Piper's SongbookHow to play F on recorder
Cover the thumb hole. Cover holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7. Leave hole 5 open.
F is written in the bottom space of the staff. The fingering shown is for a soprano (descant) recorder with Baroque fingering.
Which finger goes where
| Hole | Finger | For F |
|---|---|---|
| Thumb hole (back) | left thumb | covered |
| Hole 1 | left index finger | covered |
| Hole 2 | left middle finger | covered |
| Hole 3 | left ring finger | covered |
| Hole 4 | right index finger | covered |
| Hole 5 | right middle finger | open |
| Hole 6 | right ring finger | covered |
| Hole 7 | right little finger | covered |
Tips for a clean F
On a Baroque recorder F is a cross fingering: hole 5 stays open while holes 6 and 7 are covered. On a German recorder it is a straight run of holes 1 to 4 covered. If F sounds sharp, out of tune or squeaks on your recorder, you probably have the other system.
F on a German recorder
Cover the thumb hole. Cover holes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Leave holes 5, 6 and 7 open.
On a German recorder hole 5 is smaller than hole 4. If yours is the other way round, use the Baroque fingering above.
Songs that use F
Learned before it: high C♯ · Next note to learn: low C♯ · Half step down: low E · Half step up: F♯ · Full fingering chart