Reference

Every lesson on this site links here for the cross-cutting advice that would otherwise repeat in fifty places: what to do when a note squeaks, how to spend a half-hour of practice, how to learn a piece you have never seen, and how to prepare for the day you play it for someone else.

Troubleshooting

When something sounds wrong, the cause is almost always one of the following. Work down the list before changing anything else.

Squeaky or shrill

You are blowing too hard. Whisper the air; do not blow it. The recorder is a low-pressure instrument — high notes need only a little more support, never force.

Airy or fuzzy

One of your holes is leaking. Press the flat pads of your fingers, not the tips, against the wood and feel for a slight ring around each hole. The thumb hole leaks most often.

Wrong pitch on a covered note

A finger that looks down is actually lifted a millimetre. Check the third finger on each hand — it slips first.

Sound cracks when you change notes

Your fingers are not moving together. Lift and place groups of fingers as a unit, with the tongue articulating the new note at the moment of arrival.

Tone gets stuffy as you play

Moisture has gathered in the windway. Cover the window with one finger and blow firmly to clear it. If that fails, swab.

Tired lips after a few minutes

You are biting the mouthpiece. Let it rest gently between your lips with the teeth apart. Embouchure should be relaxed.

High notes refuse to speak

The thumb hole is fully closed when it should be half-vented for the upper register. Bend the thumb slightly and roll it down so the nail edge cracks the hole open.

Daily practice

A useful session is short, focused, and ends before you are tired. Twenty minutes a day will move you forward; an hour every Sunday will not. The shape below works for any level.

Warm-up · 3 minutes

Long tones on three or four notes you know well. Listen for steadiness of pitch and volume. No music in front of you.

Today's lesson · 8 minutes

The drill or new technique from the lesson you are currently on. Slow tempo, repeat the difficult bar in isolation, then re-attach it to the surrounding music.

One piece you are learning · 6 minutes

One piece — not three. Pick the hardest two bars, fix them, and only then play the piece through.

One piece you already know · 3 minutes

Play it for enjoyment. End the session on a sound you are proud of.

Learning a piece

Reading through a piece at tempo five times is not practice — it is repetition of mistakes. Use the sequence below.

1. Scan first. Find the key signature, time signature, repeats, and any unfamiliar notes. Mark breath points with a pencil.
2. Walk the rhythms. Clap or count the piece without the recorder. If a bar refuses to make sense, write the beat numbers under each note.
3. Slow play, two bars at a time. Tempo at half speed. Stop at the end of two bars, fix anything that was not clean, then play those two bars again.
4. Chain. When two bars are clean, add the next two. Then play four-bar chunks. Only after each chunk is clean do you connect them.
5. Hardest bar first. Find the bar you fail most often. Practise it in isolation more than any other bar. The rest will fall into place.
6. Bring up to tempo. Raise tempo in steps of five or ten BPM. If a step fails, drop back, secure it, and rise again.
7. Play through. Only at the end. Once. Then put it down.

Preparing to perform

Playing for someone is a different skill from playing alone, and the only way to learn it is to do it. The advice below assumes you already know the piece — preparation here is for the act of performing, not the act of learning.

The week before

• Play the piece through, start to finish, without stopping for any reason — once a day. Mistakes are part of the run; do not restart.
• Record one of those run-throughs and listen to it. Notes you did not know you played will surprise you.
• Play for one person — anyone — at least twice during the week. A friend on a video call counts.

The day of

• Warm up gently, not exhaustively. Long tones, a familiar piece, then stop.
• Bring the music even if you have it memorised. Knowing it is there relaxes you.
• Arrive early enough to be settled before you play.

The moment before

• Breathe out fully, then in, then begin. Do not start on a held-in breath.
• Hear the first bar in your head before you sound the first note. Tempo is set internally, not by the room.

If something goes wrong

• Keep going. The audience hears the music, not the score.
• Do not visibly react. A frown costs you more than a wrong note.
• If you lose your place, jump to the next phrase boundary — the start of the next musical idea — and pick up there.