Row, Row, Row your Boat is not one of the most popular nursery rhymes in the English-speaking world but a pretty nice one. It’s very short and has a really catchy melody. These are the perfect conditions to make a nursery rhyme a good choice to learn on a musical instrument. That’s why Row, Row, Row your Boat is also a good children’s song to learn on the recorder. In this free recorder tutorial, we learn a little more about the background of the song, as well as how to play it on the recorder. We will show you how to play all the necessary notes on the recorder on a finger chart and provide you with a simple lyrics version using the above notes. For the more advanced players among us, we also offer you the sheet music!
History of Row, Row, Row your Boat
The song Row, Row, Row Your Boat was first published in 1852 with lyrics similar to those we know today, but set to a different melody. The version with the familiar melody was first recorded in 1881 and attributed to Eliphalet Oram Lyte, though it remains uncertain whether he was the original author or simply an adapter of the song.
The song’s gentle, flowing imagery has made it a popular choice for soothing and engaging young children. Interestingly, the melody is often used in different cultural contexts and has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and even as a humorous element in social gatherings, further cementing its place in popular culture.
Row, Row, Row your Boat Finger Chart
The nursery rhyme is pretty short but we need a few notes. We are going to play the song in the key of C major. The required notes in this key are C, D, E, F, G and C’. We are using two different C notes, one higher and one lower C notes. The higher C notes is C’.
First, make sure you know how to play these notes correctly without looking at the finger chart. Practice these notes first until you can play them without much difficulty.
To make it easier for you, you should practice the individual notes one by one. Once well practiced, you can move on to the next section where we play the song with these notes.
Row, Row, Row your Boat Recorder Notes
Once you know how to play the single notes, we can put them together and start learning to play the melody. The challenge now is to change between notes correctly, but it’s a perfect exercise to improve your recorder playing. However, beginners should always start slowly. So just take the first line of the song and try to play it slowly and correctly.
Once you know the first line by heart, go on to the next line until you can play the whole song. Remember that playing slowly and without rushing greatly reduces the chance of making mistakes. Only when you can play the song slowly and correctly can you increase the speed.
Here are the lyrics with the letter notes to play it in an easy way:
Want to know how the song should sound line by line when played correctly on the recorder? Listen to the audio recording below. You can also slow down the recording.
Recorder Sheet Music for Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Normally, we use sheet music when we learn or play a new song? Sheet music is a standard way for musicians to write and read music. And since Row, Row, Row your Boat is a pretty easy song, it’s also a great opportunity to start learning to read music if you don’t already know how to read music.
Guitar Chords are illustrated in guitar chords diagram. They are a simplified illustration of the guitar neck and it tells you where to put which finger on which string. Learn more about how to read guitar chords!
Here is the recorder sheet music for Row, Row, Row your Boat:
Free Recorder Printables for Row, Row, Row Your Boat
We provide for every song free worksheets that you can use for your recorder lessons or just for yourself while practicing at home! Feel free to download and share the lyrics with notes as well as sheet music as PDF versions!
Interested in instruments other than the recorder? You can also find a free lesson on how to play Baa Baa Black Sheep on the guitar or piano.
