Treble Recorder Top D

[princessmoose]

It's quite problematic, doesn't sound too easy, I can go higher fairly easily, is this an argh note in general?

Also the second Folk Song in Amazing Sols on the last line it was an F flat to E quavers, they're the same note are they not ?

[anacrusis]

yep, it's the first note where your left thumb really starts to matter. Some players have a tiny wedge of thumb still in the edge of the hole to half-hole it, others "pinch" using the thumbnail as an edge in the hole. I use the latter, but over time it can wear the hole down - you have to keep that nail pretty short. Mr Everingham on the Saunders recorders site has a photo of what a properly pared thumbnail should look like. I keep a file in my recorder bag - but careful. Over-trimming will splat all the top notes too.
Try doing slow C-D-C-D in that octave, then A-Bb-C-D, bottom to top each time. Then C-D-Bb-D-A-D. It does come right eventually, then the next note to get really steamed up over is top F. It's a killer.

[princessmoose]

Thanks . F is dodgy sometimes, but D is more problematic.

[anacrusis]

Really? Gosh, that must be an instrument thing, 'cos it's always been the F which has floored me. Wore the thumbhole down really badly and was convinced I was never going to be able to learn the recorder, until I got the instrument serviced - they bushed the thumbhole and slipped a sneaky bit of plastic into the head, and now top F is pretty OK.

Have just spent a lesson trying to help my pupil get her top Ds too. Her Handel sonata has the perfect set of combinations to help her - scaley bits, and jumping bits.

[princessmoose]

I adjusted my thumb hole thing slightly and I noticed an improvement so I guess it just needs getting used to.

[anacrusis]

the other thing is not being afraid to push up the breath pressure, but I guess you would be good at that anyway because of the sax and clarinet.

I've noticed that the top notes all go woolly in wet weather- that's when I have the biggest problems with top Fs and Ds. My teacher gets the same problem, and he's a reeeeaaalllly good player, so that makes me feel better about it.

[neilclarinet]

I can do top F fine most of the time. As I have never had lessons from a recorder specialist I can only go by what people tell me and what I read in books. I saw that picture on the Dolmetsch site of the thumb position, will look again. When I started I ended up simply slipping the thumb down so the top left of the hole is open. That wasn't very good, and I'm now trying sliding the thumb away from the far side slightly and sometimes turning it inwards a little.

The problem is I know no recorder specialist within reaching distance of me, which is really what I need.