Welcome to the Play At Home Series! Here you can play ensemble pieces in the comfort of your own home with the help of audio files created in the music notation program Sibelius. None of the music posted here is under copyright (with the exception of pieces written by a few living composers who have graciously granted permission),  so feel free to share the website and music.

​

Playing instructions:

1. Choose a category from the Navigation section in the upper right corner of this page.

2. Once you've selected a piece to play, Download and print out the score file.

3. Click on the MP3 playback button and play along with the music. Use the Slow MP3s for practice.

The videos attached to each piece are for reference, showing how the music sounds when professionally played.

Headphones are highly recommended. You can hear all the parts much more clearly and can tune more easily with the recorder playing your part in the score. Tip: when using headphones, leave one ear slightly exposed to hear your own recorder better.

There are hundreds of pieces and parts to choose from! If you are unsure of where to start, here are several different suggestions:

• Scroll down this page for lists of recommended pieces for newer or advanced players.

• Pick a single piece and learn all of the different parts. If you have some favorite composers, choose from the Composers List.

• Pick a single recorder (sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, great bass, or contrabass) and play various pieces. Here is all of the music in the Play At Home Series sorted into a List by Parts.

• Create a ‘program’ of three or four pieces and work on them as if preparing for a recital.

• Use the site as a Music History course. Start with the Medieval page and work your way up through the centuries to the Contemporary page. See the Chronological List of Composers at the end of the Notes file and read the entries on each composer and their compositions if you’d like to really delve into Music History. Be sure to watch the videos at the top of each period page too.

• Treat the series as a great sight-reading exercise - pick pieces at random and play random parts.

​

To learn some background information about the composers, the selections on the website, or a bit about the techniques, styles, and forms that they employ check out the Additional Notes file.

​

If you would like to be added to the Bi-Weekly Update email-list, send us your email address using the contact us form.