Piper's SongbookHow to play Humpty Dumpty on recorder
Humpty Dumpty uses 10 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, G, high D, F♯, low E, high E, high G, high C♯ and high F♯. The first line goes F♯ A G B A B C♯′ D′ F♯ A G B A G F♯ E.
- Notes
- 10: B, A, G, high D, F♯, low E, high E, high G, high C♯, high F♯
- Level
- Thumb pinch
- Time
- 6/8, about 116 beats a minute
- Source
- Words printed 1797; tune by James William Elliott, 1870
Humpty Dumpty 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
- F♯ A G B | A B C♯′ D′ | F♯ A G B | A G F♯ E
- F♯ F♯ A G G B | A B C♯′ D′ D′ | F♯′ F♯′ D′ G′ F♯′ | E′ D′ C♯′ D′
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 Humpty Dumpty
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 climbs to high G on "Humpty" and needs the thumb pinch for high F♯, high G and high E: bend your thumb so the nail leaves a narrow crack in the back hole. Take the thumb right off for each high D in between.
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 rhyme was first printed in Samuel Arnold's Juvenile Amusements in 1797, and it was probably first told as a riddle whose answer is an egg. The tune comes from James William Elliott's National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs, published in London in 1870.
Questions
Is Humpty Dumpty easy on recorder?
It suits a player who already knows the notes from low D to high D. It also needs the thumb pinch for the high notes.
What notes do you need for Humpty Dumpty on recorder?
B, A, G, high D, F♯, low E, high E, high G, high C♯ and high F♯. Tap a note to see its fingering on its own page.
Do these fingerings work on a German recorder?
Mostly. F♯ and high F♯ are 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 score on Mama Lisa's World and a MIDI file on Wikimedia Commons, transposed to D. Last checked 6 October 2026.