8 Up to A

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By now you have distinct recorder skills, cracking the thumbhole for high notes, a light but steady air pressure for low C. Further skills are required for the next note, high A, perhaps the most challenging so far.

First we review thumb cracking techniques. There are two methods, placing the thumbnail on to the hole, or rolling the thumb so that the ball opens the hole instead of the thumbnail. While both methods are widely used, the thumb rolling technique reduces wear on the recorder. Both techniques require precisely manicured thumbnails. For the thumb rolling technique, the thumbnail must be kept very short, to prevent it digging into the recorder.

The note for this lesson, high A, requires a precise thumbhole opening, often less than lower notes. Here it is.

It sounds like this:

The fingering is the same as low A, L1 and L2, with a cracked thumb. A more forceful breath is needed. Start by playing a low A, without any tongue movement. In other words, a short puff which sounds the note cleanly. Now crack the thumbhole slightly, make the same puff only a little stronger, and articulate it with your tongue. A high A should result. You may need a smaller thumbhole opening than for previous high notes.

The aim is a firm airstream which starts immediately after your tongue releases it. You may notice a slight high pitched burble before the high A sounds, particularly when jumping from a lower note. A more precise attack will eliminate this burble, the aim is a perfectly articulated high A. This won't happen immediately. Developing a clean reliable high A is an on-going task for new recorder players.

Persist with the above until the high A is sounding. Then try the exercise below. The high A has a leger line through it.

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Notice the slurs in the first bar. These will get you started, as the high A is more easily reached from the adjacent G, the first note in the bar.

Now for a longer exercise. I learnt this many years ago from my teacher, Hans Dieter Michatz. It is essentially a G scale, with the high A added, and with shorter scale passages included. Plan where you will breathe before starting the exercise. Don't forget the repeats.

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Stay with this exercise until you can play it with the backing, without mistakes. Then try it again, this time focus entirely on your breath. Keep it even throughout, particularly as you pass through the high A. Leave your fingers on autopilot. You may be surprised at how much better it sounds. It is easy to focus entirely on the fingers, and to ignore the breath.

Now we introduce two new time signatures. Previously we looked at 6/8, where each beat was an eighth note (quaver), with 6 beats per bar. Now we consider 3/8. Once again each beat is an eighth note (quaver), however there are now three beats per bar. Tunes in 3/8 time are usually brisk, like the example below. Notice a new rhythm, an eight note (quaver), two sixteenth notes (semiquavers), another eighth note (quaver). Over time you will recognise the various rhythms, when you do reading music becomes much easier.

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With the 3/8 and 6/8 time signatures each beat is an eighth note (quaver). With 3/4 and 4/4, each beat is a quarter note (crotchet). Now we introduce the 3/2 time signature. Here each beat is a half note (minim), with 3 half note beats per bar. 3/2 time is often used for slow pieces, an example is below.
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This is an excerpt from a duet by Loeillet. There are two staves, with an upper and lower part, played together. You are playing the upper part , the backing is the lower part. You will become very familiar with this music layout.

Notice the ties connecting the upper part from bars one and two, also bars three and four. Beginning players (and more advanced ones ahem) often stumble when these ties appear. Keep a clear "one two three" count when moving from one bar to the next. Many players tap their foot to maintain the beat, this may help you as well. For this piece, also try counting "one and, two and, three and..." This will help position the quarter notes. For example, if you count "one and" at the start of the fourth bar, the the quarter note after the tie comes on the "and".

A reliable counting technique will prevent "losing your place" when joining other players (a pleasure you should now actively seek, e.g by joining your local recorder society). Every piece in this course has a count in. Count along with it, then maintain the count while you play.

The music library visit for this lesson includes some duets like the one above. Watch out for the high A.

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Buble
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Air Lent
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Rondeau
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