Hi Lauren...you are amazing to be able to do this after just a few days. It sounded very musical to me! I hope all is well as you've not posted for a while....hope its just because you are so busy playing music in the real world.🙂 Take care and best wishes...I have really enjoyed your videos, your realism and your sense of humour and they are a real inspiration as I embark on the recorder myself 😊. xxx
Very helpful and entertaining. An adult beginner myself so it floats my boat indeed! Great accent... Honest, fun and inspiring! Quartet was very impressive! Thank you!
I have autism and I love music and I just picked up my first alto recorder :) I have a kalimba and a piano and guitar but I love love love the sound of a nice alto. Someday I really wish to get a tenor but I will have to save for a while :) much love my friend. Your video is so great. I hope you’re doing well. I subscribed to your channel :) also I love the little squirrel running up the fence at 5:27 ahaha. Well anyways, thank you for making this amazing video for all of us on UA-cam.
I'm enjoying your videos. My ten year-old daughter and I started learning the recorder together in March of 2020. Like you, we are self-taught. A couple of months ago, we added Alto, and Tenor instruments to our study. My daughter found the finger spread on the Aulos Tenor to be a bit too much, so, she ended up with the job of learning new fingerings. We are currently working on Telemann Fantasies. It is a great thing for Dad and daughter to do together. We are really having fun.
Wow it sounds like you’re both making great progress! Must be lovely to have someone to learn with, what a great thing for you to be able to do. Happy practicing to you both!
I bought the soprano first and did not like the shrill sound it'd produce especially when leaking so then I bought the alto. I'd barely learnt a couple of notes on the soprano, so I was as good as a new student on the alto. I loved the sound of the alto. The stretch required was immediately noticeable. Books that are REALLY REALLY good for the alto recorder are Walter Van Hauwe's and Gudrun Heyens series. Both go into extensive detail on refining your technique. Don't miss out on those classical books if you wanna develop the proper technique.
The point of this comment was and I forgot about it by the end, that I'm gonna have the reverse issue when going to the soprano, but I don't feel like I'd do that for a while now. I just love the alto so much.
@@luckybarrel7829 the Walter van Hauwe books have been recommended to me quite a lot, I really should check them out! If you’re happy with the alto then there’s no point forcing yourself into soprano for the sake of it- one day you might just feel like giving the soprano another go. I think my ears have got accustomed to the higher soprano by now 😂
the Walter van Hauwe books have been recommended to me quite a lot, I really should check them out! If you’re happy with the alto then there’s no point forcing yourself into soprano for the sake of it- one day you might just feel like giving the soprano another go. I think my ears have got accustomed to the higher soprano by now 😂
Hey Lauren, as a French-spreaking linguist I had never heard of 'despartie' before today. I did some research on Google and found a hint through the Latin and Romanian languages: It's old French for 'separation/break-up/rupture'. So I guess this song is all about 'A Hard Break-up' or 'A Hard Goodbye'... Hence the gloomy melody. Cute accent by the way. Keep up the good work on the alto recorder! 🎶
Hey just wanted to let you know that 1. Love your videos, they’re loads of fun 2. Woow, you’re a fast learner!!! 3. C’est une dure despartie is (a bit outdatedj French for: “this is a hard (tough) GOODBYE 👋 “ Keep up the musical fun. Cheers!
Thank you! And thanks for the translation! I’ve been learning French for a few months but haven’t come across ‘dure despartie’ before now- but now I know 🙂
I see this video is a year or so old but I came across your videos only recently. Very interesting for me to watch, as a fellow "for fun only" amateur musician who also can't resist trying new instruments. FYI now you've learnt both the C soprano and the F (treble?) recorder you'd be well placed to have a crack at the clarinet which has three 'registers', the lower one has fingerings very much like the F recorder and the middle register has fingerings like the C recorder. I saw a reasonable "student quality" clarinet in my local charity shop for about £30 and couldn't resist buying and trying it and was pleased to find my old recorder fingerings gave me a head start. Now there's an idea for a future video for you! ;) Thanks for posting your musical instrument videos!
I learnt the fingerings on the alto just by improvising on chord progressions - Only thing, I had to remember it was like playing one fifth apart (i.e.: in C major, I should use the fingerings I'd used to play in G major on a soprano or tenor), but that worked for me. No two brains are alike, thus it might not work as well for other people, but if someone would like to try this method, I very readily share this experience for everyone else to try.
What a fantastic video ❤ I've been playing an alto in the same way as a soprano, and now I have a piece that uses both, so I'm going to learn it properly now. 😂
thank you, my new treble arrived today. I could remember a few bits and pieces, but to be honest its 30 years since i last played at primary school. I've ordered the book and hope to be able to relink sheet music to finger placement and jog a long some old memory systems and play again.
Love your blouse! The Sasato (Hard Departure) was really awesome! I don’t understand you’re playing an alto using a treble book! Thanks for your help!🙏🙏🙏
Treble is their British name. Americans call them “alto” just as Americans say things like “eighth notes, quarter notes” instead of crotchets, quavers, minims, semibrieves etc
First time I've noticed your channel. Thanks for this. I am also new to Treble recorder, and hadn't played Soprano recorder since primary school. But have played oboe for several decades now. Oboe fingering is very similar to Soprano recorder: in C with a 'natural scale' of Dmaj. (Also bassoon for a few years now.) Before starting Treble recorder I got confused about how the transposition happens, thinking it might have been more complex, and was relieved to find how simple it actually is: play the notes as written on the stave. I'd thought it might be like eg a b-flat clarinet... Then I restarted on Soprano, finding the fingering a little cramped, to be honest. Occasionally I confuse the fingerings, but as I'm listening as well as playing I don't do too badly. Next I realised a childhood dream & started on Cor Anglais❤🎶. Cor is also in F, but the parts are written transposed, exactly equivalent to oboe parts, except (obvs) that the notes are a fifth lower. I suppose it should be easy for me to put a Treble recorder "head" on and transcribe as I play Cor the way we play on Treble but I haven't dared yet. I notice the C-F finger stretch more on recorders than on Oboe/Cor... perhaps because there are keys to guide my fingers.
Just to add that I too followed the Recorder from the Beginning book - love its simple effective approach, and have been teaching my wife soprano recorder using the soprano version. You wondered why it might go out of print... musically there's no way it's going to become out of date, but some of the songs have words that these days make us cringe, e.g. "Indian" not Native American/first nation...
You're Chanel is 😎 mam. ')!!! I'm still a beginner on soprano recorder. I'm abit scared to try the Alto I'm not that comfortable yet and quiet nervous about it
I want to share my experience. I am an autodidact recorder. And yes, I cannot read music. I play by ears. I started with Soprano, as most recorder players, I believe. Though Soprano is a C recorder, I am most comfortable playing in F scale. The fingering is easy, too. That's why it feels very natural when I switch to Alto. And I have long fingers which make it easy for the longer reach.
I wish I had known about those books with CDs. The ones I bought had been recommended, but didn't have CDs. Professional musicians who recommend books to beginners (who are also just learning to read music) don't realize how valuable the CDs are because they can sight read and know what the tune is supposed to sound like. I didn't. I could see the beats, but I didn't know what it was really supposed to sound like, which was frustrating. - When I first started the alto/treble recorder, I put away my soprano. I had no confidence that I could learn both C and F fingerings. Eventually, I did take the soprano out again. I found that I had some magical muscle memory for the different fingerings after all. I think it's due to the difference in size. If the soprano and alto recorders were the same size, I would be lost for sure.
Yes! CDs can make all the difference! Can really help everything click together in your head. I know some people see it as cheating, but all part of ear training, I reckon 🙂
I, as you, would not be able to tell, how I make the change from playing the differnt tuned recorders. I just do it "at the . flight". I am 62 years old now. I have played soprano recordeer since I became 17 yerars. Few years after the start I bought an alto recorder and started playing on that. Easy was it. The fingering is the same, if the different does not bother the mind. I almost immediately had the thrill of changing between the recorder types without thinking too much. I usually play by ear. The fingers find their ways. It is amazing, which difference some years of experience can make.
I have played guitars since 1989, mainly the electric. There are lots of enthusiastic players, but sadly, the scene can be highly competitive or even rude, too. The recorder players seem to be far more enthusiastic about the music they play the and the astmosphere is far more supportive and warm. The four Laurens sound great. (And to be honest, look, too) But listen to Sarah Jeffery. When she plays something similar, her intonation is not like tempered by some digital gadget, either. That't what music sounded like, when the recorder was very popular. (Ahemm.. To be honest, I don't have recorder recordings from baroque era (!), but based on listening to professionals playing that music with epoque instruments.) Your punctual studying of the method book reminds me to not try to play too difficult compositions. Being able to play 10 easy songs beautifully is far better than playing two difficult ones badly.
I really enjoyed watching this. Too have just got the same book and am working my way through. There are some fun pieces in the book, so far I especially like the Cossack Dance. I have purposely not been playing trying anything else to get my head around the fingering. So far B is a challenge. I can see why they left it a little way into the book.
👏👏 Well played. I started my self learning on the alto using the same book as a starting point. Then bought a yamaha plastic tenor. And went onto learning that. I'm now eagerly awaiting delivery of a mollenhauer canta tenor in pearwood. I find I go through phases of being in tenor mode then alto for a few weeks each time. Swapping from c to f instruments every few days my brain can't cope with. Plus teaching myself bass guitar in between! Next on the shopping list a bass recorder! #selftaughtmusicnutcantstopshopping
I have recently retired and have just bought an alto recorder mostly as I find soprano recorders too cramped (like keyboards on computers - for my pudgy fingers I need a decent sized keyboard) so I am taking up where I left off at primary school My actual plan is to learn the cornett / cornetto / Zink a renaissance and baroque instrument which is a tuned horn so it has fingerings like a recorder but is sounded like a trumpet (I was a trumpet player in secondary school) But I thought I needed to get used to fingerings first.
love your video and playing :) I just got a recording some days ago, my first, and had no clue so I ordered an alto. (because I play alto sax...) pfff that's not easy! I only get squeaks out of it haha... great advise on the book, I just ordered it, maybe that helps :)
I had no problem at all. I was able to immediately segue to the alto recorder from the soprano recorder. And why not? They both play in the treble clef and share the same fingering chart. 👍 😊 ♫
@@Musicch-gi8ej The fingerings are the same, but you get different notes. For example, when you cover all the wholes in your soprano you get a C5 but on the alto you get F4.
I starter soprano 2 years ago but found it to small for my big mechanic's hands so I switched to alto and loved the size and tone but didn't love the lack of popular music written in "F". Classics are all well and good but how about The Beatles or some Broadway show tunes? John Denver? Billy Joel? Jigs, reels, hornpipes? NOPE. Not in "F" that I could find. Lacking the ability to transpose (whatever THAT is) I switched to tenor and found a home. I used the "Sweet Pipes" beginner books which look like the same thing only different to the Pitts books. I agree with your technique. I started at the beginning and worked my way through from simple to complex until the light came on in my head and I said "OH! I can read that!" . I just started a ZOOM recorder class so it's only UP UP UP from here. I just found an Irish drinking song called "Mush Mush Mush Too-Ri-Li-Ady" from the movie "The Quiet Man" So much fun to play! Anyway I love your channel. Looking forward to more good stuff!
correct me if I am wrong but the lowest note on the alto is F ,the recorder itself is not a transposing instrument just that the lowest note you can play on it is F .I find i can play most music on the alto and if the music has middle C then I just use descant fingering and use the alto as a soprano ????????
SUPER EASY TRANSPOSITION I'll drop any real discussion. It's not hard, really, but this is EZ Transpo: * Pick up alto (or sopranino). * Pick up score. * Play the lowest note (F4, the F above middle C on alto; F5 on s the 'nino). >>> "I dub thee middle C." Now play the score in a fingering with which you're comfortable. Yes, it's that simple. Just take your score, take the alto, and treat the low F as a C. Tres facile, non? Bonne chance!
@@JESL_TheOnlyOne correcto mi amigo any tips for playing low C and C sharp on alto and tenor ,been practicing for 2 years and still can not get it right
@@peter3835 I've had a tenor for over a year, one with the keys for C4/C#4. Still working on technique. YT vids and books from Reverb, Amazon...? Alto isn't keyed, thus easier; for me at least. In general, study technique. I'm a bug about technique, because you have to be able to repeat and reproduce, instantaneously and correctly, on the spot. This is a sine qua non, in my humble opinion. Basically, I'm a guitarist who can play recorder, harmonica and couple of other things. I taught myself theory and have played in bands and I've been with some good people. I've got a good ear and sense of rhythm. "85% of playing by ear is knowing your damn theory." Absolutely. I'm a true player on guitar because I know what's what. *Don't neglect harmony if you study recorder, even though it's not a chording instrument.* Western music IS harmony, it invented it. Study and practice. Study and practice. Straight ahead.
@@JESL_TheOnlyOne Thanks for the advice .I am 72 years old in two days and only had a interest in music for the last two years, never played any instrument before . I am retired in Spain now so to fill my time I decided to learn the recorder and (after 4 visits by the local police ) alto and tenor now i have progressed onto the clarinet big mistake but getting there and I have found most people laugh at the recorder but to play correctly it is very demanding anyway thanks for the advice .
Not sure if anyone can help, but I'll ask ... the pieces of my Yamaha (YRA-28B) alto get STUCK and almost seem to FUSE. It's SO difficult to adjust or take apart for cleaning, etc. I've used the lubrication that came with the recorder, I've cleaned it, re-lubricated, but STILL the pieces get stuck. Any tips on how to "loosen" the "grip"? Thanks for any advice.
I somehow thought myself how to transpose from C-Recorders to F-Recorders in such an odd way I basically make a table like this: C'=F' B=E A=D G=C F=B E=A D=G C=F Then, I just memorise them by playing "hot cross buns" in E-D-C on the soprano recorder and A-G-F on the alto.... ~After that, I'll switch from E-D-C to A-G-F on the soprano and vice versa on the alto.... (Since _E-D-C on the alto_ have similar fingerings to _B-A-G on the soprano,_ it kinda helps me to imagine E-D-C as B-A-G) This method is kinda weird but it works for me. This might not work for some people though😅
Hi! I bought a book by Aldo Bova: "24 easy pieces for alto recorder". The pieces are lovely and you can found them played by the author. imo, the best way to switch from one fingering to the other...
It is so beautiful how you play. I am a very old beginner recorder player I find your viedeos so inspiering and helpful. How do you do the playing with yourself part? Is there a special program for this? Now I embarassed myself on you tube, oh well
Thanks for the kind words! I use an app called Acapella to be able to film and play duets etc, it’s quite easy to use but has limitations. The sound recording isn’t the best, so most of the time I record everything separately and then have to sync it all up in iMovie. Acapella is a lot of fun though 🙂
Hi Eli I have the book of Aldos "The Alto recorder A comprehensive new method". At the time I bought it he hadn't many videos of the pieces up on youtube but since then there are many more. It's a lot easier and better I think if you can hear how the pieces are meant to sound, good feedback to the learning process. I love Aldos' recodings with Hiro Watanabe. . . so wonderful
Don’t worry, you only just started! Tone and sound is something that gets better with time, so keep at it and one day not being able to make a decent sound will be a distant memory! Just have fun playing! 👍
I have a 211 Recorder on the back thumb hole it say's B is this the key it's it didn't come with the case that the key name on it thanks , Cheers From Canada -Sunny Rhoades and you are Gorgeous and a beautiful Soul im in Love haha.
Well, this is going to sound strange to you. I just took up the recorder and started to play it. I had no teacher on earth, as I said, on earth. My teacher was and is God. I am doing the same with the piano now.😊 no! I am not an alien, I am 100% human, I think.😅
Yamaha Ecodear is not that good alto. I regretted purchasing mine _(kinda dull and plasticky, unrefined sound)_ Yamaha YRA-314B III is MUCH better choice
The highly contentious and much maligned Ecodear. Might there be a hack to improve the tone? Some cheap recorders , apparently the mouthpiece can come off and pulling it a bit farther out can give a reedier or more husky sound?
Probably more of a gimmick to keep all the must-save-the-planet-environmentalists happy, plastic bad, wood good brigade. A good wood is very expensive and over budget for many. Yamaha on their website talk about their plastics being non-toxic, pthalate-free etc.
Hi Lauren...you are amazing to be able to do this after just a few days. It sounded very musical to me! I hope all is well as you've not posted for a while....hope its just because you are so busy playing music in the real world.🙂 Take care and best wishes...I have really enjoyed your videos, your realism and your sense of humour and they are a real inspiration as I embark on the recorder myself 😊. xxx
I just play the alto the same as the soprano. I dont play baroque or renaissance so I just play what I want on my own.
Yep, why not 🙂
As someone whose just started the recorder thank you for this, and other videos like it.
Very helpful and entertaining. An adult beginner myself so it floats my boat indeed! Great accent... Honest, fun and inspiring! Quartet was very impressive! Thank you!
I have autism and I love music and I just picked up my first alto recorder :) I have a kalimba and a piano and guitar but I love love love the sound of a nice alto. Someday I really wish to get a tenor but I will have to save for a while :) much love my friend. Your video is so great. I hope you’re doing well. I subscribed to your channel :) also I love the little squirrel running up the fence at 5:27 ahaha. Well anyways, thank you for making this amazing video for all of us on UA-cam.
Great job!
I'm enjoying your videos. My ten year-old daughter and I started learning the recorder together in March of 2020. Like you, we are self-taught. A couple of months ago, we added Alto, and Tenor instruments to our study. My daughter found the finger spread on the Aulos Tenor to be a bit too much, so, she ended up with the job of learning new fingerings. We are currently working on Telemann Fantasies. It is a great thing for Dad and daughter to do together. We are really having fun.
Wow it sounds like you’re both making great progress! Must be lovely to have someone to learn with, what a great thing for you to be able to do. Happy practicing to you both!
I bought the soprano first and did not like the shrill sound it'd produce especially when leaking so then I bought the alto. I'd barely learnt a couple of notes on the soprano, so I was as good as a new student on the alto. I loved the sound of the alto. The stretch required was immediately noticeable.
Books that are REALLY REALLY good for the alto recorder are Walter Van Hauwe's and Gudrun Heyens series. Both go into extensive detail on refining your technique. Don't miss out on those classical books if you wanna develop the proper technique.
The point of this comment was and I forgot about it by the end, that I'm gonna have the reverse issue when going to the soprano, but I don't feel like I'd do that for a while now. I just love the alto so much.
@@luckybarrel7829 the Walter van Hauwe books have been recommended to me quite a lot, I really should check them out!
If you’re happy with the alto then there’s no point forcing yourself into soprano for the sake of it- one day you might just feel like giving the soprano another go. I think my ears have got accustomed to the higher soprano by now 😂
the Walter van Hauwe books have been recommended to me quite a lot, I really should check them out!
If you’re happy with the alto then there’s no point forcing yourself into soprano for the sake of it- one day you might just feel like giving the soprano another go. I think my ears have got accustomed to the higher soprano by now 😂
@@ClaythorpeMusic See eventually I wanna acquire that taste
Hey Lauren, as a French-spreaking linguist I had never heard of 'despartie' before today. I did some research on Google and found a hint through the Latin and Romanian languages: It's old French for 'separation/break-up/rupture'.
So I guess this song is all about 'A Hard Break-up' or 'A Hard Goodbye'... Hence the gloomy melody.
Cute accent by the way. Keep up the good work on the alto recorder! 🎶
Well, I am a spanish speaker... but I guess "despartie" (the s is silent) has to be related to "departure" in English...
She really has great potential I'm sure if
she keeps up her playing no doubt she
will become quite proficient
Sounds great to my my untutored ear, great progress.
Loved your ensemble. Harmonies sounded nice
I bought the book from your link. Thanks. I actually had trouble finding a book for the alto so I appreciate it.
Hey just wanted to let you know that
1. Love your videos, they’re loads of fun
2. Woow, you’re a fast learner!!!
3. C’est une dure despartie is (a bit outdatedj French for: “this is a hard (tough) GOODBYE 👋 “
Keep up the musical fun.
Cheers!
Thank you! And thanks for the translation! I’ve been learning French for a few months but haven’t come across ‘dure despartie’ before now- but now I know 🙂
I see this video is a year or so old but I came across your videos only recently. Very interesting for me to watch, as a fellow "for fun only" amateur musician who also can't resist trying new instruments. FYI now you've learnt both the C soprano and the F (treble?) recorder you'd be well placed to have a crack at the clarinet which has three 'registers', the lower one has fingerings very much like the F recorder and the middle register has fingerings like the C recorder. I saw a reasonable "student quality" clarinet in my local charity shop for about £30 and couldn't resist buying and trying it and was pleased to find my old recorder fingerings gave me a head start. Now there's an idea for a future video for you! ;) Thanks for posting your musical instrument videos!
I learnt the fingerings on the alto just by improvising on chord progressions - Only thing, I had to remember it was like playing one fifth apart (i.e.: in C major, I should use the fingerings I'd used to play in G major on a soprano or tenor), but that worked for me. No two brains are alike, thus it might not work as well for other people, but if someone would like to try this method, I very readily share this experience for everyone else to try.
Lovely music you made, thank you. The sound of the 4 recorders was far more pleasing, to me, than the sound of just one.
Wonderful! I learned soprano then tenor and am now working on alto. I use sweet pipes books and enjoy them. This was interesting! Thanks!
Best teacher Claytrope Bravo ! 👏👏👏🙏
Thanks! The Alto book idea is good. I didn’t think of that. 😎🌞
Nice song at the end! thanks
Amazing
What a fantastic video ❤
I've been playing an alto in the same way as a soprano, and now I have a piece that uses both, so I'm going to learn it properly now. 😂
Nicely done
I love this video. You are so funny and entertaining. I love the part where play the 4 different recorders. Brilliant idea.
thank you, my new treble arrived today. I could remember a few bits and pieces, but to be honest its 30 years since i last played at primary school. I've ordered the book and hope to be able to relink sheet music to finger placement and jog a long some old memory systems and play again.
The quartet is impressive. Sounds good.
Love your blouse! The Sasato (Hard Departure) was really awesome! I don’t understand you’re playing an alto using a treble book! Thanks for your help!🙏🙏🙏
Alto IS treble.
Treble is their British name. Americans call them “alto” just as Americans say things like “eighth notes, quarter notes” instead of crotchets, quavers, minims, semibrieves etc
It soubds so beautiful and christmassy.
Great job!
First time I've noticed your channel.
Thanks for this.
I am also new to Treble recorder, and hadn't played Soprano recorder since primary school. But have played oboe for several decades now. Oboe fingering is very similar to Soprano recorder: in C with a 'natural scale' of Dmaj.
(Also bassoon for a few years now.)
Before starting Treble recorder I got confused about how the transposition happens, thinking it might have been more complex, and was relieved to find how simple it actually is: play the notes as written on the stave. I'd thought it might be like eg a b-flat clarinet...
Then I restarted on Soprano, finding the fingering a little cramped, to be honest. Occasionally I confuse the fingerings, but as I'm listening as well as playing I don't do too badly.
Next I realised a childhood dream & started on Cor Anglais❤🎶.
Cor is also in F, but the parts are written transposed, exactly equivalent to oboe parts, except (obvs) that the notes are a fifth lower. I suppose it should be easy for me to put a Treble recorder "head" on and transcribe as I play Cor the way we play on Treble but I haven't dared yet.
I notice the C-F finger stretch more on recorders than on Oboe/Cor... perhaps because there are keys to guide my fingers.
Just to add that I too followed the Recorder from the Beginning book - love its simple effective approach, and have been teaching my wife soprano recorder using the soprano version.
You wondered why it might go out of print... musically there's no way it's going to become out of date, but some of the songs have words that these days make us cringe, e.g. "Indian" not Native American/first nation...
Well done! 👏 👏
P.S. I absolutely love your outfit!
Thank you 😊
You're Chanel is 😎 mam. ')!!! I'm still a beginner on soprano recorder. I'm abit scared to try the Alto I'm not that comfortable yet and quiet nervous about it
I want to share my experience. I am an autodidact recorder. And yes, I cannot read music. I play by ears. I started with Soprano, as most recorder players, I believe. Though Soprano is a C recorder, I am most comfortable playing in F scale. The fingering is easy, too. That's why it feels very natural when I switch to Alto. And I have long fingers which make it easy for the longer reach.
I wish I had known about those books with CDs. The ones I bought had been recommended, but didn't have CDs. Professional musicians who recommend books to beginners (who are also just learning to read music) don't realize how valuable the CDs are because they can sight read and know what the tune is supposed to sound like. I didn't. I could see the beats, but I didn't know what it was really supposed to sound like, which was frustrating. - When I first started the alto/treble recorder, I put away my soprano. I had no confidence that I could learn both C and F fingerings. Eventually, I did take the soprano out again. I found that I had some magical muscle memory for the different fingerings after all. I think it's due to the difference in size. If the soprano and alto recorders were the same size, I would be lost for sure.
Yes! CDs can make all the difference! Can really help everything click together in your head. I know some people see it as cheating, but all part of ear training, I reckon 🙂
I, as you, would not be able to tell, how I make the change from playing the differnt tuned recorders. I just do it "at the . flight". I am 62 years old now. I have played soprano recordeer since I became 17 yerars. Few years after the start I bought an alto recorder and started playing on that. Easy was it. The fingering is the same, if the different does not bother the mind. I almost immediately had the thrill of changing between the recorder types without thinking too much. I usually play by ear. The fingers find their ways. It is amazing, which difference some years of experience can make.
I have played guitars since 1989, mainly the electric. There are lots of enthusiastic players, but sadly, the scene can be highly competitive or even rude, too. The recorder players seem to be far more enthusiastic about the music they play the and the astmosphere is far more supportive and warm.
The four Laurens sound great. (And to be honest, look, too) But listen to Sarah Jeffery. When she plays something similar, her intonation is not like tempered by some digital gadget, either. That't what music sounded like, when the recorder was very popular. (Ahemm.. To be honest, I don't have recorder recordings from baroque era (!), but based on listening to professionals playing that music with epoque instruments.)
Your punctual studying of the method book reminds me to not try to play too difficult compositions. Being able to play 10 easy songs beautifully is far better than playing two difficult ones badly.
I really enjoyed watching this. Too have just got the same book and am working my way through. There are some fun pieces in the book, so far I especially like the Cossack Dance. I have purposely not been playing trying anything else to get my head around the fingering. So far B is a challenge. I can see why they left it a little way into the book.
👏👏 Well played. I started my self learning on the alto using the same book as a starting point. Then bought a yamaha plastic tenor. And went onto learning that. I'm now eagerly awaiting delivery of a mollenhauer canta tenor in pearwood. I find I go through phases of being in tenor mode then alto for a few weeks each time. Swapping from c to f instruments every few days my brain can't cope with. Plus teaching myself bass guitar in between! Next on the shopping list a bass recorder! #selftaughtmusicnutcantstopshopping
Ah I’m some late replying to your comment that I guess you have your Canta by now? Hope you love it!
I have recently retired and have just bought an alto recorder
mostly as I find soprano recorders too cramped
(like keyboards on computers - for my pudgy fingers I need a decent sized keyboard)
so I am taking up where I left off at primary school
My actual plan is to learn the cornett / cornetto / Zink
a renaissance and baroque instrument
which is a tuned horn
so it has fingerings like a recorder
but is sounded like a trumpet
(I was a trumpet player in secondary school)
But I thought I needed to get used to fingerings first.
love your video and playing :) I just got a recording some days ago, my first, and had no clue so I ordered an alto. (because I play alto sax...) pfff that's not easy! I only get squeaks out of it haha... great advise on the book, I just ordered it, maybe that helps :)
I’ve heard alto sax is very tricky! I think I’d better stick to recorders… hope you enjoy yours, and the book!
I had no problem at all. I was able to immediately segue to the alto recorder from the soprano recorder. And why not? They both play in the treble clef and share the same fingering chart. 👍 😊 ♫
They (alto, soprano) have different fingerings?
@@Musicch-gi8ej The fingerings are the same, but you get different notes. For example, when you cover all the wholes in your soprano you get a C5 but on the alto you get F4.
I started on the Alto:-)
Never mind the recorders...great jumper (did you knit it?!) 👍
I don't have big hands and have problem with the F and G hole. Sometimes I can't hit on them accurately leading to squeaky sound.
I starter soprano 2 years ago but found it to small for my big mechanic's hands so I switched to alto and loved the size and tone but didn't love the lack of popular music written in "F". Classics are all well and good but how about The Beatles or some Broadway show tunes? John Denver? Billy Joel? Jigs, reels, hornpipes? NOPE. Not in "F" that I could find. Lacking the ability to transpose (whatever THAT is) I switched to tenor and found a home. I used the "Sweet Pipes" beginner books which look like the same thing only different to the Pitts books. I agree with your technique. I started at the beginning and worked my way through from simple to complex until the light came on in my head and I said "OH! I can read that!" . I just started a ZOOM recorder class so it's only UP UP UP from here. I just found an Irish drinking song called "Mush Mush Mush Too-Ri-Li-Ady" from the movie "The Quiet Man" So much fun to play!
Anyway I love your channel. Looking forward to more good stuff!
correct me if I am wrong but the lowest note on the alto is F ,the recorder itself is not a transposing instrument just that the lowest note you can play on it is F .I find i can play most music on the alto and if the music has middle C then I just use descant fingering and use the alto as a soprano ????????
SUPER EASY TRANSPOSITION
I'll drop any real discussion. It's not hard, really, but this is EZ Transpo:
* Pick up alto (or sopranino).
* Pick up score.
* Play the lowest note (F4, the F above middle C on alto; F5 on s the 'nino).
>>> "I dub thee middle C." Now play the score in a fingering with which you're comfortable.
Yes, it's that simple. Just take your score, take the alto, and treat the low F as a C.
Tres facile, non? Bonne chance!
@@JESL_TheOnlyOne
correcto mi amigo
any tips for playing low C and C sharp on alto and tenor ,been practicing for 2 years and still can not get it right
@@peter3835 I've had a tenor for over a year, one with the keys for C4/C#4. Still working on technique. YT vids and books from Reverb, Amazon...?
Alto isn't keyed, thus easier; for me at least. In general, study technique. I'm a bug about technique, because you have to be able to repeat and reproduce, instantaneously and correctly, on the spot. This is a sine qua non, in my humble opinion.
Basically, I'm a guitarist who can play recorder, harmonica and couple of other things. I taught myself theory and have played in bands and I've been with some good people. I've got a good ear and sense of rhythm.
"85% of playing by ear is knowing your damn theory."
Absolutely. I'm a true player on guitar because I know what's what. *Don't neglect harmony if you study recorder, even though it's not a chording instrument.* Western music IS harmony, it invented it.
Study and practice. Study and practice. Straight ahead.
@@JESL_TheOnlyOne
Thanks for the advice .I am 72 years old in two days and only had a interest in music for the last two years, never played any instrument before . I am retired in Spain now so to fill my time I decided to learn the recorder and (after 4 visits by the local police ) alto and tenor now i have progressed onto the clarinet big mistake but getting there and I have found most people laugh at the recorder but to play correctly it is very demanding anyway thanks for the advice .
I am curious how long it took your hands to get used to stretching to the holes on the alto from the soprano.
Not sure if anyone can help, but I'll ask ... the pieces of my Yamaha (YRA-28B) alto get STUCK and almost seem to FUSE. It's SO difficult to adjust or take apart for cleaning, etc. I've used the lubrication that came with the recorder, I've cleaned it, re-lubricated, but STILL the pieces get stuck. Any tips on how to "loosen" the "grip"? Thanks for any advice.
Wear rubber gloves. I got some "sticky" gardening gloves with fabric backs and keep them beside the recorder.
I somehow thought myself how to transpose from C-Recorders to F-Recorders in such an odd way
I basically make a table like this:
C'=F'
B=E
A=D
G=C
F=B
E=A
D=G
C=F
Then, I just memorise them by playing "hot cross buns" in E-D-C on the soprano recorder and A-G-F on the alto....
~After that, I'll switch from E-D-C to A-G-F on the soprano and vice versa on the alto....
(Since _E-D-C on the alto_ have similar fingerings to _B-A-G on the soprano,_ it kinda helps me to imagine E-D-C as B-A-G)
This method is kinda weird but it works for me. This might not work for some people though😅
Can't get this book in Canada
Hi! I bought a book by Aldo Bova: "24 easy pieces for alto recorder". The pieces are lovely and you can found them played by the author. imo, the best way to switch from one fingering to the other...
Cool.
most fingering on the alto are the same for the descant ie G on the descant is C ON THE alto ? bearing in mind that the descant sounds a octave higher
cool video shows a lot bigger. more of these
It is so beautiful how you play. I am a very old beginner recorder player I find your viedeos so inspiering and helpful. How do you do the playing with yourself part? Is there a special program for this? Now I embarassed myself on you tube, oh well
Thanks for the kind words! I use an app called Acapella to be able to film and play duets etc, it’s quite easy to use but has limitations. The sound recording isn’t the best, so most of the time I record everything separately and then have to sync it all up in iMovie. Acapella is a lot of fun though 🙂
I play recorder and clarinet. It's like your brain just switches between instruments. I'm now learning saxophone.
Wonderful channel! (me elderly guy, beginner in recorders) Do you know the books of Aldo Bova? I follow also his channel, and enjoy it a lot.
Hi Eli I have the book of Aldos "The Alto recorder A comprehensive new method". At the time I bought it he hadn't many videos of the pieces up on youtube but since then there are many more. It's a lot easier and better I think if you can hear how the pieces are meant to sound, good feedback to the learning process. I love Aldos' recodings with Hiro Watanabe. . . so wonderful
@@Jim-iw1yd thank you, I agree that it is nice to hear him play the music!
@@elijaguy I am also a huge fan of Aldo Bova‘s books - and especially of his didacticism! For me one of the quickest ways to progress.
I can't decide between a Yamaha alto and a Aulos alto. Does anyone have any tips?
I prefer Yamahas personally but both makes are good.
I know your comment was a year ago but today I just watched a lady doing a very comprehensive comparison. I'll get you the link.
Hi remember im an ancient beginner and play by ear so alto is only a note down to me from the soprano
I think we all have our own little ways of thinking about things- whatever helps!
I do the change in 1second but i think it's because i started 35 years ago to play 😅
Today, I just started to learn the alto recorder and I can't produce a decent sound 😢
Don’t worry, you only just started! Tone and sound is something that gets better with time, so keep at it and one day not being able to make a decent sound will be a distant memory! Just have fun playing! 👍
AGH! The Yamaha Ecodear alto recorder is out of stock! Nooooooooooooooooo!
The small recorder soprano still the best sound
I have a 211 Recorder on the back thumb hole it say's B is this the key it's it didn't come with the case that the key name on it thanks , Cheers From Canada -Sunny Rhoades and you are Gorgeous and a beautiful Soul im in Love haha.
Nobody writes comments about squirrel, so I will be the first: 5:27 🐿
Squirrel? not seeing it?
@@cathytai Look in the window
Well, this is going to sound strange to you. I just took up the recorder and started to play it. I had no teacher on earth, as I said, on earth. My teacher was and is God. I am doing the same with the piano now.😊 no! I am not an alien, I am 100% human, I think.😅
Yamaha Ecodear is not that good alto. I regretted purchasing mine _(kinda dull and plasticky, unrefined sound)_
Yamaha YRA-314B III is MUCH better choice
The highly contentious and much maligned Ecodear. Might there be a hack to improve the tone? Some cheap recorders , apparently the mouthpiece can come off and pulling it a bit farther out can give a reedier or more husky sound?
Probably more of a gimmick to keep all the must-save-the-planet-environmentalists happy, plastic bad, wood good brigade. A good wood is very expensive and over budget for many. Yamaha on their website talk about their plastics being non-toxic, pthalate-free etc.