Recorders – Dynamic Music Room

Are you looking to learn this recorder meme based on the hit song by Celine Dion? Do you want to master a new song and impress students and friends alike? As a kid, the song My Heart Will Go On got way too popular, too fast. Then, it came back again in the form of a terrible recorder meme. Still, it's a popular request in my classroom for the many years I've been teaching, so I decided to cave in and help people with the My Heart Will Go On recorder notes and a brief practice guide. Let's dive in! My Heart Will Go On Recorder Notes Before we dig into the song itself, let's look at the notes we need to learn and how to finger them. You'll need to know: Low CLow DEFGABbHigh CHigh D Take a look at this chart for how to finger the notes. For more details on specific notes, check out the dedicated articles linked to the notes above. The only one not on the chart is the uncommon Bb. To play the Bb note, you use your thumb on the back, left hand 1 and 3, and right hand first finger on the fourth hole. Don't forget to click the link to get more instructions on this note. All in all, there are quite a few notes here to learn, making this song not for the faint of heart. But with practice, it's doable and a lot of fun. My students work hard to master this song and show off their Celine Dion meme chops to their friends on the Titanic recorder song. My Heart Will Go On Recorder Sheet Music This is the sheet music for this power ballad song on the recorder. Take a look here, and then we'll break down the song of the year into easy-to-learn steps. You'll notice the song is broken down into three distinct sections: IntroductionVerseChorus Each section plays differently than the rest, but when it's put together, it makes a great song. How To Play My Heart Will Go On - Recorder It's time to go into the steps for how to learn this song. I'll give audio practice for each step. Be ready to reference the sheet music above and take note of the different sections. Remember, when in doubt, slow it down and practice the parts that are hard for you. Then, gradually speed it up back and put it back together within the greater context of the melody. You may want to check out this book of pop songs on recorder for more ideas. #1 Introduction The first step is to look at the introduction. This is the iconic line from the meme video mocking the famous song by Celine in James Cameron's classic Titanic theme song. This is the A section in the sheet music above. The rhythm is the trickiest part of this song. Start by clapping or reading the rhythm of the tune (it helps to listen to the audio by clicking play below). Once you're able to clap or read the rhythm, it's time to finger along. Other than the Bb and odd rhythms, it's not too hard if you slow it down. Use the audio to help you. #2 Verse Next up is the verse. This is actually the easiest section in the entire song. It's all stepwise and even avoids the tricky Bb completely. The hardest part at first seems to be the rhythms. Dotted quarter notes and eighth notes are complicated at first, but in this case, if you think of the James Horner song, it lines up perfectly. Here is the audio for this section, labeled as B in the sheet music above. #3 Chorus Here we begin the Chorus, with its beautiful soaring melodies. If played well, it sounds nice on the recorder. The rhythms for this section are simple. The hardest part will be the Bb note and switching to and from it. Isolate this part by taking the few notes around it and practicing C-Bb-A and A-Bb-C. As always, use the audio here and follow with the section labeled as C. #4 Chorus Part 2 The Chorus is long enough you may want to break it into two different parts as I did with the steps here. But the secret is you don't need to. I always tell my students to look for the patterns in music and make your lives easier. Why relearn something when it's mostly the same? If you look at the Chorus and the Chorus part 2 up in the sheet music, you may notice they're almost exactly the same except for the slightly different ending. Don't relearn the whole part; focus on the second ending. #5 Put It Together After learning to play each part of the Titanic recorder meme, it's time to put it together. Play it slow and focus on getting the rhythms and fingerings right. After it's solid, feel free to speed it up, though since the James Horner song is slow, you won't need to go too fast. Congrats! You know how to play the Titanic theme on a recorder! Watch this YouTube video if you'd rather learn through video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxMhRO5iU2g Titanic Recorder Meme All of this started with the classic song from James Cameron's movie, Titanic. The song of the year played on the radio constantly in those years before fading away. Then, a terrible recorder meme brought back its popularity. Most people find it hilarious (I do as well, to a certain point). Check out the original in the video. https://youtu.be/G44xTr8D_bw What Instrument Starts My Heart Will Go On? Channeling the Celtic feel of the song, the Tin Whistle is used in the iconic opening of the song My Heart Will Go On as featured in the movie Titanic. On top of this, the Tin Whistle is backed by strings and rhythm guitar for an emotional acoustic effect. The soprano recorder is in the same range as the tin whistle used in the intro, so it provides an easy swap that most people have if you want to play this opening. Of course, if you want to lean into the meme of this song, all you need to do is swap out the proper fingering for F natural, as taught above, with only the first-finger F. This will give you that out-of-tune sound used in the meme. How Do I Make Notes Sound Better On The Recorder? The easiest way to make notes sound better on the recorder is to check the Big 3: Are you using soft air?Are you covering the holes completely?Do you use a light tongue to start your notes? Sticking with these three things when checking your recorder sound will make you sound 95% better right away. Rarely have I ever found anything beyond these three to be a problem when teaching literally thousands of students the recorder over the past 10+ years. If you have a cheap recorder, the only other major problem that will happen is when moisture gets caught in the window of the recorder. In this case, all you need to do is blow a puff of air directly into it. Check out the parts of the recorder for more details. Why Is F Fingered Funny On The Recorder? F natural is fingered as Thumb-1-2-3-4-6 because it's a Baroque recorder. Baroque recorders use this design because it makes the recorder sound better in tune throughout all of the accidentals or altered pitches. German recorders use the simple Thumb-1-2-3-4 fingering for F natural. Either option is fine, though most people in America opt for the Baroque style of recorder fingering. The truth is: it doesn't make much of a difference. If you teach a lot of recorder to your students or get into a lot yourself, you'll want to stick with Baroque overall because it's better and easier to use in the long run. But if you only teach a little recorder, you may be OK with a German recorder for easier F fingering. Final Thoughts I've provided the My Heart Will Go On recorder notes and practice info to help you learn this fun song. With some fairly tricky rhythms and the note Bb, this song is somewhat challenging, but with time and practice, you'll get it. Use the practice steps, sheet music, and audio to help you master the recorder song and impress people with your playing skills.