Piper's SongbookHow to play Good King Wenceslas on recorder
Good King Wenceslas uses 8 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E and low D. The first line goes G G G A G G D E D E F♯ G G. The same tune is used for Tempus adest floridum.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, low D
- Level
- Both hands
- Time
- 4/4, about 112 beats a minute
- Source
- Spring carol "Tempus adest floridum", Piae Cantiones, 1582; words by John Mason Neale, 1853
Good King Wenceslas 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
Line 3
Line 4
Letters only, for printing or copying
- G G G A | G G D | E D E F♯ | G G
- G G G A | G G D | E D E F♯ | G G
- D′ C′ B A | B A G | E D E F♯ | G G
- D D E F♯ | G G A | D′ C′ B A | G C′ | 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 Good King Wenceslas
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
The last line starts on low D and climbs to A, then jumps up to high D. From A to high D, lift the thumb and the left first finger together and leave the middle finger down. The final bar leaps from G up to C and back, so move only the left first and third fingers there.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
John Mason Neale wrote the words in 1853 to fit "Tempus adest floridum", a spring carol that he and Thomas Helmore found in Piae Cantiones, a Finnish songbook printed in 1582. The king is Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, who died in 935.
Questions
Is Good King Wenceslas 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 Good King Wenceslas 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 Paul Hardy's Christmas tunebook against John Chambers' Christmas ABC collection, in G. Last checked 6 October 2026.