Recorder - Sheet Music Notation

Sheet Music Notation

Sheet music for recorder is nearly always written in the key in which it is played. A written C in the score actually sounds as a C. This implies that the player must learn two different sets of similar fingerings, one for the C recorders and another for the F recorders. The actual pitch may vary according to the pitch standard used by the manufacturer, typically recorders are tuned to baroque pitch (A=415) or concert pitch (A=440).

However, many sizes of recorder do transpose at the octave. The garklein sounds two octaves above the written pitch; the sopranino and soprano sound one octave above written pitch. Alto and tenor sizes do not transpose at all, while the bass and great bass sound one octave above written (bass clef) pitch. In modern scores, these transpositions are indicated by adding a small figure "8" above the treble or bass clef on sopranino, soprano or bass recorder parts, but in the past and still commonly today, the transpositions are not indicated and instead are assumed from context. Contrabass and subcontrabass are non-transposing while the octocontrabass sounds one octave below written pitch.

Sizes from garklein down through tenor are notated in the treble clef while the bass size and lower usually read the bass clef. Professionals can usually read C-clefs and often perform from original notation.

Alternative notations which are only occasionally used:

1. Bass recorder in F may be written in treble clef so that the low F is written an octave above real pitch (i.e. sound an octave below written pitch), so that its fingerings are completely octave-identical to the alto in F.
2. Great bass recorder in C may be written in treble clef. If so, it would probably be written up an octave to match the fingering of the tenor in C.
3. Tenor recorder in C may be written in bass clef one octave below real pitch in order to read choral parts for tenor voice.
4. Alto recorder in F may be written down an octave to read alto vocal parts.
5. All recorders may be transposed by both octave and key so that the lowest note is always written as middle C below the treble clef. In this system, only the tenor is non-transposing while all other parts would transpose up or down in fourths, fifths and octaves as appropriate.
6. Urtext editions of baroque music may preserve the baroque practice of writing treble(alto) recorder parts in the French Violin clef (G clef on the bottom line of the stave). From the player's point of view, this is equivalent to using bass(et) recorder fingerings on the treble/alto recorder.

As a rule of thumb, recorders sound one octave above the human voice after which they are named (soprano recorder is an octave above soprano voice, alto an octave above alto voice, etc.) The recorder's mellow tone and limited harmonics allows for the seemingly deeper sound.