Ensemble Playing for Recorder Consorts
Essential tips to sound better together
Adapted from my articles in American Recorder, Vol. LXV, No. 3 and 4 (Fall and Winter 2024)
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)
