Hi
I teach recorder in primary school as a volunteer and have a group of 45 (taught in 4 batches) that could move on to part playing - they are reading an octave from bottom D and some have mastered top E - descant. I have given out 5 trebles and 2 tenors for them to practise over the Summer. Any suggestions of ensemble books to start with. We've used recorders from the beginning but I've also written quite alot of stuff for them.
Thanks for any help.
Diana

If you do a search for Bonsor Music, you should be able to get hold of Brian Bonsor's catalogue. He has lots of delightful arrangements (and original pieces), ranging from B-A-G pieces to much more complex. They are affordable and well-produced.

Also, in the "recorder from the beginning" series there is an easy duet book (green cover!) and a Quartet book (brown/black cover).

Good luck.
PM me if you'd like more details (I have a library of recorder music!!)

I haven't yet progressed to ensemble work with children but I'd be interested to know what people recommend too. Also, it would be interesting to know how they get on with tenors (I can barely manage one myself and I'm six feet tall with quite long arms!) - keep us posted!

Yes, the 'Recorder from the Beginning' series by John Pitts is good. There's a Trio book as well as the duet and quartet books which have already been mentioned.

Andrew Challinger's Suites (I think he's done three of them now) are very good, and much enjoyed by the children. Several of the pieces have the same rhythm in all parts, which is VERY helpful with relatively inexperienced players!

Then there's Microjazz for Recorder Group, and last - but certainly not least - our very own willobie has also arranged and published some very good pieces for children - you could PM her for more details.

I use the Red Hot Recorder books by Sarah Watts a lot. There's one for descant and one for treble, and although they mostly have one part per piece, there are some duets and trios. The books have different tunes, the treble one isn't simply a transcription. Good CD backing tracks, too, which make even the first pieces for B and A sound good.

My recorder players at a local primary school - 24 divided into 4 groups had their end-of-year assembly today and played several from these books. Lots of applause from staff, children and parents.

Thanks folks that's really useful. I went ahead and ordered the duet and trio books from Pitts so it's good to hear them recommended. I also got copies of the treble book in the series for the kids (going to be yr4 in autumn) to have a go over the Summer themselves - they are the super keen ones. I have to confess I was a bit worried about putting anyone on tenor but the two girls that have taken them are the tallest and have the biggest hands in the year group and seemed to manage hot crossed buns fine ( I told them not to worry about bottom C though!!)
Thanks for the Bonsor music tip - I will definately check this out!
Any good web sites for recorder plays around? recorder specific chat? Long time since I did grade 8!!!
thanks again
diana

I almost forgot - there are also the recorder Music Medals books, published by the AB, which cater for ensemble playing - but they are rather 'descant-heavy' - there are some tunes which are for four descants - eek! I prefer a lower tessitura myself. There are some good tunes among them, though. I was one of the original pilot group of teachers testing out the manuscript pieces, and did a review of the books last year for the Recorder Magazine.