Piper's SongbookHow to play Bridal Chorus on recorder
Bridal Chorus (from Lohengrin) uses 8 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E and low D. The first line goes D G G G D A F♯ G D G C′ C′ B A G F♯ G A. The same tune is used for Here Comes the Bride.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, low D
- Level
- Both hands
- Time
- 4/4, about 80 beats a minute
- Source
- Richard Wagner, Lohengrin, act 3, first staged 1850
Bridal Chorus recorder notes with letters
Each box is one note, with its fingering underneath: filled holes are covered, a half-filled hole is half covered or pinched. Wider boxes are longer notes. A ′ mark means the higher octave, so D′ is high D. Bar lines are drawn as thin rules.
Line 1
Line 2
Letters only, for printing or copying
- D | G G G D | A F♯ G D | G C′ C′ B A G | F♯ G A
- D | G G G D | A F♯ G D | G B D′ B G E | A B G
Sheet music
Written pitch for soprano recorder, which sounds an octave higher. Press play to hear it on a recorder sound; the slow setting plays at 60% speed.
Fingerings for the notes in Bridal Chorus
Hole 0 is the thumb hole on the back. Holes 1 to 3 are for the left hand, 4 to 7 for the right. These are Baroque (English) fingerings.
How to practise it
Every bar starts with a dotted pair: make the first note long and the second very short, as in "Here comes". The pickup is low D, with every hole covered except the right little finger's double hole. The second line touches high D and dips to low E near the end.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Wagner wrote this chorus for act 3 of his opera Lohengrin, first staged in Weimar in 1850. In the opera it is sung after the wedding, as the couple is led to the bridal chamber. It became popular at weddings after the Princess Royal used it at her wedding in 1858.
Questions
Is Bridal Chorus easy on recorder?
It is a good second or third tune. Both hands play, and the low notes need gentle air.
What notes do you need for Bridal Chorus on recorder?
B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E and low D. Tap a note to see its fingering on its own page.
Do these fingerings work on a German recorder?
Mostly. F♯ is fingered differently on a German recorder; the diagrams above are Baroque, and the linked note pages show both. A recorder whose hole 4 is smaller than hole 5 is Baroque.
More recorder songs
Notes checked against the top line of a piano MIDI sequence (midiworld.com) checked against the standard chorus melody, transposed from B♭ to G. No second public domain score was available to compare. Last checked 6 October 2026.