A Revolutionary New Recorder Course for the Whole Class and Non-Specialist Teacher

RADICAL RECORDERS

Carol Thomas – Ysgol Llandrillo yn Rhos

A revolutionary new recorder course for the whole class - and non-specialist teacher.

Learn and play together confidently with no heavy preparation beforehand!
This first course is based on simple rhythmic notation using only 4 easy-to-read symbols.
O = 1 beat
O = 2 beats
O = 4 beats
sh! [ rest for one beat]

New notes are introduced gradually using a very simple building block system.
Learning really is fun – for mixed ability classes and their teachers.
This course leads to a class playing alongside a pre-recorded performances by an adult recorder consort (in Tudor costume).
Just start at the beginning and work through these easy enjoyable sessions.

Introduce the recorder to the class – from this moment on it will really help the class if the teacher patrols and checks as often as possible.

Give out small sticker dots. Children to write 1 2 3 on stickers and stick them on left hand nails only.

BUILDING BLOCK 1

Place right hand on knee. Place left hand on the top half of the recorder, thumb on the hole at the back. Look at recorder carefully, and place fingers 1 2 3 on first 3 holes.
Make sure each finger is on its own hole – like buttons in the right button holes!

DOS AND DON’TS

DO put your mouthpiece on your bottom lip.
DON’T put it right in your mouth, it’s not a dummy (or a snack!).
DO use your tongue gently for each note, a kind of soft DUH.
DON’T blow as if you’re blowing out candles on a birthday cake!
DO keep your breath going between each note – think of your breath like a washing linewith your tongue making the notes (DUH) like pegs on the line – nice and smooth.
DON’T make each note come out separately like a Dalek speaking!

The teacher should say, “ Long and lonely” (4 beats) each time before the children play, so that they can keep together.
Leave your thumb covering the hole at the back.
Put finger 1 over the first hole, now gently tongue DUH DUH DUH DUH Remember, nice and smooth.
Add 2 over the second hole DUH DUH DUH DUH. Remember, all play at the same time.
Add 3 over the third hole DUH DUH DUH DUH Remember, nice and smooth, all together.

STEP BY STEP 1.

You might notice that the recorder WOBBLES as you play!
Leave your left hand at the top, thumb underneath.
Put your right thumb underneath the lower part of the recorder.
Put your little finger on the first ridge to balance your recorder.

Step by Step 2

After that, play Step by Step 3 (page 3) in the same way.
Then you will find lots of rhythm games to help you get even better.
Now put your rhythm practice to the test with more playing fun.

BUILDING BLOCK II

Take 3 more stickers and write 4 5 6 on each one.
Put the stickers on the nails of your right hand as shown.
Keep your little finger on the ridge to balance the recorder.
Practise putting down 4 5 6 and lifting up 4 5 6
You may find that notes 5 and 6 are harder to play, here’s a little tip – lift up the end of your recorder and tuck in your chin, then tongue very gently – TUBES UP CHINS DOWN!

NEW GAME

All 6 fingers on recorder – recorder on chin.
Teacher to call out one number from 1 to 6 – all children to lift that finger up and down quickly several times.
On to another number – repeat as above.

BRACE YOURSELVES!

Try it with 2 numbers at the same time.
Imagine that both the fingers that you lift are joined together invisibly!
Try 1 and 2, 5 and 6 [consecutive numbers are easier to begin with]
Now try doing it not looking down at your fingers.
Now try it with your eyes closed.
Try looking at your next door neighbour’s fingers.
Now – the hardest ever – random pairs of numbers, eg. 1 and 5, 2 and 6 etc.

BUILDING BLOCK III

Slap down two together – play from sheets 1,2 and 3 (pages12 13 and 14).
All mixed up – two worksheets using all the notes you’ve learnt so far (pages 15 and 16).

GETTING READY TO PLAY WARUM WITH SYRINX

There are two music sheets, one for descants/tenors and one for trebles.
First things first – let’s look at the counting.

Remember - O = one two

= sh! (let your teacher say it and you think it silently)

O = long and lonely

O = one

Now count the descant/tenor part and the treble part.
Exciting bit now! – try counting both parts together – after the teacher counts –“long and lonely”
This is it now! – playing the parts. First the descant/tenor part, then trebles, then all together – after “long and lonely” from the teacher.
It might help if the teacher counts, or claps, or beats a drum while the children are playing, to keep everybody together.

REMEMBER

Gentle tongue
Tubes up, chins down for notes 5 and 6!
Nice and smooth.
If you would like your performance to sound extra-special, try playing the O notes (one beat) very short and choppy so it will sound like this:

O O O O O O

SMOOTH SHORT SHORT SMOOTH SHORT SHORT

Are you ready to play Radical Recorders along with Syrinx? – GO!

READY TO PERFORM ENGLISH DANCE WITH SYRINX?

There are two music sheets, one for descants/tenors, one for trebles.
The counting is even more important in this piece, so switch those counting brains on and go through it lots of times - remember, practice makes perfect, especially as this piece is quite fast!

The music is in sections (A – H). It will really help you if you count through each section with descant/tenors, then trebles, then all together, before moving on to the next section.

REMEMBER EVERYBODY, Sh! At the beginning – listen and count (the music Syrinx is playing will help tell you when to begin).

Now play through both parts together before joining in with Syrinx.

Syrinx will play English Dance quite slowly for the first time. Play it at this speed to start off with to get used to it, then listen to the piece at the correct speed and join in when you’re ready.

The music gets more and more exciting so keep listening and counting as you play. Don’t forget the bit at the very end – play the O (one) notes short and choppy if you can, like you did in Warum.

Enjoy playing these pieces – they have been played and enjoyed since around the year 1500 – and the recorder has been around since even before that, so you are now part of music history!

Here are some links to some other useful websites.

Interactive

Scores