Musical Gifts For Any Occasion

If you know people who like music and you wonder what to give them for their birthday or any other special occasion, you may find some great gift ideas HERE

Sopranino Recorder

The sopranino recorder is the smallest in the range of recorders.

The lowest note is F , one and a half octaves above middle C on the piano and hence in the key of F like the treble and bass recorders. 

Sopranino Recorder Music is written one octave lower than it sounds. 

Like the bass recorder it is mainly used in consort playing.

Sopranino Recorder Range

Descant ( Soprano ) Recorder

The descant recorder , also named soprano recorder, is the most common size played. It is a relatively easy instrument to produce a sound. 

The lowest note is C which sounds one octave higher than middle C. Music is written one octave lower than the sound produced. The range of notes played spans just over two octaves.

Many people learn the descant recorder for a year or two and then move on to another instrument such as the flute, clarinet, oboe or even the violin. Playing the recorder first makes learning a second instrument much easier as you have learnt the basics such as note names, note lengths and reading the notes.

Here are some recorder books which may interest you.

Once you have learnt a some notes and can keep in time, playing duets is great fun.

Treble or Alto Recorder

The treble recorder, also named alto recorder is a popular choice of instrument to learn after the descant recorder.

As it is bigger than the descant then the finger holes are wider apart and the tone is richer and deeper.

Treble Recorder Music is written at the pitch it is played ( not an octave lower like that of the descant recorder ).

The lowest note is no longer C but F ( the F above middle C on the piano ) and hence is in the key of F. The fingerings are the same as the descant recorder, but you play the scale of F ( F G A Bflat C D E F ) from the lowest note instead of the scale of C ( C D E F G A B C ) from the lowest note. This change of key can be confusing at first but with a little practise and time you will be able to play either instrument without thinking.

The treble recorder was the instrument used primarily for solos and orchestral parts in the days when recorders were popular.

Tenor Recorder

The tenor recorder is similar to the descant recorder in that it is in the same key with its lowest note being middle C on the piano. However it sounds one octave lower than the descant recorder.

It is a much larger instrument with greater distances between the holes than the descant and treble recorders. The lowest hole is so far away that it is controlled by use of a key. The lowest hole is so far away that it is controlled by use of a key.

Music for the tenor recorder is written at the same pitch as the sounds produced. You can play descant recorder music because it is in the same key. It is fun playing tenor recorder in parts with others playing treble and descant instruments.

The Tenor Recorder Range

Bass Recorder

The bass recorder is very big and costly but be very enjoyable to play once you have mastered the descant, treble and tenor recorders. Because of its size the lowest hole has a key to close it off when required, plus a crook for the mouthpiece.

It is in the key of F, just like the treble recorder, with its lowest note being F below middle C on the piano. Hence most of the music written for the bass recorder is using the bass clef. And like the descant recorder, music is written one octave lower than it sounds.

The Bass Recorder Range

Once you have mastered this instrument you will no doubt be keen to group up with other recorder members of the consort and have fun playing different parts.

Look at some Bass and other Recorder Music Here

Just remember that the bass recorder is not a solo instrument and will need to blend in with other instruments. The bass part in this example is the lowest line with music written in the bass clef ( see an earlier posting on the bass clef )

The bass recorder is very big and costly but be very enjoyable to play once you have mastered the descant, treble and tenor recorders. Because of its size the lowest hole has a key to close it off when required, plus a crook for the mouthpiece.

It is in the key of F, just like the treble recorder, with its lowest note being F below middle C on the piano. Hence most of the music written for the bass recorder is using the bass clef. Music is written one octave lower than it sounds.

Treble Clef Instruments

There are a number of instruments which play music using the treble clef.

Click Here Now

to find out more information on them.

Learning To Play Pieces Using The Bass Clef

When you are learning to play an instrument such as the bassoon,bass recorder, double bass, bass guitar or piano you are learning to read and play notes using the bass clef.

The bass clef is the sign at the beginning of each line of the piece of music.

When you are learning to play play pieces using the bass clef you also learn other musical notation, reading the notes and rests and how to play the notes on the given instrument.

Please refer to the article Learning To Play Pieces Using The Treble Clef for information on basic notation, reading the notes on the page, reading the rests on the page and How to Play the Notes on the Chosen Instrument. This of course is related to the treble clef. I will explain the bass clef sections now.

Reading The Notes On The Page:

Remember that there are:

~ notes written on lines called line notes.

~ notes written between the lines called space notes.

To help remember the notes you can use the following as a guide:

You form a sentence and use the first letter of each word to represent the note name.

Line Notes: The note names from the bottom line upwards are G B D F A

So a Sentence could be Good Boys Deserve Fruit Always

Space Notes: The note names from the lowest space upwards is A C E G

The a Sentence could be All Cows Eat Grass



You can always make up your own.

How To Play The Notes On The Chosen Instrument:

As with the treble clef instruments you will need to follow the guidance of a tutor book yourself, teacher or the internet with an online course eg Piano.

This is just a brief outline of learning to play pieces using the bass clef.

Learning an Instrument

Do you like the look of these Wind Instruments?

If you want to learn an instrument, you can do it by:

1. taking lessons with a teacher in your area for a personalised service.

2. learning yourself:

~ from a tutor book

Learn to play music with Sheet Music Plus's great selection of teach yourself books and DVDs.

~ you tube - to hear the sounds you may want

~ online service eg some piano / keyboard options are

- Rocket Piano: Click Here

- PianoForAll: Click Here

- Learn to Play Electronic Keyboards: Click Here

For more information on LEARNING THE PIANO Click Here

When you learn an instrument you go through the process of learning musical notation to help in your venture. Let us take a look at one of these ~ the Key Signature to give you an idea of what to expect.

Key Signature

A key signature is the sign to tell you which key the piece of music is in . It is situated between the clef sign and the time signature.The sign is written as varying numbers of flats ( b ) or sharps ( # ) ranging from 0 to 7.

The example below has two sharps, indicating that the piece of music could be in the key of D MAJOR or b minor. ( see key signature chart below )

When you first learn music, the key signature of the pieces usually start with no sharps or flats and move on to 1 and then 2 sharps or flats and so on as you gain experience.

There are 12 major and 12 minor scales. Each major scale has a minor scale which is relative to it, that is, they both have the same key signature.

Key Signature Chart

MAJOR Scales

number---flats---sharps

0--------------C---------C

1---------------F---------G

2--------------Bb-------D

3--------------Eb-------A

4--------------Ab-------E

5--------------Db*------B!

6--------------Gb--@---F#

7--------------Cb!-------C#*

Minor Scales

number---flats---sharps

0---------------a--------a

1---------------d--------e

2---------------g--------b

3---------------c--------f#

4---------------f--------c#

5--------------Bb^-----g#~

6--------------eb--@--d#

7--------------ab~-----a#^

Take a look at 5 6 7

The scales with 6 sharps or flats have the same notes as indicated by @, for each of the majors and minors.

The scales in 5 and 7 have the same notes for the pairs as indicated by * ! ( Majors) and ^ ~ (minors)

Take a look at the pieces of music and work out the key of the piece. Hint , you have to click on the music page to get 3 pieces of music.

Did you get C major for the piece with no sharps or flats and Eb major for the other 2 pieces with 3 flats?

For further information on learning a musical instrument Look Here.