Two fingering systems
Baroque vs German fingering
Baroque and German recorders take the same difficulty and put it in different places. Baroque puts the awkward fork fingering on F and keeps F♯ and the accidentals simple; German makes F easy and moves the fork onto F♯. Everything else in the first octave is identical.
Note by note
The first octave in both systems
Each note below is drawn twice — Baroque (English) fingering on the left, German on the right. Seven of the thirteen are identical; the highlighted cells — F and F♯ — are where the systems really part company, and the four accidentals marked ≠ differ too. Soprano and tenor recorders are shown; on an alto or bass the same pattern applies to the written notes.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70 1 2 3 4 5 6 7½0 1 2 3 4 5 60 1 2 3 4 5 6½0 1 2 3 4 50 1 2 3 4 6 70 1 2 3 40 1 2 3 5 60 1 2 3 5 6 70 1 2 30 1 2 4 5 6½0 1 20 1 3 40 10 2Filled circle = cover the hole · open circle = leave it open · half circle = pinch the thumb or cover the outer hole of a pair · ≠ = the German fingering differs but varies between makers, so we do not draw it (see why).
What the grid says in one line
If you only remember one thing: F and F♯ are swapped. On a Baroque recorder, F is the fork — hole 5 opens but 6 and 7 come back down — and F♯ is a plain, everything-above-it-open fingering. On a German recorder, F is the sequential fingering you would guess (lift one more finger off E) and the fork lands on F♯ instead. C, D, E, G, A, B and the octave C are the same on both.
Telling them apart
Baroque or German? Look under the thumb hole
Recorders are built in two fingering systems, and they are not interchangeable. Most instruments carry a single letter stamped near the thumb hole: B for Baroque (also called English), G for German. Nearly all recorders sold today, and nearly all method books, are Baroque — which is why every chart on this site, from the soprano and alto pages to the printable PDFs, is Baroque fingering.
| Baroque / English | German | |
|---|---|---|
| Marking | B under the thumb hole | G under the thumb hole |
| Hole sizes | Small hole 4, large hole 5 | Large hole 4, small hole 5 |
| Low F | Fork fingering — hole 5 opens, but 6 and 7 close again 0 1 2 3 4 6 7 | In sequence — just lift one more finger off E, nothing below comes back down 0 1 2 3 4 |
| F♯ | Hole 4 opens and stays open 0 1 2 3 5 6 | The fork lands here instead — hole 4 opens, but 7 comes back down 0 1 2 3 5 6 7 |
| Sharps and flats | Simpler, and in tune across keys | Awkward — the fork fingerings move onto F♯ and the other accidentals instead |
| Moving to alto or tenor | Same fingerings carry over | Fingerings have to be relearned |
| Who it suits | Anyone who will keep playing | Very young beginners playing only in C major |
No letter stamped on your recorder? Two ways to check
By ear. Play the simple F fingering — thumb and holes 1, 2, 3, 4 — against a piano or a tuner. If your recorder sounds sharp of F, it is a Baroque instrument and needs the fork. If it matches, it is German.
By eye. Compare the fourth and fifth finger holes. On a Baroque recorder hole 4 is the smaller of the two; on a German recorder hole 5 is. That single drilling change is the whole difference between the systems.
Playing German fingerings on a Baroque recorder, or the reverse, is the single most common reason a class sounds out of tune — and it is almost always the F that gives it away.
Why the difference exists at all
The German system was introduced in the 1920s to make low F easier for children: the fork fingering was the hardest thing in a beginner's first year, and removing it got young players through C major faster. But the forks did not disappear — they moved. F♯ and the accidentals inherited them, and they inherited the tuning problems too. That is why the system never spread past the classroom, and why every method book beyond the first year assumes Baroque.
Which to buy
Should you buy a German recorder?
Almost certainly not. A German recorder only makes sense for one player: a young child who will play a handful of C-major tunes in a school term and then stop. For anyone else the trade is bad — you buy one easy note and pay for it in every sharp and flat, and the fingerings do not carry over when you move to an alto, tenor or bass.
If you already own a German recorder and want to continue, you do not need to relearn everything: the naturals are identical, so the first beginner songs transfer unchanged. What changes is F, F♯ and the accidentals — and at that point a Baroque instrument costs less than the confusion.
Why we don't draw the full German grid
Every fingering published on this site has been checked note-by-note against two independent authoritative charts. The German F and F♯ above meet that bar — they are the defining difference and every source agrees on them. The German accidentals (C♯, E♭, G♯, B♭) differ from Baroque too, but they vary between makers and we have not verified them against a printed German chart, so the grid marks them as differing rather than guessing at a diagram.
If you have a manufacturer's German chart and spot something we should add, send us a correction — we will verify it and credit the source. For the system almost everyone actually plays, see the Baroque soprano fingering chart.
Common questions
Baroque vs German: common questions
What is the difference between Baroque and German recorder fingering?
The fork fingering sits on a different note. Baroque puts it on F (hole 5 opens, 6 and 7 close again) and keeps F♯ simple; German makes F sequential and moves the fork onto F♯. C, D, E, G, A and B are fingered identically on both. The accidentals differ, and German is the harder of the two once you leave C major.
How do I know if my recorder is German or Baroque?
Look for the letter stamped near the thumb hole: G means German, B means Baroque (English). If there is no letter, play the simple F fingering — thumb and holes 1 to 4 — against a piano. In tune means German; sharp means Baroque. You can also compare hole sizes: Baroque has the smaller hole 4, German the smaller hole 5.
Which fingerings are the same on both systems?
In the first octave, C, D, E, G, A, B and the octave C are identical. That is why a beginner playing B, A and G will not notice any difference at all — the two systems only diverge at F and above it.
Can I play German fingerings on a Baroque recorder?
No. The hole sizes are drilled differently, so the resulting notes are out of tune. Playing German fingerings on a Baroque recorder is one of the most common reasons a class sounds out of tune, and the F is usually the note that exposes it.
Is Baroque or German fingering better for a beginner?
German is easier for roughly three weeks and harder forever after. It removes the one hard note in the first term, then charges for it on every sharp and flat. Unless the player will stop after a few C-major songs, start on Baroque — it is what the method books, the ensembles and every larger recorder assume.
Is English fingering the same as Baroque fingering?
Yes. "Baroque", "English" and the B stamped under the thumb hole all mean the same fingering system. German fingering is sometimes called "modern" by the makers who sell it, but it is the newer and rarer of the two.
Do alto and tenor recorders come in German fingering?
Rarely. German fingering was a beginner-soprano idea, and it was never widely applied to the larger sizes. This is one of the practical arguments against it: a player who learns German on a soprano has to relearn F and F♯ the moment they pick up an alto or tenor.