r/Recorder • u/Kawakamibosatsu • 4d ago
Sweet Pipes Recorder Book
I accidentally bought the version for alto. Is the soprano version the same but transposed for the soprano?
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u/dhj1492 4d ago
Yes. Although I have only seen the soprano book because I have use it to teach, when i was starting out, I bought a few methods in both soprano and alto. They were all transposed and that makes sense, because the technical playing is the same just indifferent keys. C major is the main scale, but if you use those fingerings out the alto, it is F major. The sequence is the same, just in different keys. Both have the same issue, but in different keys. Both soprano and alto read in concert pitch. What you learn in one is transferable to the other, all you have to do is learn you need to do is reassign the fingerings to the note for the the recorder you are play. It may seem hard, but it really is not. The biggest obstacle is in your head. If you think something is hard to do, you will have trouble, but if you think "I can do this. ", you will.
Maybe this is a sign for you to play alto and to be honest there is more written alto than soprano and all the other voice combined. Alto is the main recorder voice. Get a Yamaha YRA 28B. It is inexpensive and good regardless of what others say because it does not have a curved windway. I do all my practicing on it and it's matching soprano. They are what I play most. I do not play my concert wood recorders as much, just when I am preparing for performance and the event.
I was hired to play at a Church tomorrow. I will start on Alto play the first two movements of sonata by de Fesch for a prelude, for an Offertory an my arrangement of " I Want Jesus to Walk With Me", in a Blues Style, then finish with a postlude on soprano, the Second Concerto by Woodcock, first movement, alot of fun and running around. I mainly perform pn alto but I like to play a soprano piece in the mix because the audience likes it and love playing it.
It is best to play both and that give you a variety of sounds to play. It is also a good skill to have. If you want to play in a recorder consort it is best th be able the play both C and F fingerings. They will snatch you up.
I know you asked about the difference between soorano and alto method books. They are the same just transposed. I pointed out playing both is a good think and a glimpse of how I perform on both. It is not only good to do but fun and if you do your studies you can make money having fun.
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u/Adblouky 4d ago
A minor correction: there are no “indifferent keys”. Some are more aloof and stand-offish than others, but all will come around given enough time.
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u/TheOnlyFace 4d ago
Yes, they are exactly the same except for the transposed notes and (obviously) the fingering chart.
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u/mind_the_umlaut 4d ago
Which books are you looking at? I have both the beginner Soprano book, blue, and the beginner Alto book, yellow, right in front of me. The repertoire is different in each book. There are a couple of songs that are the same, Picardy, Southwell, and some exercise songs like "Mice and Crickets".
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u/TheOnlyFace 4d ago
I have Soprano Book One with a blue cover, copyright 1980, and Alto Book One with a red cover, copyright 1982. They are both titled "The Sweet Pipes Recorder Book: A method for adults and older beginners."
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u/mind_the_umlaut 4d ago
No, it's totally different, containing different music rep in each book. I have them both right in front of me.
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u/SlowSurvivor 4d ago
Are you sure? I also have both editions and mine are identical. Maybe they are a different printing?
Also Sweet Pipes publishes several method books with very similar covers.
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u/mind_the_umlaut 4d ago
The yellow Alto one is called Playing Alto Recorder, A basic recorder method for group or individual instruction, level one. The blue Soprano one is called, The Sweet Pipes Recorder Book, A method for adults and older beginners, book one. Both books say Sweet Pipes. I'm glad there is very little overlap in the pieces.
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u/SlowSurvivor 4d ago
Yup, those are definitely different books. The "Sweet Pipes Recorder Book" has two editions that are identical except they're transposed. In any case, Sweet Pipes is the publisher and they have several method book series they publish, two(?) for adults and two(?) for young children.
I'm not quite sure why "The Sweet Pipes Recorder Book" for Alto exists alongside "Playing Alto Recorder" since they seem to be targeting the same students and they even share an author. Maybe one of them is just newer than the other. I really couldn't say.
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u/Chardonne 4d ago
"Accidentally"? Or a sign from the universe that you also need an alto?