What is the difference between F and C recorders?
The fingering patterns are the same on all recorders, with minor variations according to instrument. The difference is that all holes closed on the alto produces an “F” while all holes closed on the soprano is “C.” This holds true throughout the recorder family, with tenor (in “C”) and bass (in “F”) being the family members most likely to be required for SATB or larger ensemble music. Unlike modern band instruments, for which the music is transposed, recorder players essentially become conversant in two musical languages using the same basic “vocabulary” of fingering patterns. This is the way the fingering patterns worked historically, probably because much of recorder music could be, and still is, played interchangeably by mixed ensembles of recorders with viols, sackbuts, various other instruments all reading at concert pitch, or singers (in the case of madrigals, motets or other pieces with words). Transposing some parts would destroy that flexibility.
