Piper's SongbookHow to play Morning Has Broken on recorder
Morning Has Broken (the Gaelic tune Bunessan) uses 8 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, high D, F♯, low E, low D, high E and high C♯. The first line goes D F♯ A D′ E′ C♯′ B A. The same tune is used for Bunessan and Child in the Manger.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, high D, F♯, low E, low D, high E, high C♯
- Level
- Thumb pinch
- Time
- 3/4, about 120 beats a minute
- Source
- Scottish Gaelic melody "Bunessan"; words by Eleanor Farjeon, 1931
Morning Has Broken 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
Letters only, for printing or copying
- D F♯ A | D′ | E′ | C♯′ B A
- B | A | D E F♯ | A
- B | A F♯ D | E
- A F♯ A | D′ | B | A F♯ D
- D | E | F♯ E F♯ | A
- B | E F♯ E | 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 Morning Has Broken
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 first line climbs D, F♯, A to high D and high E, two bars of three beats each. Hold them for the full three beats and pinch the thumb for high E. Breathe after the tied low E in line three.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Bunessan is a Gaelic tune from the Scottish islands, named after a village on the Isle of Mull. Before that, hymn books paired it with Mary MacDonald's carol "Child in the Manger". Eleanor Farjeon wrote "Morning Has Broken" to fit it for the 1931 edition of Songs of Praise.
Questions
Is Morning Has Broken 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 Morning Has Broken on recorder?
B, A, high D, F♯, low E, low D, high E and high C♯. 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 Bunessan settings on The Session, compared with Thornton Rose's transcription; in D. Last checked 6 October 2026.