your channel just randomly showed up and it's now my favorite channel. You're an incredible player and I've always loved the recorder. Thanks for the awesome videos
I got that Bernolin’s Ganassi, with the 415Hz and 442Hz bodies. I really love that recorder!! ❤❤❤ At first I too find the sound airy, and the mouthpiece was clogging quickly, but when I checked with a tuner I saw that I was not giving it enough air. Some work with the tuner did marvel, at the right amount or air the tone is much cleaner and the mouthpiece does not clog anymore. That recorder needs a HUGE amount of air!!! And it has a huge sound; it is not for timid players. And for high notes the thumb hole has to be open just a tiny bit. It is very responsive in all registers, and the intonation is very good. Very nice instrument 😊
It's sort of an anti-criticism, but you make choosing a specific instrument difficult, simply by your making them all so lovely. If you happened to step on a duck, I'd likely pick up the oboe again. Just fooling around, you are a wonderful musician, and by all appearances, person.
I do play, but you're absolutely right. Sarah is just such a radiantly lovely, generous, fun, smart, beautiful soul. Makes you feel happy to be alive to know the world has such people in it! 😀💖🏳🌈
@@christophertsiliacos8958 So playing fast is good? 😊 Well I never thought of the Recorder being such a wonderful instrument. I’m an old buzzard 75 a few days ago. I recall my entire class getting a Recorder in 2nd or 3rd grade. We just aggravated the family. We did learn some simple songs they were very inexpensive toys really and many broke very fast. However, I now know that a Recorder is a beautiful sounding instrument and requires serious effort and dedication to play well. Congratulation’s on your accomplishment.
Another great video, thanks. It might be mentioned that Praetorius commented on the prevailing tendency to build consorts of recorders (and shawms, and other winds) separated by fifths, pointing out the intonation problems of combining instruments in Bb with those in D, and already suggested that it would be better to use pitches alternating between fourth and fifth separations, as we have today (more or less).
This is really interesting! I'm a transverse classical ocarina player (nonprofessional) and this instrument has only existed for around 180 years, but their inventor, Giuseppe Donati, did create ensembles that were arranged in essentially the same way as many recorder ensembles but instead of using instruments in the key of C and F, he used instruments of the key of C and G. I wonder now if that's due to a regional difference because both he and the instrument maker you mentioned in this video were from Italy.
Yay! 😀😀 I've been waiting for you to review this recorder! I bought one in 440 a few months ago (along with a Van Eyck soprano 😁) and have now just ordered a 415 body for it 🥰 I'm still getting to grips with the fingering 😬 but loving the sound and feel of it.😍
@sleepydrJ - I've been thinking about a G alto (or even an A alto/fourth flute) because of the smaller size, so I was interested in your comment. I have a lovely Moeck Rottenburgh alto but it's too big for me and I struggle with it, especially since it is so unforgiving of inaccurate fingering. I have small hands, short arms and finger/shoulder stiffness and numbness, due to chronic myofascial pain syndrome - exercises don't work as my weird body just snaps back to its former tightness and I end up with even more pain and numbness. Can you tell me if you have any similar issues (if you are okay with that of course)? I've been looking at the Mollenhauer Ganassi in G as they are quite reasonably priced and have baroque fingering.
@@honeychurchgipsy6 it’s the size of the 466 pitch g alto that creates that particular magic. Mollenhauer will be making 440 most likely, so it will be bigger. Further, the holes on a ganassi are large which can be nice, but they are not double-drilled and so the tuning of half-hole notes can be very unforgiving. Finally, while it’s true there is no extant ganassi instrument, and all of them are a modern maker’s design/interpretation, I’m not sure what’s the point of putting baroque fingerings on there. It’s not rocket science to learn renaissance/or ganassi fingerings. Ralph netsch makes amazing ganassi instruments, as do other makers. Take a look at one in a fruitwood like plum, which may be Jess expensive than boxwood or maple, and possibly relatively comparable to mollenhauer?
thanks for all your information - it's surprisingly useful especially the stuff about the hole size and potential difficulties half holing. That's why I like to talk to people who have had experience with actual instruments. I'm not stuck on a Ganassi - I do like them but what I really want is a smaller instrument. unfortunately most are handmade and out of my price range. i fancied a Mollenhauer modern in G but they are expensive and I have no idea whether the additional keys make them easier or more difficult to play.
I have only fairly recently "discovered" the true beauty of recorders after being put-off them many years ago during those really awful soul-crushing school music lessons. I now find myself wanting to find out more about them, but feel overwhelmed by the sheer complexity and variation of this seemingly simple instrument, and as someone who cannot read music so can only play by ear, I am frustrated by my own lack of knowledge and ability. However I really love the positivity of your videos, and the happy way in which you explain things - even if it does go way above my head most of the time. Recorders are amazingly beautiful instruments, and I have only just started to scratch the surface of what they can do.
Find a good tutor book - Sarah has several videos - and learn to read music. It's not so difficult, and must be worth the effort. Then you can play music you've never heard, as well as joining with others.
@@gillchatfield3231 - I agree - I taught myself to play recorder and read music at the same time when I was a child - a lot of tutor books approach the instrument in this way - introducing a note, showing you where it is on the stave as well as its value/length (quaver/crochet etc.) and then getting you to play it - then adding a note or two etc etc. You learn the tunes, the techniques and the music notation all at once.
@@gillchatfield3231 Many thanks for that; it is something that I have considered, but the thought of playing the beginners tunes again like "London's Burning" and "Merrily We Roll Along" &c. just sends a shiver down my spine. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone except me, but I have a lot of very bad memories of failing miserably at school and being nagged and berated by my parents and teachers alike, so I'm not really sure if I could revisit it again without triggering a lot of stored-up negativity about myself.
@@Teapot-DaveMaybe get yourself a newly published beginner's book? In these days they often contain completely different songs, taken from pop music and other popular channels. So you won't be reminded so much :-) My children's beginner's book contained "the Lion Sleeps Tonight", for instance.
@@mquietsch6736 That sounds really positive and different thank you. I will seriously look into it. At the moment I compose my own songs on guitar, recorder, harmonica and keyboard (all self-taught, so I am a "jack" of all instruments), and I record on my phone's voice-recorder. I believe that if you are determined enough there are always ways around obstacles.
Both of your G trebles sound lovely, and what a wonderful instrument the Bernolin one is. I have a Bodil Diesen G treble, with 440 and 446 joints. She has a fingering chart you can download from her website. I love the tone, and when I'm playing Van Eyck, I just pretend it's a descant. I don't play it much with other players, so I'm not good at reading it at pitch.
I don't understand the transposition part. On the F Alto "all holes closed" = F, why could I not simply play here "all holes closed" = G and read the notes as they come? Thanks much for another wonderful video!
@irismeir1614 - if you aren't playing with anyone else, or they are aware of what notes you are playing, then yes, you are correct. I guess the only issue might come if everyone else is expecting an F and you play a G: that's when the transposing comes in. but a lot of instruments might go better with a G alto: I play the ukulele which has a bottom note of G below middle C (I play with a low G tuning), or G above middle C (so the same as a G alto) if you play in the more usual high G tuning. I'm thinking that a G alto would be great for me because I write songs on my uke.
Hello! How is the high second and third octave on this compared to a more "normal" baroque recorder? I have been thinking of getting one for folk music where I need the f# and g#. I know they use different fingerings ofc, but I'm more wondering about how easily the notes speak etc.
Hi Sarah, my 9 year old son loves recorders and your videos! He has an alto recorder in F but now wants one in G. He bought one he thought was G but when it arrived, it sounded like F. He's SO disappointed today! How do we know if we are buying the right one?
I got a question. I play soprano recprder and piano too, but recently I purchased an Alto rec9rder , you said is in F and I played a melody like it is a soprano and I sounds similar I confused.
I have had a Mollenhauer Kynseker Alto in G for 3 years, and ordered now the Bernolin Ganassi with all 3 bodies. I did not recognize your fingerings from what Vincent Bernolin published as his fingering chart, need to have a closer look. Half-holing I find quite challenging in terms of intonation,, especially as the amount of opening is different for the same finger on different notes, particularly 6.
@corneliappers603 - would you recommend the Mollenhauer? I'm thinking of buying one - would like a Mollenhauer modern in g but too much money for me atm.
I have wondered if a G alto might be good for some of the prevalence of folk music in G and D, where we find that the awkward or plain missing high F sharp on the F alto is a problem. But it's not like I wasn't eyeing up Bernolin resin instruments already... the problem is I have no idea which one! I should probably stick to my familiar modern-baroque fingering for now I suspect.
Novice player here… well 3 years under my belt after a 40+year gap following the childhood playing. I play with friends who play brass instruments. We find our repertoire limited because of precious little technical knowledge. The Salvation Army books work so it’s hymns or carols. I play the flute line on my alto and often have 6 flats. Would an instrument in G help me??? It looks so cool too!!
@lornakook4917 - if you have 6 flats you must be playing in Gb major or Eb minor. Could you not just play it a semitone up - in G major - that way every note is a natural apart from the f which you need to play sharp? However, if you wanted to keep the exact same tones/notes (because the others in your group can't change, for whatever reason) then playing an instrument a semitone up would help. The G alto with 415 body would work because you could then play in G major but the actual notes coming out would be in Gb major according to modern tuning.
Hi Sarah. Am an adult beginner trying to learn how to play the soprano flute as THERAPY. Am grateful for this wonderful videos they are helping me a lot. But i will want to ask if you could do me a favor and do a video on how to place the fingers on the holes properly to prevent air from leaking. Am having difficulties with that. Mine is a Hohner Soprano recorder. Thank You.🙏🙏🙏
is there any way to increase the range of an Alto so we can play more Bach in the proper voicings? I'm also going to argue that the pitches such as A = 440/2 466 and 415 absolutely are NOT the correct pitches that would have been played in the Baroque/renaissance. Ask me why, and I'll give you the esoteric reasoning for this as well as some historic reasons.
Of course there is a way to increase the range, if you know how to build a record, plenty of recorder makers have done it before. And about the pitches, it's clear that this isn't the "correct pitches" of the time and region, but we have to stay pratical.
I still do not understand why recorders haven't got on the transposition boat. All the other woodwinds have (even the obscure quart- and quint-bassoons). Yes, there are historical reasons about having instruments pitched a fifth apart, and you can simply move the whole consort up or down a size. But you can do this with transposed music too. It's good for any musician to be able to sight-transpose, just in case you're filling in a snippet for a temporarily missing instrument (I'v often played 3rd clarinet or French horn parts on bassoon), of for a plyout, where the conductor asks for the last eight bars up a semitone (and where the brass always argue for up a whole tone instead). But, for most of us, the default fingering is for a C instrument. Having transpose parts for all the F instruments would make switching between parts much easier, let alone the less common keys, such as G, B♭, D, etc. (And, yes, I know the contradiction for a bassoonist, where the basic fingering looks like it's in F: T-1-2-3 is a C. But it's the scale we learn first, and never have the possibility of T-1-2-3 being a G like all the other woodwinds. Also, T-1-2-3-4 is B♮ , not B♭ like F-key recorders.) When I arrange or orchestrat for recorders, I always supply two parts for the F instruments: one in the traditional concert pitch, and the other in transposed pitch, using the C fingerings. Music notation software makes this a very simple task, and it could easily be done for older pieces. Is there a public repository for transpositions for out-of-copyright works?
Recorder players are usually more comfortable with F fingerings, because the alto is by far the most common size. Therefore, transposing F parts to C seems worse than the other way around to me. Vivaldi actually wrote a concert for soprano recorder transposed to F fingerings, which is usually played on sopranino because later editions forgot to report the note about the transposition that is written on the manuscript.
@@leonardoascorti746 I didn't know alto was more common. Then, maybe I should be providing parts for the C instruments with F fingerings! In theatre pits, the rarely appearing recorders are usually played by the flute book or sometimes oboe, clarinet, or saxophone books. These all use C fingerings (except clarinet in the bottom "half", which uses F fingering, as does bassoon throughout). So for theatre, I'd stick to C fingering.
i dont know if it's an artifact of recording, but the tone on this did not strike me as being worth 500+ euros worth. it really struck me as being quite similar to the sound of my $10 plastic yamaha soprano. the same kind of "airy, reedy" sound with a bunch of "buzz."
It might be what you are listening on. Also, someone in the comments did say that they have this recorder and found it very breathy until they realised how much air it needed to bring it up to pitch - then it sounded great.
Sounds empty of resonance, no wholeness to the tone. What a shame. The picture of Sarah at the beginning of the videos looks like she is holding a gun. Despite this I do have many other Bernolin recorders (ivory and black alto recorders and one soprano plus the Van Eyck).
your channel just randomly showed up and it's now my favorite channel. You're an incredible player and I've always loved the recorder. Thanks for the awesome videos
Aw that’s lovely!
I got that Bernolin’s Ganassi, with the 415Hz and 442Hz bodies. I really love that recorder!! ❤❤❤ At first I too find the sound airy, and the mouthpiece was clogging quickly, but when I checked with a tuner I saw that I was not giving it enough air. Some work with the tuner did marvel, at the right amount or air the tone is much cleaner and the mouthpiece does not clog anymore. That recorder needs a HUGE amount of air!!! And it has a huge sound; it is not for timid players. And for high notes the thumb hole has to be open just a tiny bit. It is very responsive in all registers, and the intonation is very good. Very nice instrument 😊
It's sort of an anti-criticism, but you make choosing a specific instrument difficult, simply by your making them all so lovely. If you happened to step on a duck, I'd likely pick up the oboe again. Just fooling around, you are a wonderful musician, and by all appearances, person.
I don’t play but I just love your attitude always so pleasant in addition to being a wonderful musician.
Thank you, that’s really kind 😌
I do play, but you're absolutely right. Sarah is just such a radiantly lovely, generous, fun, smart, beautiful soul. Makes you feel happy to be alive to know the world has such people in it! 😀💖🏳🌈
I do play the recorder with alacrity(!), and Sarah is a favorite professor of the recorder among both recorder and non-recorder players. 😊🎶
@@christophertsiliacos8958 So playing fast is good? 😊 Well I never thought of the Recorder being such a wonderful instrument. I’m an old buzzard 75 a few days ago. I recall my entire class getting a Recorder in 2nd or 3rd grade. We just aggravated the family. We did learn some simple songs they were very inexpensive toys really and many broke very fast. However, I now know that a Recorder is a beautiful sounding instrument and requires serious effort and dedication to play well. Congratulation’s on your accomplishment.
Another great video, thanks. It might be mentioned that Praetorius commented on the prevailing tendency to build consorts of recorders (and shawms, and other winds) separated by fifths, pointing out the intonation problems of combining instruments in Bb with those in D, and already suggested that it would be better to use pitches alternating between fourth and fifth separations, as we have today (more or less).
Ooh super useful information, thank you for sharing! Keep the comments coming, commenters 😄
Love the video sarah! I’d love to see an updated full recorder collection tour
My G in 442 arrived today and what a delight it is! Many thanks for drawing my attention to this perfect instrument.
Wonderful!
This is really interesting! I'm a transverse classical ocarina player (nonprofessional) and this instrument has only existed for around 180 years, but their inventor, Giuseppe Donati, did create ensembles that were arranged in essentially the same way as many recorder ensembles but instead of using instruments in the key of C and F, he used instruments of the key of C and G. I wonder now if that's due to a regional difference because both he and the instrument maker you mentioned in this video were from Italy.
Absolutely lovely sound. The folk tune on that recorder is stunning. And it’s a gorgeous instrument visually as well!
Yay! 😀😀 I've been waiting for you to review this recorder! I bought one in 440 a few months ago (along with a Van Eyck soprano 😁) and have now just ordered a 415 body for it 🥰 I'm still getting to grips with the fingering 😬 but loving the sound and feel of it.😍
G alto at 466 is pure joy to play!!! The physical size feels like my ideal fit. The sound is wonderful.
@sleepydrJ - I've been thinking about a G alto (or even an A alto/fourth flute) because of the smaller size, so I was interested in your comment. I have a lovely Moeck Rottenburgh alto but it's too big for me and I struggle with it, especially since it is so unforgiving of inaccurate fingering.
I have small hands, short arms and finger/shoulder stiffness and numbness, due to chronic myofascial pain syndrome - exercises don't work as my weird body just snaps back to its former tightness and I end up with even more pain and numbness.
Can you tell me if you have any similar issues (if you are okay with that of course)? I've been looking at the Mollenhauer Ganassi in G as they are quite reasonably priced and have baroque fingering.
@@honeychurchgipsy6 it’s the size of the 466 pitch g alto that creates that particular magic. Mollenhauer will be making 440 most likely, so it will be bigger. Further, the holes on a ganassi are large which can be nice, but they are not double-drilled and so the tuning of half-hole notes can be very unforgiving. Finally, while it’s true there is no extant ganassi instrument, and all of them are a modern maker’s design/interpretation, I’m not sure what’s the point of putting baroque fingerings on there. It’s not rocket science to learn renaissance/or ganassi fingerings. Ralph netsch makes amazing ganassi instruments, as do other makers. Take a look at one in a fruitwood like plum, which may be Jess expensive than boxwood or maple, and possibly relatively comparable to mollenhauer?
thanks for all your information - it's surprisingly useful especially the stuff about the hole size and potential difficulties half holing. That's why I like to talk to people who have had experience with actual instruments. I'm not stuck on a Ganassi - I do like them but what I really want is a smaller instrument. unfortunately most are handmade and out of my price range. i fancied a Mollenhauer modern in G but they are expensive and I have no idea whether the additional keys make them easier or more difficult to play.
I have only fairly recently "discovered" the true beauty of recorders after being put-off them many years ago during those really awful soul-crushing school music lessons.
I now find myself wanting to find out more about them, but feel overwhelmed by the sheer complexity and variation of this seemingly simple instrument, and as someone who cannot read music so can only play by ear, I am frustrated by my own lack of knowledge and ability.
However I really love the positivity of your videos, and the happy way in which you explain things - even if it does go way above my head most of the time.
Recorders are amazingly beautiful instruments, and I have only just started to scratch the surface of what they can do.
Find a good tutor book - Sarah has several videos - and learn to read music. It's not so difficult, and must be worth the effort. Then you can play music you've never heard, as well as joining with others.
@@gillchatfield3231 - I agree - I taught myself to play recorder and read music at the same time when I was a child - a lot of tutor books approach the instrument in this way - introducing a note, showing you where it is on the stave as well as its value/length (quaver/crochet etc.) and then getting you to play it - then adding a note or two etc etc. You learn the tunes, the techniques and the music notation all at once.
@@gillchatfield3231 Many thanks for that; it is something that I have considered, but the thought of playing the beginners tunes again like "London's Burning" and "Merrily We Roll Along" &c. just sends a shiver down my spine.
I don't know if this makes sense to anyone except me, but I have a lot of very bad memories of failing miserably at school and being nagged and berated by my parents and teachers alike, so I'm not really sure if I could revisit it again without triggering a lot of stored-up negativity about myself.
@@Teapot-DaveMaybe get yourself a newly published beginner's book? In these days they often contain completely different songs, taken from pop music and other popular channels. So you won't be reminded so much :-) My children's beginner's book contained "the Lion Sleeps Tonight", for instance.
@@mquietsch6736 That sounds really positive and different thank you. I will seriously look into it.
At the moment I compose my own songs on guitar, recorder, harmonica and keyboard (all self-taught, so I am a "jack" of all instruments), and I record on my phone's voice-recorder. I believe that if you are determined enough there are always ways around obstacles.
Mine is in the post thanks to your review.
The thing that intrigues me about the alternate tunings is that they could be treated as instruments in Ab and F# within A440.
A comparison to your Blezinger g-alto would have been interesting. Resin against wood.
Ah yes! My Blezinger is a transitional recorder though, not a Ganassi- so is a different build.
Brilliant as usual . . . I was agog and thought I'd never be able to afford that . . . But when you said 'resins. . . Maybe I will, one day.
My initial reaction was "of course alto is in G" and then I realized it was recorder, not my thesis on flute history 🙃😅
Hahaa
Love it!
More Dowland please ❤️👏👏👏👏
Ooh yes I shall
Both of your G trebles sound lovely, and what a wonderful instrument the Bernolin one is. I have a Bodil Diesen G treble, with 440 and 446 joints. She has a fingering chart you can download from her website. I love the tone, and when I'm playing Van Eyck, I just pretend it's a descant. I don't play it much with other players, so I'm not good at reading it at pitch.
Nice video, thanks Sarah .
Thanks! For you work!👌💙
I don't understand the transposition part. On the F Alto "all holes closed" = F, why could I not simply play here "all holes closed" = G and read the notes as they come? Thanks much for another wonderful video!
@irismeir1614 - if you aren't playing with anyone else, or they are aware of what notes you are playing, then yes, you are correct. I guess the only issue might come if everyone else is expecting an F and you play a G: that's when the transposing comes in.
but a lot of instruments might go better with a G alto: I play the ukulele which has a bottom note of G below middle C (I play with a low G tuning), or G above middle C (so the same as a G alto) if you play in the more usual high G tuning. I'm thinking that a G alto would be great for me because I write songs on my uke.
Hello! How is the high second and third octave on this compared to a more "normal" baroque recorder? I have been thinking of getting one for folk music where I need the f# and g#. I know they use different fingerings ofc, but I'm more wondering about how easily the notes speak etc.
Hi Sarah, my 9 year old son loves recorders and your videos! He has an alto recorder in F but now wants one in G. He bought one he thought was G but when it arrived, it sounded like F. He's SO disappointed today! How do we know if we are buying the right one?
I got a question. I play soprano recprder and piano too, but recently I purchased an Alto rec9rder , you said is in F and I played a melody like it is a soprano and I sounds similar I confused.
where can I get it
I have had a Mollenhauer Kynseker Alto in G for 3 years, and ordered now the Bernolin Ganassi with all 3 bodies.
I did not recognize your fingerings from what Vincent Bernolin published as his fingering chart, need to have a closer look.
Half-holing I find quite challenging in terms of intonation,, especially as the amount of opening is different for the same finger on different notes, particularly 6.
With my Bernolin Ganassi, I need to open the 6th hole more with the 415Hz body compared to the 440Hz body
@corneliappers603 - would you recommend the Mollenhauer? I'm thinking of buying one - would like a Mollenhauer modern in g but too much money for me atm.
I have wondered if a G alto might be good for some of the prevalence of folk music in G and D, where we find that the awkward or plain missing high F sharp on the F alto is a problem. But it's not like I wasn't eyeing up Bernolin resin instruments already... the problem is I have no idea which one! I should probably stick to my familiar modern-baroque fingering for now I suspect.
Am quite a fan of Bernolin- that resin Ganassi is 3X sassy.
Novice player here… well 3 years under my belt after a 40+year gap following the childhood playing. I play with friends who play brass instruments. We find our repertoire limited because of precious little technical knowledge. The Salvation Army books work so it’s hymns or carols. I play the flute line on my alto and often have 6 flats. Would an instrument in G help me??? It looks so cool too!!
@lornakook4917 - if you have 6 flats you must be playing in Gb major or Eb minor. Could you not just play it a semitone up - in G major - that way every note is a natural apart from the f which you need to play sharp?
However, if you wanted to keep the exact same tones/notes (because the others in your group can't change, for whatever reason) then playing an instrument a semitone up would help.
The G alto with 415 body would work because you could then play in G major but the actual notes coming out would be in Gb major according to modern tuning.
Hi Sarah. Am an adult beginner trying to learn how to play the soprano flute as THERAPY. Am grateful for this wonderful videos they are helping me a lot. But i will want to ask if you could do me a favor and do a video on how to place the fingers on the holes properly to prevent air from leaking. Am having difficulties with that. Mine is a Hohner Soprano recorder.
Thank You.🙏🙏🙏
Yes, I have a video called ‘How to hold the recorder’ - that will have all your answers!
is there any way to increase the range of an Alto so we can play more Bach in the proper voicings? I'm also going to argue that the pitches such as A = 440/2 466 and 415 absolutely are NOT the correct pitches that would have been played in the Baroque/renaissance. Ask me why, and I'll give you the esoteric reasoning for this as well as some historic reasons.
Of course there is a way to increase the range, if you know how to build a record, plenty of recorder makers have done it before. And about the pitches, it's clear that this isn't the "correct pitches" of the time and region, but we have to stay pratical.
My Bernolin head joint became loose and rolled off thr table and thr wooden bit broke. I think it's a write off.
I still do not understand why recorders haven't got on the transposition boat. All the other woodwinds have (even the obscure quart- and quint-bassoons).
Yes, there are historical reasons about having instruments pitched a fifth apart, and you can simply move the whole consort up or down a size. But you can do this with transposed music too.
It's good for any musician to be able to sight-transpose, just in case you're filling in a snippet for a temporarily missing instrument (I'v often played 3rd clarinet or French horn parts on bassoon), of for a plyout, where the conductor asks for the last eight bars up a semitone (and where the brass always argue for up a whole tone instead).
But, for most of us, the default fingering is for a C instrument. Having transpose parts for all the F instruments would make switching between parts much easier, let alone the less common keys, such as G, B♭, D, etc.
(And, yes, I know the contradiction for a bassoonist, where the basic fingering looks like it's in F: T-1-2-3 is a C. But it's the scale we learn first, and never have the possibility of T-1-2-3 being a G like all the other woodwinds. Also, T-1-2-3-4 is B♮ , not B♭ like F-key recorders.)
When I arrange or orchestrat for recorders, I always supply two parts for the F instruments: one in the traditional concert pitch, and the other in transposed pitch, using the C fingerings. Music notation software makes this a very simple task, and it could easily be done for older pieces. Is there a public repository for transpositions for out-of-copyright works?
Recorder players are usually more comfortable with F fingerings, because the alto is by far the most common size. Therefore, transposing F parts to C seems worse than the other way around to me. Vivaldi actually wrote a concert for soprano recorder transposed to F fingerings, which is usually played on sopranino because later editions forgot to report the note about the transposition that is written on the manuscript.
@@leonardoascorti746 I didn't know alto was more common. Then, maybe I should be providing parts for the C instruments with F fingerings!
In theatre pits, the rarely appearing recorders are usually played by the flute book or sometimes oboe, clarinet, or saxophone books. These all use C fingerings (except clarinet in the bottom "half", which uses F fingering, as does bassoon throughout). So for theatre, I'd stick to C fingering.
i dont know if it's an artifact of recording, but the tone on this did not strike me as being worth 500+ euros worth. it really struck me as being quite similar to the sound of my $10 plastic yamaha soprano. the same kind of "airy, reedy" sound with a bunch of "buzz."
It might be what you are listening on. Also, someone in the comments did say that they have this recorder and found it very breathy until they realised how much air it needed to bring it up to pitch - then it sounded great.
I thought the van eyck sounded nice on these
We are all mad. Voicing. Transpositions and ear training.
Not all that impressed with the sound of this "G" Alto. Too airy.
💔 Promo`SM
!
Sounds empty of resonance, no wholeness to the tone. What a shame. The picture of Sarah at the beginning of the videos looks like she is holding a gun. Despite this I do have many other Bernolin recorders (ivory and black alto recorders and one soprano plus the Van Eyck).