Piper's SongbookHow to play Morning Mood on recorder
Morning Mood (the main theme) uses 8 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, F♯, low E, low D, high C♯, G♯ and B♭. The first line goes A F♯ E D E F♯ A F♯ E D E F♯ E F♯ A F♯ A B F♯ B A F♯ E D. The same tune is used for Morning.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, F♯, low E, low D, high C♯, G♯, B♭
- Level
- Cross fingerings
- Time
- 6/8, about 96 beats a minute
- Source
- Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt, Op. 23, 1875; first piece of Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Morning Mood 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
- A F♯ E D E F♯ | A F♯ E D E F♯ E F♯ | A F♯ A B F♯ B | A F♯ E D (rest)
- A F♯ E D E F♯ | A F♯ E D E F♯ E F♯ | A F♯ A B F♯ B | C♯′ B♭ G♯ F♯
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 Mood
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 second bar of each line ends with four quick notes: E, F♯, E, F♯. Going from low E to F♯ lifts your right index finger while the right ring finger goes down, so practise that swap on its own. The last bar of the second line moves into a new key with high C♯, A♯ (B♭ fingering) and G♯.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Grieg wrote Morning Mood in 1875 as part of his music for Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. It plays at sunrise in act 4, when Peer is stranded in the Moroccan desert. In the orchestra the tune passes from the flute to the oboe.
Questions
Is Morning Mood easy on recorder?
It is an intermediate piece. It uses cross fingerings or half holes, so learn those notes on their own first.
What notes do you need for Morning Mood on recorder?
B, A, F♯, low E, low D, high C♯, G♯ and B♭. Tap a note to see its fingering on its own page.
Do these fingerings work on a German recorder?
Mostly. F♯ and B♭ 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 flute and oboe parts in an orchestral MIDI sequence (midiworld.com) and the theme excerpt in the Wikimedia Commons book of Romantic orchestral themes, transposed from E to D. Last checked 6 October 2026.