just as much. some ornamentation might be more difficult in certain keys, but why would we let difficulty stop us? That's why the point Sarah made of 'working with the composer' to get the 'impossible out' or 'get the desired effect in' is key to create great recorder music. if your recorder player only wants to play in c or f, that tells you a lot about their level of experience.... just my 2c

[@Michajeru]

Sarah you are a world class recorder player and musician, but even more so, you are quite possibly the world's best teacher of the recorder. Your explanations and enthusiasm are so clear and motivating. Thank you very much for the hard work you put into making these wonderful videos. Micha Sloman

[@Team_Recorder]

That’s very kind Micha, thank you!

[@aurorameyer159]

I've been hoping for this kind of video, thank you!

[@hilarymajor3983]

I found you from TwoSet Violin, after you demolished them for disrespecting the recorder. I had enough lessons as a kid to do the easier Bach and Handel, and some folk music. I’m really enjoying your professional videos.

[@suzz1776]

idk why I watch ur channel. I dont play the recorder. but for some reason when a new video pops up, I gotta click and watch. :)

[@Team_Recorder]

Yay 🥰

[@mixedstaples8030]

This is fantastic! I'd seen Josh Plotner's excellent video on this, but it's so good to go more in depth!

[@michaelraven3899]

I LOVE your intro 😍... it's simply amazing. So delicate, simple and cheerful that it's brilliant in its overall awesomeness 😍😍😍🎵🎵🎵

[@Wrongald]

This was the best video about recorders ever made!

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Very useful tips, thank you for this Sarah!

[@scottgilesmusic]

This was fascinating. I’ve always wanted to compose something for recorder and now I feel really interested in the instrument all over again. Anyone want a recorder sonata?

[@fcopaja]

One of your best videos ever!

[@philipclifford2314]

Sarah, this video is so helpful. I am a theory student learning to compose music for all kinds of instruments that I am not proficient at. Now I just need other colleagues to make similar videos for every family of instruments and I'll be in very good shape indeed. Thanks!

[@Team_Recorder]

There are some brilliant instrumentalists I know from Twitter doing the same! Danielle Kuntz on harp and Heather Roche on (bass) clarinet to name a couple.

[@cadid1]

The link to the recorder orchestra has really been a wonderful gift! Thanks for sharing.

[@Team_Recorder]

They are amazing!

[@MarkGrand]

Thank you for this video. I had not idea about some of the things a recorder can do, like microtones.

[@jessicavaliente9342]

It actually doesn't bother me when I occasionally (well, rarely) come across a piece for F bass notated in treble clef. Why would it? Treble was my first clef. It only reads three ledger lines below the staff (clarinetists routinely do the same). Honestly, I have always thought it a bit silly that an instrument whose lowest note is only a whole tone below the violin (a treble instrument) reads the bass clef. Or that we call it bass anything. Or that such a large instrument can't actually play very low.

[@Team_Recorder]

Very good point! I think it depends on the piece- I played a super microtonal piece for bass and live electronics, and getting my head around the microtones in a different clef and aaallll the ledger lines just broke my brain 😅

[@albertnemiroff1502]

Brava! Great advice for any composer who is unfamiliar with the vagaries/problems of any instrument or human voice.

[@RecorderArcade]

Great video Sarah! I'll be making my own video on composing for recorders and recorder ensembles soon too! I'm planning even more theoretical and pedagogical info for small and large ensembles to add to the mix, so I will definitely reference this vid for the extra goodies that I'm not qualified to talk about. LOL

[@willemkossen]

that is a very good idea. i'll be looking forward to that video!

[@brannonliston-smith6307]

Brilliant video!

[@arielbotina]

Excelente vídeo, felicitaciones 🎉

[@raniagoldmusic]

Fabulous video! So many questions answered on writing for the recorder. Better get back to work then!

[@Team_Recorder]

Glad it was useful Rania!

[@revtonynewnham]

Regarding ranges etc. Musescore has standard settings and shows out of range notes for recorders. There are at least settings for everything from Garklein to Bass - I've not had opportunity to include larger instruments! Musescore is a free notation programme, and works pretty well.

[@willemkossen]

highly recommended. musescore is great once you get past the learning curve... In fact, the product manager of the musescore project is on youtube and has a rather interesting channel as well. it's called tantacrul.

[@agfcotten]

In this video, I particularly enjoyed your going wild on the special effects possible on the recorder. Here’s another that you have no doubt tried but didn’t specifically address: playing the head joint only. Remove it from the rest of the instrument and use your free hand to vary the pitch, in somewhat theremin-fashion. A bass can produce some spectacular “ghost” effects! Children love it. The smaller recorders are harder to manipulate accurately, of course, but it’s still a fun special effect. While we’re “talking,” thank you so much for your instruction, inspiration, and entertainment!

[@DanielHay]

As a composer for recorder I really enjoyed this presentation. Thank you, Sarah.

[@Team_Recorder]

You’re welcome!

[@grahamfelvus7708]

Another great video, thank you. I would maybe add that certain instruments have specific limitations. Many sopranos do not play a top c# reliably and many altos do not play a top f# reliably without using your knee even though higher notes may speak more easily. Also, older tenors may not have a bottom c# and older basses may not have a bottom f# because they were fitted with a single key. These are just some of my thoughts. I hope they are helpful.

[@Team_Recorder]

Super helpful, thank you Graham!

[@hansaniarchibald6919]

I really enjoyed this!

[@bardsichord2145]

This video's been out for a couple of years but I am just now finding this channel, and as a sound designer I find this video so helpful in particular!! Someday I would love to create an improvised, mixed acoustic/electronic, atmospheric sound design piece - and now I know that such an idea absolutely *needs* to have recorder in it for all the possibilities it has 😍

[@Team_Recorder]

Ohhh yes! Please do create this!

[@lynnrixson1094]

Very interesting!! Thank you 😁😁

[@MrMarcvus]

Thank you very much for a fantastic video! Would it be possible for you to please make a video comparing the baroque flute and modern flute and recorder? It would be really interesting to get your perspectives! Thank you again!

[@jgendiaz]

Thank you so much, you saved my life!!!

[@elizabethrudolph7482]

THANKS, SARAH!

[@annmcilwraith5385]

Hi Sarah, Another wonderfully informative video and so well put together. I did not see the link in the description for the download of the range and notation for the different types of recorder. I was one of your students in a recorder foundations course, and am still playing and enjoying it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[@dinraal-mtg]

That is a very helpful video for any composers out there who want to write music for a specific instrument. Thank you very much for this video, it is inspiring. I would say that after years of experience as a composer, the number one most important thing to do is WORK WITH THE PLAYER AS YOU WRITE THE PIECE. Ask question: is it possible, what is the fingering, is there a better way to achieve this section/effect/line, etc. You never ask enough question. This will not only improve the piece you are writing, but also the relationship you have with the player.

[@Team_Recorder]

Yesssss this!! I much prefer to have lots of workshops with the composer, trying things out together, than just getting a finished score full of things that don’t work so well..

[@michaelraven3899]

Wow, I can see on the poster behind you the "recorder" translation in my language => "flet prosty" Yaaaay 😊 ♫ P.S. Articulation - that was amazing to see what you can do with your recorder by simply changing the shape of your lips and modulate the way of breathing (in or out). Wow! 😁

[@jean_pierre_madoosing]

Thank you for this video.

[@IndieTimberStudio]

As a composer and recorders as my secondary instrument, I'm familiar with all of your tips.

[@filharmonix]

Funny you mentioned guitar. About 3 years ago, I was talking to someone about how the recorder seems to have natural chemistry with the guitar, probably due to its roots.

[@vahagnvardanyan]

One important addition, I would say, is that every register of a (non-keyed) recorder has true glissando. Recorders, bassoons, clarinets and saxes are the only contemporary woodwind instruments to do a true portamento. (Just like string players do) Modern oboes and flutes have lost that ability. Recorders aren't fully microtonal, keyed instruments can't produce a full range of microtones, not all microtones are available 3rd register or higher. (Not that somebody would need those) Some recorders even have "blind spots" in their range. Recorder blending with other instruments can sometimes be quite unpredictable. I once played alto recorder in unison with one of my French hornist friends. Even though we were playing in unison, a parallel major third was always audible, cause some recorder overtones are flat(especially the 5th overtone). I once replaced a viola in a string quartet with a bass recorder, the blend was very nice, but I always had to play with con sordino strings as a soloist, cause most of the time you are nearly inaudible. The recorder is almost always audible in combination with wind and brass instruments. Clarinets, flutes and saxes most of the time cover the recorder sound. Most of the time the recorder needs to be above the strings to be audible, a well intonated recorder fits well into a strings chord. The sizes of recorders have to do with dynamics, too. A C4 on a tenor is much stronger than the same note on a soprano. Compared to a sopranino, the garklein is practically useless, except in the rare case of the immense expression the first register of garklein gives - very soft high notes and true glissandi.

[@vahagnvardanyan]

The last addition I would like to make is that recorder ensembles, especially with professionals, shouldn't be thought as a fixed set, they are very flexible, and it would be very useful to think about writing not for the recorder, but the person who is playing. Recorder players usually have the basic NSATB size recorders and play all of them equally nice and with precise control.

[@vahagnvardanyan]

Another recorder problem is... Not all the legatos between registers work, not because of the cracking that happens between switching the registers, but because the crack doesn't happen or is happening very late. Usually it happens on lower sounding instruments when going from a forked-fingered high register note to a similarly fingered low register note.

[@vahagnvardanyan]

While the recorder is fully-chromatic, it is diatonically inclined. For example, on a modern flute all chromatic notes sound with near-identical dynamics and switching between two neighbouring notes of the scale usually doesn't require altering more than two fingers. While on the recorder some chromatic notes sound dull, muffled or unable to play as fortissimo as the neighbouring notes. Playing the recorder requires more finger motion than any modern orchestra woodwind.

[@mirabilos]

I have a feeling TwoSetViolin should watch this video in its entirety…

[@astridposey]

I'm headed to my composition software now.

[@JoseFPVNavarro]

great video!

[@rtmedipaed2011]

Great video, Sarah, a wonderful summary. Concerning notation for contemporary music I still use a book from 1966 (Erhard Karkoschka. Das Schriftbild der Neuen Musik. Edition Moeck 4010) a complete compendium how musical parameters were notated. I'm looking for something comparable for contemporary recorder music.

[@willemkossen]

I believe Sarah did a video about some of her books she used during here study, and there was one on modern recorder music and notation in that video. i just can't remember. maybe if @SaraJeffery reads the comment, she can point you to that video. it's at least more than a year back...

[@rtmedipaed2011]

@@willemkossen Thanx, I'll look for that video.

[@hugobatoca9828]

My mom is a recorder player and loves contemporary music and (as an aside, she hates that I watch Sarah's videos 24/7) hates playing the soprano. I, as a young composer, wanted to make a piece for her to play on soprano heheh to take advantage of those high-pitched sounds, I wanted to do something radical. Now I don't know how to do it, maybe for the basset aaaa There I go to solve some plan B maybe a song with short notes... I don't know. At least you helped with techniques, Sarah!

[@lauramcflymusica]

Very interesting video Sarah. BTW I love your accent XD

[@MrInitialMan]

Strangely, I think a goof I might make for composing is putting the Tenor in the bass clef--I'm used to reading it there because of the recordings I've been making recently.

[@IntoTheOutside000]

You can also play both octaves at once to give the impression that the low notes are much louder by controlling the thumb hole.

[@vinortiz4169]

Hi Sarah, I recently just finished a recorder solo and I don't know how to send the link for the sheet music for you. I've been working really hard on it so when you have the time please respond thank you

[@ogcontraband]

The music notation for the All Recorder All Day Recital Play Along are in-progress complete with "recorder karaoke" videos - all coming soon, but who will win the world championship?

[@anthonycook6213]

Can you comment on Igor Stravinsky's Lullaby for Two Recorders (soprano and Alto, 1960). The idea is that it should be truly a lullaby, very sweet, but it has such a wide tessitura for both that it is difficult to play in tune and "dolce". Are there modern keyed recorders that would help? I have performed it before, but wonder what you think.

[@WombatSlug]

Definitely a lot to unpack here. Thanks for putting together this information. Now... how where can I find a piece with recorder and bagpipes....?

[@Team_Recorder]

Check out the Emily Askew Band (their album ‘Alchemy’ is amazing)- lots of recorder abd bagpipes there!

[@willemkossen]

@@Team_Recorder thanks for the tip. great music indeed..

[@christophertsiliacos8958]

OK! Who voted down? 🤔 There's always somebody in the crowd who will give a down vote, perhaps just for spite. 😒 No, it wasn't yours truly. I gave the professor my usual thumbs-up for a job well done. 👍 😊 ♫

[@perwestermark8920]

Wow. Great work. As I having just playing the recorder as an initial instrument before moving to others, this video makes me want to go out and buy a recorder or two just to play around with (joke intended).

[@Team_Recorder]

Do it!!

[@michaelraven3899]

@@Team_Recorder - I wonder if it ("Do it!") was uttered in the manner of Darth Sidious - 'cuz if I heard it that way I would definitelly: Done it! 😁

[@zatytom]

One q: I know some notes have multiple different fingerings. Is there a standard way of specifying in notation that you want the most sonorous, or the most soft and forkedy?

[@hummingfrog]

At 2:22 you mention "folk recorders". Is there a such thing as a standard fingering recorder made specifically for folk music? I've found that renaissance sopranos work pretty well for Irish tin whistle music, but if there are other options I'd be very much interested.

[@KatharinaEwers]

Where does the "bleep" when changing registers come from (from acoustics' standpoint)? I also hear it when playing the tin whistle, but I always assumed it's because I didn't move all the fingers at the same time and inadvertently played a cut.

[@willemkossen]

this isn't necessarily a recorder or even music related question. it's physics. inside the recorder there are waves that when propagated through the air, we hear as sound. if you want to change not, you want to force the inside of the recorder to change that wave and start producing another wave, with a different wavelength. there is always a 'transition period' in which that new waves 'takes over' from the old one. when changing register, it's even a bit more complicated as you are not just making the wave a bit longer or shorter, but you are doubling or halving the wavelength, as wel as changing the wavelength to get the correct note. during that transition there are actually many 'in between' notes sounding, as wel as all their related overtones. and overtones aren't that audible in one note (apart from actually creating the timbre of the tone), but when you have all these changes in a very short time, all these tones and overtones and all the interference between them can create all sorts of sound artifact. we hear those very well as they stick out like a sore thumb from the intended and desired notes and overtones. you could say it's a very brief moment of intens dissonance. another word for that is distortion. the physics is probably way more complicated than can be explained in a youtube comment. I wonder if there has been some more detailed analysis on it, and i would love to see that.

[@astridposey]

about dynamics: would you say mp to mf is okay to write, but be sensitive outside of that? about breathing: how common is circular breathing in recorder players?

[@lightningspark212]

Hello Hi Good day wonderful Sarah. Are there any cool excersize books for the soprano recorder? Thanks

[@filharmonix]

I do singing and playing all the time, though I use it to harmonize with the recorder

[@Jungskeptiker]

For a layman player soprano and tenor would be sufficient. Both have the same fingering and can be combined with many other instruments. And they both sound quite good. Alto recorder has an other fingering and needs an additional trainining.

[@cosimocarradori7099]

Hello Sarah!

[@ZHCH333]

Regarding the notation: "sounds two/one octave higher than notated" - well, it is notated with treble clef with ^15 and ^8 respectively. So I claim, it SOUNDS AS NOTATED. The remark is only true, if ^15 or ^8 is omitted.

[@adolforodolfo6929]

In my experience, ^15 / ^8 are generally omitted. Perhaps I've just been unlucky 😁 To be honest, it is totally unnecessary - the type of recorder you're playing pretty much dictates what notes you can play.

[@willemkossen]

these are usually omitted as score inteded for recorder players doesn't need that, the recorderplayer knows already. it would be handy for compositions that include other instruments as well.

[@paulschulz5956]

I'm wondering what trills should be avoided, and whether there are any trills that one might think should be avoided but are possible with trick fingerings.

[@willemkossen]

avoid may not be the correct word here. but a trill across a register change may not sound the way you intend it to sound....

[@victotronics]

0. What do you think of the recent book by John Turner? 1. You missed "alto up" 2. Just about any publisher these days gives two version of the Great bass: one in F, one in G clef 3. You're wrong about how Great bass is written! It's written from "cello C" up!!!! Otherwise your practical advice is of course spot-on.

[@Team_Recorder]

3. Ahhhhh shit you are totally right!

[@mrewan6221]

I'm wondering if you can help explain why recorders don't transpose for F instruments (or the other way around, for C instruments)? Nearly every reason I can think of would work better if the fingerings were the same on all instruments. Except perhaps this one: much of the ensemble literature is available only in concert pitch, with ranges to suit the different-pitched instruments. Would this be correct? I think you also said you learn fingering for instruments in other non-C, non-F keys too? I guess there would not be any transposed parts for those instruments. Is it acceptable to provide transposed parts? I'd imagine the labelling would have to be clear. "Alto in F (use C fingering)" or similar. Is it usual for players to sight-transpose? For example, on my bassoon I sometimes have to play Bb bass clarinet parts, or F horn parts. I don't use different fingerings, but just work out the interval and play a different note from the one I'm reading. Do recorder players ever have to do this? (I know it's not ideal, and shouldn't have to be a regular thing.) Eb bari sax parts are easy, you just change to bass clef and add three flats, then read as written! I have just bought an alto venova, and will probably feel more comfortable treating it as being in F, with 123|456 reading as D. Despite bassoon fingering being much more similar, with 123|456 reading as G. The instruction book is no help, as it provides both sets of fingering! I know some brass players learn multiple sets of fingerings: euphoniums in brass bands play in Bb with one set of fingerings, but concert bands in C with a different set. Horns switch fingerings depending whether they're on the F side or Bb side, or maybe they just have a mélange of idiocratic fingerings! Tubas also seem to do something weird, depending on pitch and ensemble. Thank-you very much for your videos; they're very informative and enjoyable.

[@willemkossen]

Recorder consorts in the renaissance would have instruments in many different keys, separated by fifths if i remember correctly. composers would never write 'individual parts' because they wouldn't know the available instruments in different consorts. this might also be because this consort music has some relation to choir music, where the same applies. you don't transpose for baritone vs tenor singers, so why would you for the singing flute? if i remember correctly i have seen a video on this topic. might be on 'early music sources' or another early music channel, might be on this one too...

[@mrewan6221]

@@willemkossen Thanks. The concept of not knowing the available forces would be a good reason to stick to concert pitch. I think this is how tubas work. But I wouldn't connect to voice ensembles: saxophone and clarinet ensembles would also be equivalent, yet they all transpose. And ... voice doesn't use fingering!

[@marcelw.5898]

Ooooh, that is Good. When I struggeling wirth some pieces it‘s not my fault... it‘s the fault of the Composer 😅🤣

[@rvce]

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢rted playing recorder, just 10 days ago. I have seen your video for beginners. I was very helpful.But still I am facing difficulties in playing it . Some fingers leak sometimes I want to learn "He's a pirate" song. Please help me.😢

[@hilarymajor3983]

20:25 Except for breathing. You can change everything else but not the ‘we need to breath’ part.

[@edwardblair4096]

When mentioning notation, you didn't discuss using a standard treble clef for the soprano, an "octavo" treble clef (with an 8 below it) for the tenor recorder, and a standard bass clef for the bass recorder. With this arraignment all of the instruments sound an octave higher than written. Being clear on which system of cleffing you are using is important for the Alto recorder because parts for it can be written on either the "soprano" clef or the "tenor" clef. If I see an alto part written with a plain treble clef, I could either be playing in the higher register (when the tenor recorder uses the 8vb treble clef) or the lower register (when the soprano recorder uses the 8va treble clef). It gets very confusing when a composer or editor is lazy and just uses a plain treble clef for all three upper instruments and makes the players guess as to what octave they are supposed to be in.

[@Team_Recorder]

Nope, as I said in the video, tenor and alto are notated at pitch (plain treble clef) and soprano is notated an octave lower than written, with a 8 above 🙂

[@edwardblair4096]

@@Team_Recorder I play a lot of Renaissance music and the standard clef araingement we use is to have the recorders sounding one octave higher than the printed notes. Of course most (99.9%) of the music we are playing is not written specifically for recorders (i.e. vocal, lute, viols, etc.) so we are fitting ourselves into the existing practice. My point was to mention that there is a large body of recorder players who are used to the "recorder sounds an octave higher than notated" standard.

[@arh7893]

Why does the basset sounds one octave higher then the alto? Did i unterstand something wrong?

[@jobkaashoek]

It sounds one octave higher than it's notated, and an octave lower than the alto.

[@j.a.h.vandelaak3477]

Maybe we can make a video of your KZbin followers playing their own 1 minute long composed piece.

[@angelapianomusicstudio3816]

Professional players can figure out most anything, yes. Do you have composing tips for writing for intermediate players?

[@Team_Recorder]

That’s a very good point! I have a video ‘arranging for recorders’ which has a lot of practical info about recorders- range, dynamics, etc that I think can be very helpful. Good luck!

[@ircensko7324]

14:45 microtones possible

[@HenryPh_am]

12:40 Sarah’s inner Jon is showing 😂

[@Machodave2020]

Now I'm afraid to work with wind instruments in general.

[@nigelhaywood9753]

All fingers off? I'm confused. Left hand second finger on for G surely? (On an alto) Of course you can play a 'soft' G with all fingers off, but otherwise you'd want the LH middle finger on. I don't understand. It's about a quarter tone higher than standard G otherwise.

[@taxtengo7427]

Yes all fingers off is an "out of tune" note but that note is still on the first register.

[@nigelhaywood9753]

@@taxtengo7427 Ok. It seemed odd to me, that's all.

[@Team_Recorder]

Crunchy, that’s right!

[@cleliavera]

Dear Sarah, I hope You don't mind if I have posted the links of my compositions! I don't want to be intrusive, so if You consider that inappropriate, I apologize and, please, delete my posts! Thank You for Your wonderful work! By the way, I subscribed to Your channel!

[@Team_Recorder]

Not at all, please feel free to post!

[@cleliavera]

@@Team_Recorder Thank You very much for Your very kind answer!

[@luckybarrel7829]

I luv Bach so much and now I'm scared

[@cleliavera]

Here is another one: Priliu a odliu, (Blockflöte, Gitarre und Streicher), Nelly LiPuma kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHu0opmcp6lsjtU

[@khinthan2923]

First…!!!

[@cleliavera]

Here another one: Friends, (für Blockflöte, Streicher und Gitarre) Nelly LiPuma kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5ObaoxmbJ55rMk

[@pinpointstudies5683]

Does anyone know about Juhi Chawla? She is a bollywood actress. Sarah resembles her quite a lot. What do you think? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juhi_Chawla

[@sediepremps]

Good to know I'm not the only one who complains about Bach🤣🤣

[@sir-twix-a-lot9461]

Are you ok with people linking to their compositions in the comments section?

[@baking_withben9086]

Andimarecorderplyee

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

Just my personal opinion. Your mic makes you sound dry and distant. I think adding a little reverb will make it better.