Piper's SongbookHow to play Home on the Range on recorder
Home on the Range 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 G A B G F♯ E C′ C′ C′ B C′.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, low D
- Level
- Both hands
- Time
- 3/4, about 120 beats a minute
- Source
- Words by Brewster M. Higley, about 1872; music by Daniel E. Kelley
Home on the Range 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
Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8
Letters only, for printing or copying
- D | D G A | B G F♯ | E C′ C′ | C′ B C′
- D′ G G | G F♯ G | A (rest)
- D | D G A | B G F♯ | E C′ C′ | C′ C′ C′
- B A G | F♯ G A | G (rest)
- D′ | C′ B A | B (rest) D D
- G G G | G F♯ G | A (rest)
- D | D G A | B G F♯ | E C′ C′ | C′ C′ C′
- B A G | F♯ 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 Home on the Range
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 bar of each verse line drops from low E up to high C, a jump of six notes. Lift your left index and ring fingers and both right-hand fingers at once, leaving only the thumb and left middle finger down.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Brewster Higley wrote the words as the poem "My Western Home" in Smith County, Kansas, in the early 1870s, and his friend Daniel E. Kelley set it to music. Cowboys spread it across the West, and Kansas made it the state song in 1947.
Questions
Is Home on the Range 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 Home on the Range 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 musicaviva ABC transcription and the note names on True Piano Lessons, in G. Last checked 6 October 2026.