Alto Recorder

Students who reach the "Black Belt" or mastery of the soprano recorder have the option of continuing on with even more difficult soprano recorder pieces or learning a new instrument, the alto recorder. The alto recorder is a larger version of the recorder and has a slightly lower range. Since the alto recorder is not pitched in the key of C like the soprano, students are required to learn new fingerings for pitches they read from the treble clef staff. Most of the playing techniques required to master the soprano recorder, like consistent breath support and articulation still apply.

Stay tuned for samples and play-along links for those studying or just want to hear the alto recorder.

Recorder Karate

Here at Walker, one of the ways we're learning how to read music is by playing and sight-reading with the recorder. One of the series of songs the third, fourth, and fifth grades are learning is called "Recorder Karate." "Recorder Karate" is a set of nine folk songs that are learned in an order of increasing difficulty. Each song, depending on how challenging it is, is given a "belt" designation. The least challenging song earns a "white belt," the next earns a "yellow belt," and so on until the player reaches mastery by playing and passing the "black belt" song with a rubric score of 4 or 5.

Students can practice or listen to some of our "Recorder Karate" songs by clicking on the link to the "Recorder Karate Dojo" below:

Recorder Karate Dojo - Streaming Audio for practice http://www.musick8.com/rkdojo/rksounds.php

Have fun! Practice, practice, practice!