Ensemble Playing for Recorder Consorts
Essential tips to sound better together
Playing in an ensemble is one of the quickest routes to joy—and to an almost infinite repertoire. If you don’t have a coach (or even if you do), use this guide to build a solid foundation, play in sync, tune beautifully, and shape music together.
Here’s a quick overview of the main aspects we’ll cover:
The Step-by-Step Essentials for ensemble playing
Set posture & mindset
Decide who cues
Seat yourselves well
Prepare your part at home
Starting together & choosing tempo
Tempo & rhythm: getting in sync
Tuning together (SATB)
Shape your sound by instrument size
Add ornamentation wisely
Rehearse without a coach
Now let’s take a closer look at each of these points.
1) Set your personal foundation
Posture: head over heart over pelvis. Sitting? Perch toward the front on your sit bones.
Relaxation: tension blocks awareness. Human tempo breathes—if you’re loose, you’ll follow and lead naturally.
Breath support: take a few slow, long breaths before you play and make sure you’re not lifting your shoulders.
Mindset: listening is as important as playing. Blend your sound into the group—think conversation, not monologue.
2) Who guides the group?
Default rule: whoever has the first entrance cues the starts and cutoffs (not always the top line).
Homophony: one leader can steer; but you can also experiment with “moving as one” without a single leader.
Cadential/ritardando moments: if one part has the moving figure while others sustain, follow that part; they will cue the cutoff.
Polyphony: entrances are distributed; leadership passes around. Sit with the score, map the imitations/motives, and decide who leads where.
3) Setup & rehearsal habits
Seating for hearing/blend: a (semi)circle helps everyone hear each other.
Renaissance/Baroque: try putting the bass in the middle (historical practice); higher parts toward the outside.
Later music: SATB blocks can help you hear your neighbors.
Try options; keep what works for the piece.
At home: memorize small fragments of your line; it boosts confidence and frees your ears in rehearsal.
If it’s vocal music: sing or recite your line; place breaths by the text’s commas/periods.
Score vs parts: study the full score to know who’s doing what and when; rehearse on parts to cultivate real listening.
Targeted practice: don’t always run top-to-tail. Mark problem spots and isolate them.
4) Starting together & choosing a tempo
Before you begin: breathe, hear the tempo internally, then commit.
How to pick a tempo:
Fastest notes must be comfortable. Don’t start faster than your cleanest fast passage.
If it’s a dance: pick a tempo one could truly dance to (on YouTube, step videos exist of historical dances).
Expressivity: choose a tempo where the piece can breathe and speak.
Harmony pace: if chords change often, a slightly slower tempo usually helps clarity.
5) Tempo & rhythm: getting in sync
Group first: staying together matters more than individual tempo ideas.
Fix tricky rhythms (together):
Hear your line internally.
Clap or vocalize rhythms (Kodály/Takadimi help).
Finger silently the passage, no blowing.
Play pizzicato/short—any misalignment will become obvious.
Metronome, wisely: shape the music first without it; later, spot-check to catch unconscious rushing/dragging and decide if it’s musical or not.
Read ahead: at least two bars.
Feet: don’t foot-tap (it can lock you out of the ensemble); if you must, micro-move a toe inside the shoe.
Posture check: stay relaxed, buoyant, eyes up for cues.
6) Finding your sound: balance & role by size
Bass: think of playing like a bassoon/cello—line connected, clearer articulation (between T and D) to avoid “mumbling”.
Tenor: also needs more articulation than alto (but less than bass) so it doesn’t blur in the texture.
Alto: middle glue—usually neutral articulation, supportive blend.
Soprano: float above; gentle articulation in stepwise lines; control its sound to blend with the rest of the ensemble.
Goal: not “soprano solo + accompaniment” but equal, independent voices—especially in polyphony.
Always aim for the center of the tone with steady air. In consort you’ll hear yourself less; resist the urge to overblow—you’re part of one larger instrument.
7) Tuning together (SATB): practical method
Step A — Choose a low anchor
In every ensemble, there’s usually one wooden instrument that tends to sit a bit low. Use that as your tuning reference. The others can lower themselves (by pulling out the headjoint slightly), but you can’t raise the naturally low one.
Step B — Tune families first
C instruments: C basses, tenors, sopranos
F/G instruments: basses, altos
First tune octaves within each family.
Then tune 5ths/4ths across pairs (bass ↔ tenor, alto ↔ soprano).
Step C — Use stable notes
Fingerings 0123 or 012 are most stable (C/D on F instrument; A/G on C instrument).
One player holds steady; the other adjusts.
If you’re blowing hard to match, your partner should pull out. If you’re barely blowing and sharp, you pull out.
Step D — Bridge families
Tune octaves or 5ths with stable notes (e.g., C on alto with G on soprano).
Step E — Tune chords from the piece
Always check the final chord + a few cadences.
Exercise — the Renaissance major third:
Two players hold a major third (e.g., C–E). The upper voice gradually lowers its pitch until you hear a difference tone (about two octaves below one of the notes). That’s the sweet spot for a held major third if you want to approach original meantone temperament.
A (very) short tour of temperaments
Medieval (Pythagorean): pure 5ths → very wide major 3rds (consonance = 5ths/4ths).
Renaissance (Meantone): small major 3rds are the stars; 5ths slightly narrow. Those small 3rds produce gorgeous combination tones.
On recorders this often aligns with natural tendencies (e.g. F♯ tends to be a bit low; also B on soprano and E on alto).
Baroque well-tempered temperaments (Vallotti, Werckmeister): less extreme, usable in many keys (as shown by the Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach in all 24 major and minor tonalities).
Apps: tuners can help—choose ones with historical temperaments (e.g., Cleartune, RTTA Tuner). Use them, but also train your ears.
8) Ornamentation together
Baroque: mostly trills (at cadences or on passing tones). Even if written, there’s room for more—but coordinate:
Agree on appoggiatura length
Agree on trill speed/shape
Agree on release/turn so that your trills line up.
Renaissance: use diminutions, not trills.
Decide who ornaments where to avoid clashes.
In solo music you can ornament freely; in ensemble, keep it lighter so the texture stays clear.
(For a complete guide to diminutions, see the dedicated article.)
9) Rehearsing without a coach
Plan before you play:
Context: time/place; style basics.
Form/motives: where motives first appear, return, or transform; where the piece builds; where it climaxes; how tonality shifts; where silences speak.
Tempo: decide, test, adjust.
Tuning: check opening and ending chords.
Action: go for it.
Rehearsal culture: create an atmosphere where everyone can suggest ideas, take small risks, and listen closely to one another—while keeping the process enjoyable.
10) Quick checklist
Here’s a summary to keep in mind when you play together:
Posture relaxed; breathe before starting.
Decide leader(s) for starts/cadences; eye contact.
Pick a tempo that fits fastest notes / dance feel / harmony pace.
Fix rhythm spots: clap → silent finger → pizzicato → together with/without click.
Read ahead two bars; no foot-tapping anchor.
Balance way of playing by size (bass supports/articulates; soprano floats/controls).
Tune: families → fifths/octaves → chords from piece.
Ornaments: coordinate trills; plan diminutions.
Record, listen, adjust. Enjoy the music.
And that’s it: a compact guide you can print out or jot down to keep next to your music so the details we’ve explored turn into habits.
Music & Tools
Renaissance sources (free choral originals): CPDL/ChoralWiki – cpdl.org
Facsimiles & treatises: IMSLP – imslp.org
Tuning app with temperaments: Cleartune (iOS) / Nova Tuner (iOS) / Pano Tuner (Android) and additionally RTTA Tuner (iOS) / Tunable (iOS and Android)
On combination tones: Wikipedia “Combination tone” (helpful primer)
