Piper's SongbookHow to play Happy Birthday to You on recorder
Happy Birthday to You 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 D E D G F♯.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, low D
- Level
- Both hands
- Time
- 3/4, about 100 beats a minute
- Source
- Melody from "Good Morning to All" by Mildred J. Hill and Patty Hill, 1893
Happy Birthday to You 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
- D D | E D G | F♯
- D D | E D A | G
- D D | D′ B G | F♯ E
- C′ C′ | B G A | 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 Happy Birthday to You
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 third line jumps from low D straight up to high D for "happy birthday dear". Practise just that leap a few times: thumb off for high D, and softer air for the low D before it.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
The melody comes from "Good Morning to All", a classroom song the sisters Mildred and Patty Hill published in 1893. In 2015 a US federal court ruled that the copyright claimed on the birthday words was not valid, and the song is now public domain in the US and the EU.
Questions
Is Happy Birthday to You 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 Happy Birthday to You 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 Good Morning to All (1893) melody, transposed to G. Last checked 6 October 2026.