Editing Recorder (musical instrument) (section)

==Technique==
Although the design of the recorder has changed over its 700-year history, notably in fingering and bore profile (see History), the technique of playing recorders of different sizes and periods is much the same. Indeed, much of what is known about the technique of playing the recorder is derived from historical treatises and manuals dating from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The following describes the commonalities of recorder technique across all time periods.

=== Playing position ===
[[File:FolleJournée2009 altorecorder.jpg|thumb|left|A musician playing a recorder]]

In normal playing position, the recorder is held with both hands, covering the fingerholes or depressing the keys with the pads of the fingers: four fingers on the lower hand, and the index, middle and ring fingers and thumb on the upper hand. In standard modern practice, the right hand is the lower hand, while the left hand is the upper hand, although this was not standardised before the modern revival of the recorder.

The recorder is supported by the lips, which loosely seal around the beak of the instrument, the thumb of the lower hand, and, depending on the note fingered, by the other fingers and the upper thumb. A practice documented in many historical fingering charts is the use of finger seven or eight to support the recorder when playing notes for which the coverage of this hole negligibly affects the sounding pitch (e.g. notes with many holes uncovered). Larger recorders may have a thumb rest, or a neck strap for extra support, and may use a bocal to direct air from the player's mouth to the windway.

Recorders are typically held at an angle between vertical and horizontal, the attitude depending on the size and weight of the recorder, and personal preference.

=== Fingers ===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
|+How the fingers and holes are numbered
! Fingers!! Holes
|-
| [[File:NumberedLeftHand.jpg|200px]]<br />[[File:NumberedRightHand.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:Numbered finger holes.jpg|thumb|upright]]
|}
[[File:Hotteterre flute-a-bec frag.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a man playing a recorder, from Jacques Hotteterre, ''Principes de la Flute Traversiere, de la Flute a Bec, et du Haut-bois'', 1707]]

Pitches are produced on the recorder by covering the holes while blowing into the instrument. Modern terminology refers to the holes on the front of the instrument using the numbers 1 through 7, starting with the hole closest to the beak, with the thumbhole numbered hole 0. At the most basic level, the fingering technique of the recorder involves the sequential uncovering of the holes from lowest to highest (i.e., uncovering 7, then uncovering 7 and 6, then uncovering 7, 6 and 5, etc.) producing even higher pitches. In practice, however, the uncovering of the holes is not strictly sequential, and the half covering or uncovering of holes is an essential part of recorder technique.

==== Forked fingerings ====
A forked fingering is a fingering in which an open hole has covered holes below it: fingerings for which the uncovering of the holes is not sequential. For example, the fingering 0123 (G<sub>5</sub>) is not a forked fingering, while 0123 56 (F{{Music|#}}<sub>5</sub>) is a forked fingering because the open hole 4 has holes covered below it{{Snd}} holes 5 and 6. Forked fingerings allow for smaller adjustments in pitch than the sequential uncovering of holes alone would allow. For example, at the same air speed the fingering 0123 5 sounds higher than 01234 but lower than 0123. Many standard recorder fingerings are forked fingerings. Forked fingerings may also be used to produce microtonal variations in pitch.

Forked fingerings have a different harmonic profile from non-forked fingerings, and are generally regarded as having a weaker sound. Forked fingerings that have a different tone color or are slightly sharp or flat can provide so-called "alternate fingerings". For example, the fingering 0123 has a slightly sharper forked variant 012 4567.

==== Partial covering of holes ====
Partial covering of the holes is an essential part of the playing technique of all recorders. This is variously known as "leaking", "shading", "half-holing", and in the context of the thumb hole, "pinching".

The primary function of the thumbhole is to serve as an octaving vent. When it is leaked, the first mode of vibration of the air column becomes unstable: i.e., the register changes. In most recorders, this is required for the playing of every note higher than a ninth above the lowest note. The player must adjust the position of the thumb for these notes to sound stable and in tune.

The partial opening of the thumbhole may be achieved by sliding or rolling the thumb off the hole, or by bending the thumb at the first knuckle. To partially uncover a covered hole, the player may slide the finger off the hole, bend or roll the finger away from the hole, gently lift the finger from the hole, or a combination of these. To partially cover an open hole, the reverse is possible.

Generally speaking, the partial opening of covered fingerholes raises the pitch of the sounding note while the partial closure of open fingerholes lowers the pitch.

==== Holes 6 and 7 ====
On most "baroque" modelled modern recorders, the lower two fingers of the lower hand actually cover two holes each (called "double holes"). Whereas on the vast majority of baroque recorders and all earlier recorders these two fingers covered a single hole ("single holes"), double holes have become standard for baroque modelled modern recorders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dolmetsch.com/fingerings.htm|title=Recorder Fingerings|website=www.dolmetsch.com|access-date=4 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304133127/http://www.dolmetsch.com/fingerings.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> By covering one or both of these two, smaller holes, a recorder player can play the notes a semitone above the lowest note and a minor third above the lowest note, notes that are possible on single holed recorders only through the partial covering of those holes, or the covering of the bell.

==== Covering the bell ====
The open end of the bore facing away from the player (the "bell") may be covered to produce extra notes or effects. Because both hands are typically engaged in holding the recorder or covering the finger holes, the covering of the bell is normally achieved by bringing the end of the recorder in contact with the leg or knee, typically achieved through a combination of bending of the torso and/or raising of the knee. Alternatively, in rare cases instruments may be equipped with a key designed to cover the bell ("bell key"), operated by one of the fingers, typically the pinky finger of the upper hand, which is not normally used to cover a hole. Fingerings with a covered bell extend the recorder's chromatic playable range above and below the nominal fingered range.

=== Air ===
The pitch and volume of the recorder sound are influenced by the speed of the air travelling through the windway, which may be controlled by varying the breath pressure and the shape of the vocal tract. The sound is also affected by the turbulence of the air entering the recorder. Generally speaking, faster air in the windway produces a higher pitch. Thus blowing harder causes a note to sound sharp whereas blowing the note gently causes it to sound flat. Knowledge of this fact and the recorder's individual tonal differences over its full range will help recorders play in tune with other instruments by knowing which notes will need slightly more or less air to stay in tune. As mentioned above at ''Harmonic profile'', blowing much harder can result in [[overblowing]].

==== Breath ====
The technique of inhalation and exhalation for the recorder differs from that of many other wind instruments in that the recorder requires very little air pressure to produce a sound, unlike reed or brasswind instruments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.recorderhomepage.net/technique/breathing-2/|title=Breathing {{!}} Recorder Home Page|website=www.recorderhomepage.net|language=en-us|access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref> Thus, it is often necessary for a recorder player to produce long, controlled streams of air at a very low pressure. Recorder breathing technique focuses on the controlled release of air rather than on maintaining diaphragmatic pressure.

==== Tongue, mouth and throat ====
The use of the tongue to stop and start the air is called "articulation". In this capacity, the tongue has two basic functions: to control the start of the note (the attack) and the end, or the length of the note (legato, staccato). Articulations are roughly analogous to [[consonant]]s. Practically any consonant that may be produced with the tongue, mouth, and throat may be used to articulate on the recorder. Transliterations of common articulation patterns include "du du du du" (using the tip of the tongue, "single tonguing"), "du gu du gu" (alternating between the tip and the back of the tongue, "double tonguing"), and "du g'll du g'll" (articulation with the tip and the sides of the tongue, "triple tonguing"). The attack of the note is governed by such factors as the pressure buildup behind the tongue and shape of the articulant, while the length of the note governed by the stoppage of the air by the tongue. Each articulation pattern has a different natural pattern of attack and length, and recorder technique seeks to produce a wide variety of lengths and attacks using these articulation patterns. Patterns such as these have been used since at least the time of Ganassi (1535).

Mouth and throat shapes are roughly analogous to [[vowel]]s. The shape of the vocal tract affects the velocity and turbulence of the air entering the recorder. The shape of the mouth and vocal tract is closely related to the consonant used to articulate.

=== Coordination ===
The player must coordinate fingers and tongue to align articulations with finger movements. In normal play, articulated attacks should align with the proper fingering, even in legato passages or in difficult finger transitions and the fingers move in the brief silence between the notes (silence d'articulation) created by the stoppage of the air by the tongue.

Both fingers and the breath can be used to control the pitch of the recorder. Coordinating the two is essential to playing the recorder in tune and with a variety of dynamics and timbres. On an elementary level, breath pressure and fingerings must accord with each other to provide an in-tune pitch. As an example of a more advanced form of coordination, a gradual increase in breath pressure combined with the shading of holes, when properly coordinated, results in an increase in volume and change in tone color without a change in pitch. The reverse is possible, decreasing breath pressure and gradually lifting fingers.

===<span class="anchor" id="Fingering"></span>Basic fingering===
{{See also|Fingering (music)}}

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="35" |Recorder fingerings (English): Lowest note through the nominal range of 2 octaves and a sixth<ref>[https://www.dolmetsch.com/efingeringchart.pdf "Baroque/English Recorder Fingering Chart"], Dolmetsch</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" | Note
! colspan="10" style="background:#f8eaba;" | First octave
|&nbsp;
! colspan="10" style="background:#f8eaba;" | Second octave
|&nbsp;
! colspan="11" style="background:#f8eaba;" | Third octave
|-
! Tuned<ref group=n>See the section [[#Types of recorder|Types of recorder]] concerning recorders in C or in F.</ref><br />in F
! Tuned<br />in C
! Hole<br />0
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />1
! Hole<br />2
! Hole<br />3
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />4
! Hole<br />5
! Hole<br />6
! Hole<br />7
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />0
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />1
! Hole<br />2
! Hole<br />3
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />4
! Hole<br />5
! Hole<br />6
! Hole<br />7
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />0
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />1
! Hole<br />2
! Hole<br />3
!&nbsp;
! Hole<br />4
! Hole<br />5
! Hole<br />6
! Hole<br />7
!End hole<br />8
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| F
| C
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
|
| ○
| ●
| ○
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ○
| ○
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
| ○
|○
|- style="text-align:center;"
| F{{Music|#}}/G{{Music|b}}
| C{{Music|#}}/D{{Music|b}}
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
| ◐
|
| ○
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
|◐
|
|●
|○
|●
|
|●
|○
|●
|●
|●
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| G
| D
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ○
|
| ○
| ●
| ○
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ○
| ●
|
| ●
| ○
| ●
| ●<ref group=n>Some recorders may need this hole closed (●), half closed (◐), or open (○) to play the note in tune.</ref>
|○
|- style="text-align:center;"
| G{{Music|#}}/A{{Music|b}}
| D{{Music|#}}/E{{Music|b}}
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ◐
| ○
|
| ○
|
| ○
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
|◐
|
|○
|●
|●
|
|○
|●
|●
|○
|○
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| A
| E
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
| ○
|
|◐
|
|○
|●
|●
|
|○
|●
|●
|○
|●
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| A{{Music|#}}/B{{Music|b}}
| F
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ○
| ●
| ●
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ●
| ○
| ●
| ○
|
|◐
|
|●
|●
|○
|
|●
|●
|○
|○
|●
|- style="text-align:center;"
| B
| F{{Music|#}}/G{{Music|b}}
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ○
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ○
| ●
| ○
| ○
|
|◐
|
|●
|●
|○
|
|●
|●
|○
|○
|○
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| C
| G
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
|◐
|
|●
|○
|○
|
|●
|○
|○
|○
|○
|- style="text-align:center;"
| C{{Music|#}}/D{{Music|b}}
| G{{Music|#}}/A{{Music|b}}
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ●
| ●
| ◐
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ●
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
|◐
|
|●
|○
|●
|
|○
|○
|●
|●
|●
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| D
| A
| ●
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
|◐
|
|●
|○
|●
|
|○
|●
|○
|○
|○
|- style="text-align:center;"
| D{{Music|#}}/E{{Music|b}}
| A{{Music|#}}/B{{Music|b}}
| ●
|
| ●
| ○
| ●
|
| ●
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ●
| ●
| ●
| ○
|- style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"
| E
| B
| ●
|
| ●
| ○
| ○
|
| ○
| ○
| ○
| ○
|
| ◐
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
|
| ●
| ●
| ○
| ○
|}
● means to cover the hole. ○ means to uncover the hole. ◐ means half-cover.
<references group=n />

The range of a modern "baroque" model recorder is usually considered two [[octave]]s and a tone. See the table above for "English" fingerings for the standard range. The numbers at the top correspond to the fingers and the holes on the recorder. The vast majority of recorders manufactured today are designed to play using these fingerings, with slight variations. Nonetheless, recorder fingerings vary widely between models and are mutable even for a single recorder: recorder players may use three or more fingerings for the same note along with partial covering of the holes to achieve proper intonation, in coordination with the breath or in faster passages where some fingerings are unavailable. This chart is a general guide, but by no means a definitive or complete fingering chart for the recorder, an impossible task. Rather, it is the basis for a much more complex fingering system, which is still being added to today.

Some [[font]]s show miniature glyphs of complete recorder fingering charts in [[TrueType]] format.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fontspace.com/algomgom/recorder|title=Recorder font by algomgom|website=FontSpace|date=20 February 2012}}</ref> Because there are no [[Unicode]] values for complete recorder fingering charts, these fonts are custom encoded.