Tenor Recorder: G4–G5 and the Thumb Vent

By Tissimo Team

Published October 29, 2026 · Updated November 5, 2026

Play your comfortable lower G on your tenor recorder. Keep the same three front holes covered and look at the upper G on the page. For this particular octave pair, the fingering chart changes the thumb state while the front pattern stays put. Your next task is to recognize that change before trying to make it sound.

This lesson assumes a Baroque-system tenor in C, a reliable lower G, and a teacher who can demonstrate the upper response. You will read two pitches, compare two maps, and practice short routes with recovery rests. The Two Gs, One Front Pattern handout keeps those references together.

1. Confirm tenor in C and the Baroque system

Write “tenor in C; Baroque system” at the top of your practice page. Here, “in C” identifies the recorder family by its lowest standard note, C4; it does not mean every piece you play must be in C major. Ask your teacher to confirm both details for your instrument. A chart heading matters: Yamaha's fingering resource separates recorder sizes and systems, and its recorder page begins with an alto chart. Check the heading before following any dots.

Here, C4 means middle C, and every note shows the tenor's actual sounding pitch. Dolmetsch's glossary identifies the tenor as a C recorder written in treble clef at sounding pitch. Our lower target is G4; the upper is G5. The octave number belongs to the pitch name, helping you distinguish two notes that share the letter G.

Sounding tenor pitches G4 and G5, one octave apart. G4 is on the second line; G5 is in the space above the staff. No octave bracket is used.

Find G4 on the second staff line from the bottom. G5 sits in the space immediately above the top line. Use The Staff & the Treble Clef if those locations need a refresher. Point to each target and say its full name before handling the recorder. You can complete this reading check silently.

No octave bracket changes these examples. Octave Signs: 8va & 8vb explains what such brackets would ask you to do; keep that as a separate reading skill. In this lesson, read the printed positions directly. The two pitches are already one octave, or twelve semitones, apart.

G4–G5 in bar 1, then G5–G4 in bar 2; G5 repeats across the bar line. A half note has a hollow head and a stem. Its vertical position identifies which G to read.

Read the four half notes aloud: G4, G5, G5, G4. Notice the repeated upper pitch in the middle. A row containing two possible notes need not alternate them. That observation will matter when you choose thumb states from an unlabeled route later.

Now point to upper G5 first, then lower G4. Keep your answer independent of the stem direction: the notehead's position identifies the pitch. Both targets in the preceding music example have hollow heads and stems because they are half notes. Their shared duration does not make them the same pitch.

2. Give the thumb and front holes separate names

Use 0 for the left thumb hole on the back. Number the front positions 1–7 from the mouthpiece toward the foot. Positions 1, 2, and 3 use the left index, middle, and ring fingers. Positions 4, 5, 6, and 7 use the right index, middle, ring, and little fingers. Dolmetsch's recorder method spells out this numbering convention.

Rear thumb 0 is shown separately from front positions 1–7. Filled positions 1–3 are closed; 4–7 are open. Each numbered position represents its complete hole unit, including paired openings.

Our diagram separates the rear thumb from the front strip so you can compare them easily. It is a map of states, with one circle for each numbered front position. Where an instrument has paired lower openings, that simplified circle represents the numbered position as a unit. These maps do not show physical distances or prescribe a hand stretch.

Read the legend every time you meet an unfamiliar chart. Here, a filled circle means closed, an empty circle means open, and a filled thumb circle with a white arc means vented. The American Recorder Society's chart page supplies a soprano/tenor reference and links several other chart systems. Their symbols can differ while describing the same fingering task.

For today's two targets, say the front pattern once: “1, 2, 3 closed; 4, 5, 6, 7 open.” Compare those seven positions on the Two Gs handout. Then compare the thumb separately. This order makes an accidental front-finger change easier to spot.

Both maps keep front holes 1–3 closed and 4–7 open. Only thumb 0 changes. Filled = closed. Empty = open. White arc = vented; the symbol does not specify the opening size.

Ask your teacher to check your normal support while the lower front positions are open. A fingering map tells you which holes are covered; it leaves out the rest of the holding arrangement. Keep the comfortable setup you already use for lower G while your teacher demonstrates the thumb change.

Try a silent comparison with the page on the stand. Point first to 0, then sweep down the seven front positions without touching the instrument. Have your teacher name one of the two pitches while you select its map. Switch roles and explain your choice. You should be able to state both the thumb difference and the front pattern that remains unchanged.

3. Read lower G4 with the thumb closed

For G4, close 0 and front holes 1–3; leave front positions 4–7 open. In our shorthand, “0/123” separates the thumb from the closed front positions. The omitted front positions remain open. Moeck's Baroque tenor chart provides an instrument-specific check on this lower-G pattern.

Start with the sound you already know. Read G4, select the closed-thumb map, and play one comfortable lower note for your teacher. If that starting note is uncertain today, stay with the lower baseline. The later comparison is easier to assess when both of you agree on the starting sound.

G4 for two beats, followed by a two-beat half rest, twice. The closed-thumb state remains the same for both targets.

Each bar gives you a half note on beats 1–2 and a half rest on beats 3–4. Start on 1, continue through 2, and stop when 3 begins. Keep counting through the silence. The half note shows the hollow head and stem and its two-count duration in these quarter-note-beat examples.

Play the second bar as a fresh attempt at the same target. During the rest, look ahead, say “G4, closed,” and check the familiar setup. Repeating one note lets you check the reading and timing without introducing an upper-register attempt. If lower G is uncertain, pause here and ask your teacher to check it before adding G5.

Now cover the label below the figure and identify the note again. Use its staff position, then choose the thumb state. If you remember “closed” but cannot identify G4, return to The Staff & the Treble Clef before continuing. Reading the pitch is part of this task.

Keep two uses of the word “open” separate while reading. A half note has a hollow head and a stem; an empty circle in our hole map describes a fingering state. The hollow half-note head for lower G does not tell you to open the thumb. Read the score for pitch and duration, then consult the map for hole coverage.

4. Read upper G5 with the thumb vented

For G5, retain front holes 1–3 closed and 4–7 open, and select the vented thumb state. Compare the upper and lower G columns in the Baroque tenor chart. The front pattern matches. The thumb symbol changes. This is the specific pair we are learning, rather than a rule for every recorder octave.

A vent is a small opening left at the thumb hole while the thumb still covers part of it. That leak helps weaken the lower resonance and lets the recorder respond in its second register. For this pair, the result is upper G5 with the same front-hole pattern as G4. The vent helps the register change; the symbol alone does not guarantee the sounding result. Joe Wolfe explains the register-hole mechanism on page 54.

G5 for two beats, followed by a two-beat half rest, twice. Use the vented thumb state and keep front holes 1–3 closed and 4–7 open.

Before playing this upper-target line, have your teacher demonstrate G5 on the recorder you are using. Point to the space above the staff, then to its thumb map. The Two Gs handout prints the same pitch-to-state comparison, with a reminder to confirm fingering and comfortable reach with your teacher.

Vented does not mean a measured 50% opening. Moeck's legend describes partial coverage; Dolmetsch's chart uses a pinched-thumb category. PlayRecorder's thumb-technique guidance explicitly warns that “half thumb” describes a much smaller opening than the name suggests. Let your teacher show the actual movement and opening for this instrument.

The white arc is a reading symbol shared with the companion sheets. It does not measure a thumb movement. Follow the demonstrated movement while keeping the front-hole pattern available for comparison.

After each two-beat G5 attempt, honor the two-beat rest. If the response is uncertain, stop the route and ask your teacher to listen. You can still identify the written target correctly while the physical response needs work. Keep those two observations separate when you describe the attempt.

If your teacher asks you to demonstrate only the preparation, leave out the sounding attempt. Name G5, indicate the vented symbol, and identify the front positions that should retain their states. That is a complete chart-reading response. Add the sounding note when the teacher has checked the setup and demonstrated what you are trying to hear.

5. Compare the maps before changing the sound

Trace both maps from 1 down to 7. Say “same” at each position. Then compare 0 and say “closed to vented.” This deliberate paper check identifies the intended fingering difference before sound production adds another variable. The thumb-state exercise gives you matching tasks and two printed thumb-label errors to repair.

Identify the pitch, select one of the two reference maps, then check the sounding response with your teacher.

A correct pitch name, a correct state choice, and a successful sounding response are three useful observations. You might name G5 correctly and choose its map, yet hear lower G. Record that result accurately. It gives your teacher a concrete attempt to inspect without undoing the reading work you completed.

Avoid turning “higher note” into a general instruction to blow harder. This lesson supplies no breath-force recipe. Ask for the teacher's demonstrated upper-G response, including whatever coordinated adjustments they prescribe. An unexpectedly high or unstable sound alone does not prove that the intended fingering and response are secure.

Two of these four printed thumb labels disagree with their notes. Find and correct them before reading the answer below.

Check the four printed labels against the notes. Target 1 is G4 with “closed,” so it agrees. Target 2 is G5 with “closed,” so change that label to “vented.” Target 3 already agrees. Target 4 is G4 with “vented,” so change it to “closed.” Front holes remain fixed throughout this paper exercise.

Those are this article's original errors. On Closed or Vented? Read the Two Gs, solve the sheet's own printed targets before uncovering its upside-down key. Do not transfer answer numbers from one exercise to another. Match the actual pitch in front of you, even when two tasks look similar.

6. Alternate with recovery rests

Begin with the forward route below. Bars 1–3 each contain one half-note target followed by a half rest. Bar 4 contains two half notes: G4 on beat 1 and G5 on beat 3. Read the entire line before playing. Say “lower, upper, lower, lower–upper” while following the noteheads.

G4–rest; G5–rest; G4–rest; G4–G5. Each note and rest lasts two beats. The upper target in bar 4 begins on beat 3.

Use each rest to identify the next target and prepare its state with your teacher. The Two Gs handout also ends its four-bar comparison with G4 moving to G5. Start with that supported layout if you want the pitch and fingering reminders beside the route.

At quarter note = 60, each beat lasts one second, so a half note or half rest occupies two seconds in these examples. Choose a slower rehearsal pace with your teacher if needed. The tempo organizes the attempt; it does not measure your ability. Add time outside the route whenever another demonstration is needed.

Two bars expanded into quarter-note beats: sound on 1–2, recovery on 3–4. The preparation lane suggests what to read during the silence; it does not measure thumb motion.

The timeline separates sounding beats from recovery beats. Keep the front pattern while you read ahead. “Prepare” describes a rehearsal task during available silence, without specifying an exact instant or speed for the thumb movement. In the final two-note bar, there is no recovery rest between the targets; try that connection only when your teacher is ready.

Now reverse the direction. Read “upper, lower, upper, upper–lower.” The final move returns to the closed-thumb state. A good lower baseline after an upper attempt is useful evidence for your teacher, so listen to the return as carefully as you listened to the higher target.

G5–rest; G4–rest; G5–rest; G5–G4. During each rest, read the following target and prepare its thumb state.

Do one direction at a time. After the final bar, stop and discuss what happened. Repeating the whole line immediately can hide which target was uncertain. Point to a particular bar and describe the intended pitch, the state you chose, and the response your teacher heard.

Stop for the rest, read the next G, prepare its state, and return to the teacher-confirmed setup.

Next, try the rest-first reading variation. Count 1–2 silently before the first sound on 3; continue the half note through beat 4. The second bar begins with another half rest. The half note helps you keep its two beats intact even when the note starts later in a bar.

Each bar begins with a two-beat half rest. G4 enters on beat 3 of bar 1; G5 enters on beat 3 of bar 2.

A rest at the beginning still occupies time. Keep your eyes on the first note during those counts and name its state before the entry. If you enter on beat 1, correct the timing separately from the pitch choice. You may have chosen the right G and simply started two beats early.

Finally, read the six targets below without playing. Write closed or vented under each note. Repeated Gs require repeated answers: a new notehead does not automatically request a new state. Check your six choices before using them as a teacher-supervised playing task.

Read each of the six notes and write its thumb state. Repeated notes may need the same answer.

The answers are vented, closed, vented, vented, closed, closed. For another set, use the six-note matching section of Closed or Vented?, which supplies maps A and B. Work from its printed sequence, then check its key. These two sequences are different.

To check your answers, work backward once: “closed” should lead you to G4, and “vented” to G5 for these two Gs. Then return to reading forward from the staff. The backward check can catch a reversed label, but it should not replace naming the printed note. Save any uncertain item for your teacher and mark the exact target with a pencil.

7. Let your teacher check the actual response

Use the exit route once you can name and match both targets without prompting. It starts with isolated lower and upper notes, puts G5–G4 together in bar 3, and returns to lower G in bar 4. Read all five sounding targets before beginning. Leave the printed recovery rests intact.

G4–rest; G5–rest; G5–G4; G4–rest. The five thumb choices are closed, vented, vented, closed, closed.

Ask your teacher to check the intended pitch and actual response, front-hole coverage, and the demonstrated thumb change. A correct worksheet answer establishes a reading decision. It cannot certify the physical opening, support, or sound. Bring the instrument and the marked page together so the teacher can compare them directly.

For each isolated attempt, listen for three things: the intended G, a clear tone that stays in that register for both beats, and a clean stop when the rest begins. On the return, check that lower G sounds again. Report a lower note, an airy or rough tone, or a pitch that changes during the hold as an observation; do not infer the cause from that sound alone. Let your teacher decide the next adjustment. Frances Blaker’s high-note guidance, pages 19–20, emphasizes listening for intonation and a clear, clean tone.

The companion sheets' neutral piano references model pitch and timing only. They cannot demonstrate a recorder thumb opening or show whether your front fingers moved. Use a live teacher demonstration for that physical comparison, and treat the reference sounds as targets rather than as a model of recorder tone.

A sample report separates the intended target, chosen thumb state, and heard result. The teacher decides the next adjustment.

Write one observation after the attempt: “Bar 2: I read G5 and chose vented; the sound stayed low,” or “Bar 3: I returned to G4 on beat 3.” These are sample practice notes, not diagnoses. Ask your teacher for one next step, then return to the comfortable lower baseline before another comparison.

A Tissimo teacher can check the two pitch targets and your response in a live lesson. Bring the two maps and one marked route so the lesson can begin with the exact change you are practicing.

For a compact review, choose one reading task and one sounding comparison. First answer the six written targets without the recorder. Then, with your teacher, play one isolated lower target and one upper target separated by the printed rests. Finish by describing one thing that matched your plan and one thing to check next time. This is a suggested way to use the material, with no deadline or required number of repetitions. Keep your marked answers so you can distinguish a reading correction from a change your teacher makes to the physical demonstration.

Free worksheets for this lesson

Tenor Recorder: Two Gs, One Front Pattern — the sounding octave pair, two hole-state maps, and a four-bar half-note/rest comparison.
Closed or Vented? Read the Two Gs — six matches, two thumb-label repairs, and a route with missing state labels.
The Staff & the Treble Clef — the G-clef anchor and line/space reading.
The half note — two-count notes within a quarter-note beat.
Octave Signs: 8va & 8vb — optional reading context; today's targets have no octave brackets.

Sources

Read this article online: https://tissimo.co/articles/tenor-recorder-thumb-vent-octave-pair