Notes and letters
Recorder notes with letters
Every recorder note, its letter name, and exactly which holes to cover — then nine songs written out in letter notes so you can play something real today. You only need three notes for the first one.
The first three notes
B, A and G — the whole first lesson
Start at the top of the recorder's first octave. B needs the thumb and one finger; A adds a second; G adds a third. Every note below adds exactly one finger to the one before it, which is why school methods start here.
- B — thumb and hole 1
- A — thumb and holes 1, 2
- G — thumb and holes 1, 2, 3
Find each note on the interactive soprano fingering chart and tap it to hear the pitch before you play it. Then work down the full note table below, or skip straight to the songs.
Every note
The recorder note chart, letter by letter
Hole numbers run down the instrument: 0 is the thumb hole underneath, then 1 to 7 from the top. A number listed means cover that hole; anything not listed stays open. ø means pinch the thumb — roll it back to leave a narrow crescent — and ½ means cover only the outer hole of a double hole.
These are the written note names for a soprano or tenor recorder. On an alto or bass the same holes give a different sounding pitch, but the written letters and fingerings on those pages work exactly the same way.
First octave — C to C
| Note | Cover these holes | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| C5 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | All holes covered |
| C♯5 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7½ | Hole 7 — outer hole only |
| D5 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Hole 7 open |
| E♭5 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6½ | Hole 6 — outer hole only |
| E5 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 | Holes 6 and 7 open |
| F5 | 0 1 2 3 4 6 7 | Fork — hole 5 open, 6 and 7 closed again |
| F♯5 | 0 1 2 3 5 6 | Fork — hole 4 open, 5 and 6 closed |
| G5 | 0 1 2 3 | Left hand only |
| G♯5 | 0 1 2 4 5 6½ | Fork — hole 3 open, 6 outer only |
| A5 | 0 1 2 | Thumb, 1 and 2 |
| B♭5 | 0 1 3 4 | Fork — hole 2 open, 3 and 4 closed |
| B5 | 0 1 | Thumb and 1 |
| C6 | 0 2 | Thumb and hole 2 |
Second octave — pinch the thumb
Everything above the octave C needs the thumb pinched rather than fully covered, and a slightly faster, narrower breath. Take these slowly; the pinch is a millimetre of movement, not a lift.
| Note | Cover these holes | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| C♯6 | 1 2 | Thumb fully open, 1 and 2 |
| D6 | 2 | Thumb fully open, hole 2 only |
| E♭6 | 2 3 4 5 6 | Thumb fully open, 2 to 6 |
| E6 | ø 1 2 3 4 5 | Pinch the thumb, 1 to 5 |
| F6 | ø 1 2 3 4 6 | Pinch, fork — hole 5 open, 6 closed |
| F♯6 | ø 1 2 3 5 | Pinch, fork — hole 4 open, 5 closed |
| G6 | ø 1 2 3 | Pinch the thumb, left hand only |
| G♯6 | ø 1 2 4 | Pinch, fork — hole 3 open, 4 closed |
| A6 | ø 1 2 | Pinch the thumb, 1 and 2 |
| B♭6 | ø 1 2 5 6 7½ | Pinch, fork — 5 and 6 closed, 7 outer only |
| B6 | ø 1 2 4 5 | Pinch, fork — 4 and 5 closed |
| C7 | ø 1 4 5 | Pinch, fork — hole 1, then 4 and 5 |
Every fingering above is the Baroque (English) system, checked note-by-note against the American Recorder Society and Yamaha charts. If your recorder has a G stamped under the thumb hole, F and F♯ are different — see Baroque vs German fingering. For the top register and printable versions, see the full soprano chart or the printable PDFs.
How to use them
Reading letter notes
Letter notes are just the note names written in playing order, left to right. They carry pitch but not rhythm, so they work best for tunes you already know how to sing — your ear supplies the timing while the letters supply the fingers.
In the songs below, a · marks the end of a phrase: breathe there. Letters repeated in a row are repeated notes, not held ones. And because these are written note names, the same letters work on any size of recorder — a soprano and an alto playing the same letters will be in different keys, but each will be playing its own part correctly.
First songs
Nine easy songs with letter notes
Each letter is a note you can find in the table above or tap on the chart to hear. They are ordered roughly by difficulty: the first three use only your left hand.
Hot Cross Buns
The classic first song — three notes, and the rhythm comes from the words. Say "hot cross buns" as you play B, A, G.
B A G · B A G · G G G G A A A A · B A G
Mary Had a Little Lamb
B, A and G again, plus one step up to D. Slow and even; count the three short notes in the second phrase carefully.
B A G A B B B · A A A · B D D · B A G A B B B B · A A B A G
Lightly Row
The tune most method books use to introduce the low notes. The last phrase walks all the way up from C.
G E E · F D D · C D E F · G G G
London Bridge
A good first test of moving between E and F — on a Baroque recorder that step is where the fork fingering lives.
G A G F E F G · D E F E F G
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
The two phrases are nearly identical — only the ending differs.
C C G G A A G · F F E E D D C
Au Clair de la Lune
A gentle tune from the bottom of the range, good for practising the seal on C and D.
C C C D E D C · E E D D C
When the Saints Go Marching In
Three identical openings, then the phrase that finishes it. Keep the breath steady across the long notes.
C E F G · C E F G · C E F G E · C E D
Ode to Joy
Beethoven's theme, arranged for recorder. The first phrase is all you need — it repeats.
E E F G G F E D · C C D E E D D · E E F G G F E D · C C D E D C C
Jingle Bells (chorus)
Start on E and stay at the top of the first octave for the whole first line.
E E E · E E E · E G C D E · F F F F F E E E E · D D E D G
Why these songs work
Every tune above stays inside a five- or six-note range, which means the fingerings are simple and the ear can guide you. Play each note from the chart first, then string them together at a walking pace — faster comes later, accuracy comes first.
Common questions
Questions about recorder notes
What are the notes on a recorder?
A soprano or tenor recorder is written from C upward and covers about two octaves and a note: C, C♯, D, E♭, E, F, F♯, G, G♯, A, B♭, B, then the same names an octave higher. An alto or bass starts on F instead. The table above lists every one with the holes to cover.
Which recorder notes should a beginner learn first?
B, A and G, in that order. B is the thumb plus one finger, A adds a second, G adds a third — so each new note is one more finger down, and three notes are enough to play a real song.
What do the numbers in a recorder fingering mean?
0 is the thumb hole on the back; 1 to 7 are the finger holes from the top down. A number means cover that hole, and anything not listed stays open. ø means pinch the thumb, and ½ means cover only the outer hole of a double hole.
What is the easiest song on the recorder?
Hot Cross Buns. It uses only B, A and G, and the rhythm comes straight from the words, so a total beginner can play it in the first lesson.
Are recorder letter notes the same on an alto?
Yes, as written notes. Letter notes name what is on the page, not what comes out, so the same letters give the correct fingerings on any size — a soprano and an alto playing the same letters will simply sound in different keys.
Why does my recorder squeak when I play the notes?
Almost always a leaking hole or too much air. Cover each hole with the flat pad of the finger, and blow slowly and gently — the recorder needs far less breath than people expect. Squeaks in the second octave usually mean the thumb is pinching too wide.