Piper's SongbookHow to play The Star-Spangled Banner on recorder
The Star-Spangled Banner uses 11 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, high E, high G, high F and low C. The first line goes G E C E G C′ E′ D′ C′ E F♯ G.
- Notes
- 11: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, high E, high G, high F, low C
- Level
- Cross fingerings
- Time
- 3/4, about 92 beats a minute
- Source
- Words by Francis Scott Key, 1814; music by John Stafford Smith, "The Anacreontic Song"
The Star-Spangled Banner 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
- G E | C E G | C′ E′ D′ | C′ E F♯ | G
- G G | E′ D′ C′ | B A B | C′ C′ G | E C
- G E | C E G | C′ E′ D′ | C′ E F♯ | G
- G G | E′ D′ C′ | B A B | C′ C′ G | E C
- E′ E′ | E′ F′ G′ | G′ F′ E′ | D′ E′ F′ | F′
- F′ | E′ D′ C′ | B A B | C′ E F♯ | G
- G G | C′ C′ C′ B | A A A | D′ F′ E′ D′ C′ | C′ B
- G G | C′ D′ E′ F′ | G′ C′ D′ | E′ F′ D′ | C′
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 The Star-Spangled Banner
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 tune spans a twelfth, from low C up to high G. For low C, cover every hole including both halves of the two bottom double holes, and blow very softly. Before "the rockets' red glare", practise the climb E, F, G with the thumb pinched, since high F is a cross fingering.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Francis Scott Key wrote the poem on 14 September 1814, after watching the British navy bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore. It was sung to "The Anacreontic Song", which John Stafford Smith wrote for a gentlemen's club in London. Congress made it the national anthem of the United States on 3 March 1931.
Questions
Is The Star-Spangled Banner 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 The Star-Spangled Banner on recorder?
B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low E, high E, high G, high F and low C. 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 1918 Service Version as printed in The One Hundred and One Best Songs (1919) and The Everyday Song Book (1927), compared with a fife setting of Smith's Anacreontic tune; transposed to C. Last checked 6 October 2026.