Playing the Bass Recorder / Das Spiel auf der Bassblockflote

Designed for people who already play a smaller recorder, this method allows you to start from the beginning with the bass and progress quickly. It is also a great way for people who already play some bass recorder to further build their skills in a structured way.

It starts with 5 notes in the first lesson (C, D, E, F, G, and the standard alternates for E and G) and uses both treble and bass clef notation for the bass recorder. When you play treble-clef music on bass recorder, you are essentially "thinking alto," and this can help make for a smooth transition between playing alto and playing bass.

(Those who do not already play alto recorder or read bass clef may wish to avoid the treble clef exercises at the beginning until they are comfortable in bass clef, and then return to the treble exercises to build their treble reading.)

Helmut Monkemeyer includes short technical exercises and musical examples from the late Medieval to the mid-20th century, including excerpts from actual bass recorder solo literature, and bass parts from recorder ensembles. There are numerous duets, consisting of one bass part and one part for another recorder, with SATB all represented as the second instrument at some point.

The fingering chart is a separate sheet, with the trill fingering chart on the back, for easy reference.

The introduction and instructional/explanatory text are printed in parallel German, English, and French.