Recorder Medium

Happy Birthday to You Recorder Notes

Letters and fingering pictures for soprano recorder, with the words under each note. Starts D D E D G F♯.

Key
G major
Range
D4–D5
Length
25 notes
Melody
1893, public domain

The notes and words

Key: G major (the original key).

DHap-DpyEbirth-DdayGtoF♯you,

DHap-DpyEbirth-DdayAtoGyou,

DHap-DpyDbirth-Bday,GdearF♯(name),

ECHap-CpyBbirth-GdayAtoGyou.

Baroque (English) fingering: filled = covered, open = open, half = cover the small hole only. Chart from the American Recorder Society.
  • Dcovered: thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
  • Ecovered: thumb, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • F♯covered: thumb, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
  • Gcovered: thumb, 1, 2, 3
  • Acovered: thumb, 1, 2
  • Bcovered: thumb, 1
  • Ccovered: thumb, 2
  • Dcovered: 2
70%

Staff notation

Play-along guide: the melody played by your browser’s recorder sound. The lit note follows the music. Print large notes

About this song

Melody
Mildred J. Hill (1859–1916), 1893
Words
Traditional, 1911 (first verse shown)
Public domain
Melody 1893, words 1911: first published before 1931.
Source
“Good Morning to All”, in Song Stories for the Kindergarten (Clayton F. Summy, 1893), scans on IMSLP (1893)
Words source
Words first printed with the tune in The Elementary Worker and His Work (1911); Marya v. Warner/Chappell (C.D. Cal. 2015) found no valid copyright in them, and the 2016 settlement ended in a judgment that the song is public domain

More kids’ songs on recorder

  1. Hot Cross BunsG major, G4–B4 · “Hot cross buns, One a pen-…”Easy
  2. Mary Had a Little LambF major, F4–C5 · “Mary had a little…”Easy
  3. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little StarF major, F4–D5 · “Twinkle, twinkle, little…”Easy
  4. Jolly Old Saint NicholasB♭ major, D4–D5 · “Jolly old Saint Nicho-…”Medium
  5. Brahms’ Lullaby (Wiegenlied)D major, D4–D5Medium
  6. Yankee DoodleB♭ major, D4–E♭5 · “Fath'r and I went down…”Medium

All 8 kids’ songs on recorder