July 2026

If you're new to playing the alto recorder, you may wonder what others mean when they talk about playing alto "up an octave" (from what is written on the page), a term often shortened to "alto up". Playing a part "alto up" on an alto recorder will make the notes sound an octave higher than they appear on the page. This is a term we frequently use when playing editions of Renaissance music and vocal music in general as the alto line for this music is written where we can sing it.

Another term related to how we see alto recorder parts written is "alto at pitch". Here, playing a part "alto at pitch" on an alto recorder will sound at the same pitch as notated. This is the standard alto notation.

**Your standard alto recorder method books, alto anthology books, and Baroque and later repertoire for alto recorder are written "alto at pitch", although you will not find that terminology as it is not really necessary. It is just nomenclature used on occasion to differentiate it from "alto up" parts.

What confuses matters further is both "alto up" and "alto at pitch" will sound the same when we play them! The difference is how the notes look on the page. The whys of this conundrum are what I hope to address as simply as possible in this article.

Let's start with an illustration to make the difference more clear.

Example 1: This is an example of "Alto Up" because the alto part is written down an octave from where the alto recorder sounds and where players traditionally play the opening note D - fingered with your Thumb - 1 - 2.

Example 1 is typical of a traditional score for voices or undefined instruments (the lines are labeled for the sizes of recorders here, but they would not be in a general transcription/edition of this Mass). Because this is a transcription of a Renaissance piece, it is standard to see the alto voice written in this octave, which is where it would be written to be sung. Alto recorder players, when playing from these types of transcriptions are expected to read this "alto up" notation, which, in actuality, is an octave down from where alto players are used to reading - it just sounds up an octave, hence the name "alto up" (confusing, right?).

Example 2: This is an example of "Alto at Pitch" because the alto part is written in the octave where the alto recorder sounds and where players traditionally play the opening note D - fingered with your Thumb - 1 -2 (played same as above).

Example 2 is typical of a score specifically arranged for recorder players. It puts the alto line in the range the alto recorder players are used to reading. But, most editions of Renaissance music are not made specifically for recorder players, so there's no guarantee that the alto part will be "at pitch" (in the octave you are used to).

Some editors will make editions of Renaissance pieces that will have 2 alto parts - one that leaves the alto line in the lower octave where it would have been traditionally sung or played on other instruments, or as "alto up" on an alto recorder; and another that takes the part up an octave and labels that part "alto recorder at pitch". If that happens, consider yourself lucky!

Why do alto recorder players deal with this complication?

When music is notated specifically for recorders, where each line of a score spells out which size recorder is intended, then most often, the alto line is "at pitch" and you can read the the alto line with ease. This is most often the case for music in the Baroque era and later where the alto recorder is notated "at pitch".

But, we rely on many sources of music to expand our repertoire; and playing Renaissance music (and earlier), much of which is vocal music, vocal music in general, and music written for other instruments, puts us playing in the voice ranges or the ranges of other instruments. Therefore, we must learn to read the notes an octave lower than the alto recorder sounds or players are used to seeing on the page - and this is the source of the term "alto up an octave" or "alto up".

Renaissance and Vocal Music

Alto recorder players playing an alto voice part, for example, sound an octave higher than the alto singers performing the same music. And the same goes for the rest of the recorders.

Four-part vocal music is frequently notated with the three top lines in treble clef and the bass line in bass clef, as in the musical examples above. The tenor line is normally notated with a tiny '8' at the bottom of the clef sign to distinguish it from the soprano line, and the tenor voice sings an octave lower than what is written on the page; but the music is easier to read on the staff, so they notate it on the staff line in treble clef.

Example 3: A general vocal score (SATB, AATB) will use the following clefs:

Playing vocal scores on recorders works well as we also have SATB instruments, but the ranges our instruments sound in differ by an octave.

• The soprano recorder sounds an octave higher than is written, but we don't rewrite that part because it would sit well above the staff and involve many ledger lines.
• As stated above, the alto recorder also plays an octave above what is written on the page when playing from Renaissance music or vocal scores. Because we want to just play from the already-written/published vocal scores, alto recorder players need to learn to read "alto up an octave".
• The tenor recorder plays "at pitch" what is written on the page on a vocal score (but remember, this is an octave above where it would sound if a tenor voice would be singing it). We still see the '8' used for tenor recorder parts, but this is to differentiate it from the soprano part. It doesn't sound an octave lower than what is on the page, despite the use of that '8'.
• The bass recorder also sounds an octave higher than what is written on the page. But again, we don't adjust where we write it because we don't want to write a lot of ledger lines that are difficult to read.

We can play SATB scores, it will just sound an octave higher than where it would be sung.

Don't let the 8s or the octaves the recorders sound in confuse you - it all works out nicely, as long as the alto recorder players can learn to play the music that is written an octave lower ("alto up" parts)!

Why should you learn to play the alto up an octave?

Simplest answer: to expand your repertoire and sight-reading skills.

Learning to play the alto both "at pitch" and "alto up" are valuable skills for alto players. If you play in a recorder ensemble, attend workshops, attend ARS chapter meetings, or play in a recorder orchestra, you may be called upon to read a part written either way. You'll have greater flexibility in sight-reading situations if you can look at the alto line of music and figure out which octave is appropriate in relation to the other lines of the score.

Another example of using your "alto up" skills: If you encounter a line of music intended for soprano, but find that most of the notes lie fairly low in the soprano range, then opting to play "alto up" on that line will put you in a more comfortable playing range, and your sound may blend better with the other voices.

Learning "Alto Up"

The good news is that most of the music for "alto up" parts lies in the range of an octave and a 6th (for alto recorder - F3 to D5; sometimes extends to Eb/E5 - see Example 4 for this range; I am using the American Standard Pitch Notation System, for the numbers next to the letters - you can click on the link for further explanation). It's a matter of adjusting your center of thinking to what is the lowest note of your instrument as portrayed on the page, and what the most common notes are. When learning while reading a piece written in "alto up", focus on a few common notes first, like A3 (the A below middle C) and C4 (middle C) and ground yourself with those; then add another few new notes - perhaps G4 (the G above middle C); A4, C5 (the 3rd-space C), etc. Step-wise passages will be easier to learn at first than leaps. Find the leaps and practice them independently. Take it in steps, and soon, you'll be a pro at reading alto parts in either octave!

Example 4: Common range for "Alto Up" parts:

This article was intended to treat the subject of playing “alto up” at a fairly basic level. The ARS has published other ARS NOVA pieces to help you determine how to assign parts to different recorders or to other instruments. For example, Emily O’Brien tackled the subject of Playing Recorder Consort Music with Other Instruments. Eric Haas wrote What’s the Right Size Recorder for This Part?  James Chaudoir wrote Which Octave Should I Play - Clefs and Transposition. These articles can be found in the ARS NOVA e-mag archive on the ARS website. 

Jennifer Carpenter is a professional recorder player and teacher and also the Marketing Director for the ARS. She also served on the Board for the ARS from 2012-2020. And a special thanks to Ruth Seib who contributed the music scores for Taverner's Western Wynde Mass.