If you’re looking to learn a beautiful and timeless melody on the recorder, Amazing Grace is the perfect choice. In this recorder song lesson, we’ll guide you through playing this classic hymn, using simple notation and sheet music to make it accessible to beginners. Before we dive into the music, we’ll explore the rich history and powerful background of Amazing Grace, from its origins in the 18th century to its lasting impact as a symbol of hope and redemption. Whether you’re new to the recorder or just want to add a meaningful song to your repertoire, this tutorial will help you master Amazing Grace with ease. We also provide you the free PDF sheet music and the lyrics with letter notes!
History of Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace is one of the most popular hymns in history, with origins dating back to the 18th century. The lyrics were written in 1772 by John Newton, a former slave trader whose life took a dramatic turn after a near-death experience during a violent storm at sea in 1748. In the midst of the storm, Newton cried out for divine mercy, an event that sparked his spiritual awakening. Though he initially remained in the slave trade, Newton eventually embraced Christianity and became an outspoken opponent of slavery, working for its abolition. What makes his transformation even more remarkable is that he had no strong religious background prior to this experience.
The hymn didn’t have a set melody until the early 19th century, when it was paired with the tune New Britain, the version most familiar today. Over time, Amazing Grace has transcended its religious origins to become a universal symbol of hope, redemption and resilience. Its timeless message, combined with a simple yet beautiful melody, has allowed it to transcend genres, from gospel and folk to contemporary music.
Amazing Grace Finger Chart
To play Amazing Grace on the recorder, you don’t need a lot of different notes. We are going to play the song in the key of C and use only natural tones. So the finger positions for the chords we need are pretty simple. We will need the notes D, E, G, A, B and D’. Beginners may wonder what the difference is between D and D’. They are both D notes, but in a different octave, and we need to distinguish them. So, D’ refers to the note in the higher octave.
Before you dive into playing the melody, make sure you know the finger positions for the notes you want to play so that switching between them won’t cause you any problems. Beginners should start slowly and take their time to play the different notes correctly before combining them.
Make sure that you also check out our recorder notes chart to get a complete overview of all natural notes and the corresponding musical notation!
Be sure to check out our recorder notes table for a complete overview of all natural notes and their corresponding musical notation!
Recorder letter Notes for Amazing Grace
When learning or playing a new song, sheet music is usually used to find out all the information about the song and how to actually play it. But not everyone, especially beginners, are able to read sheet music because it requires an understanding of some basic music theory. So to reduce the complexity, letter notation is a great way to start reading music without a lot of complexity.
What the simple letter notation doesn’t tell you is how long to hold a note, for example. That’s why you should listen to the recording of the song below to get an idea of how the melody should sound. The first challenge for beginners will be to switch back and forth between the different finger positions. So get the note sequence right first and try to learn the song slowly, line by line. Once you feel confident, you can play the whole melody at once and increase the speed.
Here are the lyrics with the letter notes to play it in an easy way:
Check out the audio recording below to see how it should sound like.
Recorder Sheet Music for Amazing Grace
As mentioned above, sheet music is much more precise. It gives you all the little details about the song in terms of time signature, how long to hold a note, and so on. If you or your students are comfortable reading music, then I would definitely recommend using it. We have also kept the sheet music as simple as possible to make it suitable for beginners who are just starting to learn how to play with music notation.
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 Amazing Grace:
Free Recorder Printables For Amazing Grace
We offer free downloadable worksheets for each song, perfect for use in your recorder lessons or for personal practice at home. You can easily access and share the lyrics and sheet music in convenient PDF format, so feel free to make the most of these resources!
Interested in instruments other than the recorder? You can also find a free lesson on how to play Amazing Grace on the guitar, ukulele and piano.
