How to hold it
- Left hand on top, near the mouthpiece: the thumb covers the back hole and the index, middle and ring fingers cover holes 1, 2 and 3.
- Right hand below, on holes 4 to 7. The right thumb sits behind, between holes 4 and 5, holding the weight.
- Cover the holes with the pads of your fingers, without pressing.
How to blow without squeaking
- Put just the tip of the beak between your lips, without biting.
- Blow very little, warm and slow, like fogging up a window. A squeak is almost always too much air or a hole not fully covered.
- Start each note with the tongue saying “doo”.
Fingering for the first notes (baroque)
Holes are numbered from top to bottom: 1, 2 and 3 for the left hand, 4 to 7 for the right. The thumb covers the back hole.
| Note | Holes covered |
|---|---|
| B4 | thumb, 1 |
| A4 | thumb, 1, 2 |
| G4 | thumb, 1, 2, 3 |
| C5 | thumb, 2 |
| D5 | 2 |
| E4 | thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| D4 | thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| F4 | thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 |
| C4 | thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| E5 | half-open thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
Soprano recorder music is written an octave below the real sound.
Baroque or German?
Look at the bottom of your recorder: “B” or “baroque” means baroque fingering, the most common today and the one the app uses. On a German one (“G”), only F and F♯ change.
Where to start
- B, A and G, left hand only.
- High C and D: Mary Had a Little Lamb.
- Low E and D, then F and low C.
- F♯, B♭ and the high notes with the half-open thumb.
Practice with the app
Dedilhado Vivo has 12 recorder lessons, with a hole diagram, a chart of every note from C4 to D6 and songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Ode to Joy. The microphone listens and moves on by itself when the note is right.
Start the first recorder lesson →
Written by the Dedilhado Vivo team, based on what the app does today.
Practice free in the app
The app shows the fingering for every note as you play and checks you through the microphone. Free, no sign-up.
Open the app →