How to play Mary Had a Little Lamb on the recorder

The American nursery rhyme from the 1830s, about a lamb that follows Mary to school. It adds high D to the first three notes. It uses 4 notes: G, A, B and high D. Below are the notes with their rhythm, and the fingering for each one.

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The notes

BAGABBBAAABD'D'BAGABBBBAABAG

Longer blocks are longer notes; a line marks every four beats.

The notes as letters

B A G A B B B A A A B D' D' B A G A B B B B A A B A G

C' and D' are the high C and high D. All for a soprano (descant) recorder, with baroque (English) fingering.

Fingerings

Thumb hole covered, holes 1 2 3 covered

Thumb hole covered, holes 1 2 covered

Thumb hole covered, holes 1 covered

high D

Thumb hole open, holes 2 covered

Filled holes are covered. The left hand is on top (thumb behind, holes 1–3), the right hand below (holes 4–7).

Tips

Say "doo" into the recorder for each note: the tongue starts every note, so repeated notes sound separate.
Blow gently, like cooling soup. Too much air makes a squeak an octave up.
Cover the holes with the soft pads of your fingers, not the tips, so no air leaks out.
High D has the thumb hole open and only hole 2 covered: just your left middle finger holds it.

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How to play Mary Had a Little Lamb on the recorder

The notes

The notes as letters

Fingerings

Tips

More recorder songs