recorder method online : bassf sharp / g flat
Dr. Brian Blood


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First Octave: E :: D :: C :: A :: G :: F :: Bb/A# :: B :: Eb/D# :: F#/Gb :: C#/Db :: G#/Ab :: Second Octave :: Third Octave


This section gives advice on the following topics:

How To Finger The Note F sharp
How To Play The Note F sharp


How To Finger The Note F sharp

The tenth note we learn, F sharp on the bass recorder, lies on the space below the bass clef but has a sharp sign before it, in the key signature at the beginning of the stave or on an F earlier in the same bar. The enharmonic equivalent to F sharp is G flat in the equitempered scale - that is both notes have the same fingering. Click on the play button in the Sibelius score to hear it. Below that we give the standard fingering for this note, the fingering you would use under normal circumstances.


Legend: = hole covered = hole uncovered = pinched thumbhole

Recorder Thumb 1 2 3 4 5 6b
6a
7b
7a
Bell
Bass in F
Contra Bass
  -----left hand------ -----right hand-----

F#
standard


Using the standard nomenclature, the fingering for first octave F sharp, or for the enharmonic equivalent G flat, is written 0 1 2 3 4 5 6a 6b 7a.

How To Play The Note F sharp

Play the note G on the bass. Now lower the fourth finger of the right hand so that it lies only over the nearer of the two small holes on the bottom section. If your instrument is keyed, you will need to press whichever key or combination of keys produces the same result.

If your bass recorder has only a single key then it will not play a secure low F sharp. We strongly recommend that you have a double key fitted as a replacement for your single key. Dolmetsch can do this for you; see the accessories page.

F sharp, in common with most of the low notes on the recorder, needs a lot of respect. Do not blow too much air into the recorder nor tongue too strongly. It is when playing this note that one needs to adjust the amount of offset of the bottom double holes, which you can change by turning the whole of the foot joint clockwise or anti-clockwise. It is sometimes easier to play the bottom F sharp if you slightly rotate the wrist laterally, clockwise to the back of the hand, so that the little finger is moved further away from the bottom holes or key touch-pieces. Of course you then have to crook the top finger a little more or, if you place it flat over the top right hand hole, have it rest slightly further away from the pad tip. This is a much better way of setting the hand for secure bottom F sharps than the alternative of leaving the hand position unaltered but crooking the little finger. Try moving between G and F sharp and then alternately between G and F natural and G and F sharp. Once you are happy with both progressions you are ready to try the next exercise piece 10.


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