Easy Songs To Play On The Recorder

The recorder is a simple and enjoyable instrument to learn. For many people (including myself), their first instrument in grade school served as an excellent introduction to the larger music world.

It’s a monophonic (one note at a time) instrument, so it’s a little limited in what it can do, but you can play almost any melody you want. Yes, even your favorite pop songs may be recreated with surprising accuracy and fun on the recorder.

In this tutorial, we’ll look at a variety of easy recorder songs to play on the recorder – many of them are suitable for youngsters or for Christmas.

“Hot Cross Buns” by Eliphalet Oram Lyte

If you’re just getting started on the recorder, “Hot Cross Buns,” originally an English street scream by Eliphalet Oram Lyte, is an excellent place to start.

This tune, which was eventually adapted into a nursery rhyme to play by kids recorder, only has eight bars of melody. The melody is straightforward, with the first two bars alternating between two notes. On the other hand, its most complex form only vaguely resembles present equivalents.

The song’s most basic (and widely recognized) version contains three notes. That is another reason why total novices should begin their recorder journey here. It’s as much an exercise as a song, and it teaches you a lot about notes and melodies. Explore what this song can teach you if you start on the recorder.

“Oh! Susanna” by Stephen Foster

“Oh! Susanna” by Stephen Foster is the epitome of bluegrass/country music, and the lyrics provide a complete picture. It is one of the most popular American songs of all time, and legends such as Bing Crosby (though Crosby seems to have taken too much of the music included in this guide) and James Taylor have performed their versions of it.

This song has an easy-to-replicate “rise and fall” melody pattern. Some note durations may throw you off at first, but once you’ve internalized the melody, this should be no problem. If you’re unsure, listen to the music several times, and you’ll get the feel of it.

And, if you get stuck, concentrate on playing the right notes before focusing on the rhythm. Once you’ve mastered the melody, the rhythmic parts will become second nature.

“Jingle Bells” by James Lord Pierpont

Christmas music is an excellent place to start if you’re ever stuck for easy tunes to perform on the recorder. As you’ll see from this collection, Christmas songs are usually simple, and studying them may teach you a lot about playing the recorder (or any instrument for that matter). After all, the melody is one of the three building blocks of music.

Whether you believe it or not, “Jingle Bells” is one of the world’s most popular and well-known Christmas songs. And it wasn’t even intended to be a Christmas tune! Sometime between the 1860s and the 1970s, it became inextricably linked with the holiday season, and some would argue for the better.

“Jingle Bells” is not only taught as a beginner recorder song, but it also occurs in beginner guitar manuals because of its simple melody. Other instrumentalists may discover the same thing with their approach books.