Image of students playing recorder. Image by M. Grayburn.
When you reach this module, you are ready to go beyond the basics of learning to play the recorder.
In this module, you will begin using two hands to play notes on the recorder, as well as learning four new notes.
You will also learn to play eighth notes and learn what a tie is in music.
It's Raining,
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Old McDonald
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When The Saints Go Marching In |
Learn to play eighth notes. |
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Learn to play a tie. Add a dotted half note |
Image of a drop of water creating ripples in a body of water. Text is Rain, Rain, Go Away. Image created by S. Swint. I bet you've heard this song somewhere! It might be from a TV show, your kindergarten class, or maybe even from a video game! This song is very well known, and you will enjoy learning to play it on recorder. It is a a challenge, but keep at it, and you will soon succeed. Image of Low E on the treble staff. Text on image is Thumb, 1st finger, 2nd finger, 3rd singer on the left hand; 1st finger, 2nd finger on the right hand. Image created by M. Grayburn. Be sure to completely cover the hole on the back of your recorder with your thumb; blow gently, using even less air, to play this note correctly. Eighth Notes Each eighth note is worth a half beat each. In the example below, eighth notes are shown as paired eighth notes. Each pair is worth one beat. Each note in the pair is worth a half beat. Image is of three treble staves. The first staff has four quarter notes on B with text Quarter notes - one sound to the beat.. The second staff has eight eighth notes on B with the text Eighth notes - two sounds to the beat. The third staff has eight eighth notes on G with the text Try it on G. Image created by S. Swint. |
Image of green siding. Text is Old McDonald Had A Farm. Image created by S. Swint This song is probably one of the first songs you learned to sing. In fact, the song is the same in many languages from all over the world. Keep the song in your head as you learn to play it on recorder. Soon, you too will see that all instrument performers are also singers of a different sort! Have fun with this one. Image of Low D on the treble staff. Text on image is Thumb, 1st finger, 2nd finger, 3rd finger on the left hand; 1st finger, 2nd finger, 3rd finger on the right hand. Image created by M. Grayburn Be sure to completely cover the holes and blow gently, using even less air, to play this note correctly. Practice moving from Low D to G in the exercise below. Image is of four treble staves. The first staff has students moving from a D to a G. The first and second staves are from the third staff of "Old McDonald Had A Farm". The third staff has students moving from G to D. The third and fourth staves are from the fourth staff of "Old McDonald Had A Farm". Image created by S. Swint |
Image of treble staff with notes on high C. Text is Thumb, second finger on the left hand. Image created by M. Grayburn Image of treble staff with notes on high D. Text is Second finger on the left hand. Image created by M. Grayburn Image of dotted half note equals half note plus quarter note, Text on image is Dotted Half Note. What is the value of the note without the dot? Two beats. What is half of the value of the note without the dot? 1 beat. 2 plus 1 equals 3. A dot adds half the value of the note. Image created by M. Grayburn. Image is titled Tied Notes. It has two staves. The first staff is meter in four with two whole notes tied together. Under these notes, is 1-2-3-4 + 1-2-3-4 to represent eight beats for one pitch. The second staff is meter in three with two dotted half notes tied together. Under these notes is 1-2-3 + 1-2-3 to represent six beats for one pitch. Image created by M. Grayburn Sometimes you want to hold a note longer into the next measure. The time in music is like a plus sign (+) in math. You add the values of both notes together and hold the note for that many beats. In When the Saints Go Marching In, the time is worth five beats. Sometimes is is a whole note (4 beats) tied to a quarter note (1 beat) for a pitch lasting five beats. Sometimes it is a dotted half note (3 beats) tied to a half note (2 beats) for a pitch lasting five beats. Be careful to continue to hold your recorder in the correct position when you remove and replace your thumb, covering the thumb hole completely. Practice going back and forth between C and D to make this a smooth transition. |
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