Lesson 49: Extended Range — G5 and A5

Sustain G5 and A5 with a steady tone and centred pitch.
Sustain C5 and D5 (on your alto staff — the alto's reading of soprano G5 and A5) with a steady tone and centred pitch.
Move between F#5 and the new notes without the tone breaking.

The recorder gets quieter as it climbs. Trying to make it louder is the fastest way to lose it.

F#5 was the top of the diatonic first octave you have been playing for forty-odd lessons. Above it, G5 and A5 are the next two notes a Baroque player meets — they finish the second octave's scalewise content. Both depend on a precise thumb half-hole and on a slightly cooler, faster air stream. Forcing the air will push them sharp or crack them into the harmonic; whispering the air keeps them centred.

On your alto staff, the notes above your F5 (the alto's reading of soprano B5) are C5 and D5 — the natural continuation of the second octave. The fingerings are identical to the soprano's G5 and A5; only the staff names differ. Both depend on a precise thumb half-hole and on a slightly cooler, faster air stream. Forcing the air will push them sharp or crack them into the harmonic; whispering the air keeps them centred.

G5

C5 (on your alto staff)

Thumb cracked just open (the half-hole), left index UP, left middle and ring DOWN; right index DOWN, the rest UP. The thumb half-hole is the entire technique — too closed and the note flips to G4; too open and the pitch goes sharp.

A5

D5 (on your alto staff)

Thumb half-hole, left index UP, left middle DOWN, ring UP, all right-hand fingers UP. The thinner fingering is unstable until your thumb half-hole is reliable; that is why we spent time on G5 first.

Thumb half-hole, left index UP, left middle DOWN, ring UP, all right-hand fingers UP. The thinner fingering is unstable until your thumb half-hole is reliable; that is why we spent time on the lower of the two new notes first.

Four whole notes. Listen for centred pitch — if the note drifts sharp, ease the air; if it cracks down, close the thumb a hair.

Same again on A5. The note is even more dependent on a steady thumb — do not let the right hand grip.

Three-note stepwise climb. The hardest spot is the F#–G transition: F# is a cross-fingering, G5 needs the half-hole opened. Move the fingers and the thumb together.

Three-note stepwise climb on your alto staff (the alto's reading of soprano F#5 to A5). The hardest spot is the first transition: a cross-fingering note moving into the half-hole register. Move the fingers and the thumb together.

A six-note scale fragment that lives entirely in the upper register. Use one breath per direction; do not let the volume fall as the pitch rises.

A six-note scale fragment that lives entirely in the upper register of your alto staff. Use one breath per direction; do not let the volume fall as the pitch rises.

Play: a Vivaldi-style passage

A short virtuoso passage in the manner of Vivaldi's recorder concerti, sitting on the new notes. Play it three times: once slow, once at moderate tempo, once at concert tempo. The goal is the pitch staying centred at every speed.

Now play these

Vivaldi: Concerto in F major, RV 442 (Allegro non molto): The solo line lives in the new range. Practise the high passages slow before bringing them to tempo.
Vivaldi: Concerto in C major, RV 443 (Largo): A slower Vivaldi movement that gives you time to settle each high note before moving on.
Handel: Sonata in G minor, HWV 360 (Andante): The Andante touches G5 only briefly — one chance per phrase to land cleanly.

When G5 and A5 each speak cleanly on the first attempt, three times in a row, and the F#–G–A climb in the second drill is even at quarter = 80, move on to Lesson 50.

When the two new notes on your alto staff each speak cleanly on the first attempt, three times in a row, and the upper climb in the second drill is even at quarter = 80, move on to Lesson 50.

Note cracking back down an octave? Almost always the thumb. See troubleshooting.