Recorder - 5 Lessons
Students will learn how to place their hands to hold the recorder correctly (left hand at the top) and how to cover holes to play at least notes B, A and G accurately. They will learn to breathe gently down the recorder to control the sound, and to start notes with a ‘t’ using their tongue. Many of the resources suggested here are taken from ‘Red Hot Recorder’ and ‘Red Hot Recorder Songs’ by Sarah Watts, published by Kevin Mayhew. The online Charanga resource contains a wide range of recorder melodies and is ideal as an introduction to notation. Other tunes may also be introduced.
LESSON 1
GLORY B
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Starting off and introducing B
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Recorder technique – breathing gently and playing notes so that they sound clear
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Identifying the beat and patterns in the music
Teaching Assistance: This involves listening carefully to the track so as to know when to begin playing. Children play four notes with four spaces between them over and over again – this is clear when listening to the track. Note B is used originally but this tune will also work if you substitute notes G, E or D so it is very useful for introducing new notes. ‘Glory B’ can also be used for playing simple patterns to practise changing finger patterns, for example GGGG – BBBB – GGGG – BBBB This piece is also ideal for teaching crotchet and rest symbols: there is a repeating pattern of four crotchet notes and four rests.
B B BLUES
Teaching Assistance: Another tune that uses only one note so ideal for the first couple of sessions. This time the children need to listen and identify the patterns and the structure of the melody. It has four lines as follows: Line 1: 9 notes Line 2: 9 notes exactly the same Line 3: four lots of 3 notes with a rest after each set Line 3: 9 notes the same as the first two lines Again this tune is designed to be played on note B as the title indicates. It can also be used to reinforce crotchets and rests if using notation.
THINKING
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Introducing A
Teaching Assistance: A one-note tune using A this time. It is slower and gentler than the previous tunes so useful for developing quiet playing and for describing slower music. Listen for the patterns of long and short notes before trying to play it. If teaching notation, this tune uses some longer notes so can be used to show minims and semibreves.
LESSON 2
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Changing between B and A
Teaching Assistance: Don’t ever battle with A B When you have honey for your tea Just try and fight him and you’ll see Don’t ever battle with as AB This time the children need to start with note A and lift up the lower finger to change to B.
LESSON 3
Teaching Assistance: Be a great musician on TV Be the one that people come to see Be a famous singer, you’ll go far Be a superhero, be a star Learn to sing the song. Every line begins with the notes B A – start with B (one finger) then place the second finger down for A. Add these notes in time with the song: B A rest rest, repeated. There are slow and fast versions of this on the CD so useful for comparing speeds.
LESSON 4
Teaching Assistance: B A G G A B We’ve got three notes in the bag B A G Repeat one more time then: B A G B A G We’ve got three notes in the bag B B A A G Learn to sing the song. Identify the rising and falling patterns of BAG, Learn to play one line at a time. Listen to the differences the last time through. Develop by looking at the structure of the song. The main part of the song happens twice At the end there is a different section (a ‘Coda’) to finish off the song.
LESSON 5
Introducing other notes as appropriate:
Introducing E Use Glory B with note E instead. Start with the fingering for G. The right hand is now introduced, using the first and second fingers to cover the next two holes on the recorder. Invite children to improvise a repeating pattern of four notes using B, G and E in time with the backing track. To develop E with different melodies try Night Light and the EBGBs from Red Hot Recorder Tutor. EBGBs is good example of the musical structure ABA: the first part is followed by a different middle section and then the first part is repeated. ‘Call Me’ is a useful resource on Charanga. Introducing low D Start with the fingering for G. Now the three fingers (except little finger) of the right hand cover the next three holes on the recorder to produce D. Use Glory B with note D instead. Again this can be developed as a simple improvisation activity. A very useful next step is ‘Up, Down, Round the Bend’ from Red Hot Recorder Songs. It uses only the notes G and D so the children move the fingers of one hand only up and down to play the pattern G D GG D repeatedly during the song. This is ideal for introducing pitch notation – the same phrase is repeated over and over again and illustrates higher and lower notes on the stave along with a crotchet and quaver rhythm. Introducing high C Start with the fingering for A. Lift up the top finger to produce the note C. Useful melodies are: Cuckoo in the Tree (from Music Express) Totally Blessed (from Red Hot Recorder Tutor) – this uses paired quavers She Sells Sea Shells (from Charanga)