Fingering systems
Not all recorders use the same fingerings for all notes.
The best and most common fingering system is known as ‘baroque’ or ‘English’ fingering. It is used for nearly all good-quality recorders, it is recommended for all beginners, and it is used in nearly all tutor books.
The most common alternative fingering system is known as ‘German’ fingering. It is used for some instruments intended for beginners, especially in Germany and Japan. The two types of recorder can be distinguished by the sizes of the fingerholes:
The difference only affects a few of the low notes, mainly F and F#, so beginners don’t need to worry about it until F# is learnt, but it makes the fingerings of the high notes much more complicated.
A satisfactory-quality recorder with the correct fingering only costs a few dollars, so it is better to replace any German-fingered recorder rather than to teach unorthodox fingerings or to tolerate the out-of-tune sounds produced by standard fingerings.
Other problems
There are also, of course, instruments which look like recorders but really don’t work like recorders. They won’t make a good sound and they probably won’t play in tune no matter what fingerings the player uses. Most of them don’t come from music shops but from ‘educational suppliers’ who know nothing about music and care less. They are best replaced as soon as possible.
Or they could have been damaged. Plastic soprano recorders are very robust but they do have limits.
Or they could be very old. This can be tricky for teachers to explain, but a modern plastic recorder really is a far better instrument than most of the student-level wooden recorders of fifty years ago. Those instruments, typically made of soft woods impregnated with paraffin wax, tend to be husky (which may be interpreted as a ‘sweet’ tone) and badly out of tune (often sharp).
Solutions
Satisfactory entry-level soprano and alto recorders are so cheap that there is no point trying to fix a problematic one. All we need is a ‘name’ brand such as Yamaha, Aulos or almost any other brand sold by your local music shop. If in doubt, ask the teacher!
- This very simple article began as a form letter to parents of my beginner recorder students. The original can be downloaded as a pdf here.
