The Ultimate Guide to the Garklein... the World's Smallest Recorder

by Howard Fosdick © FolkFluteWorld.com

You've undoubtedly played the soprano recorder. Perhaps you were required to tootle it in school, or maybe you're a serious musician who really enjoys the instrument.

So here's a question for you: Have you ever tried the garklein recorder?

The garklein is the smallest playable instrument of the recorder family. It's lowest note (or base note) sounds one octave above that of the soprano recorder.

The accompanying photo shows how small the garklein is. It's so small that it's challenging to fit your hands on it to properly cover the fingering holes.

Sometimes called the piccolo recorder, the sopranissimo recorder, or the bird flute, this tiny instrument truly sounds like a bird: sweet and flighty, high-pitched but not piercing (except on its highest notes).

This article tells you everything you might want to know about the garklein. We'll cover how it differs from other members of the recorder family, how to play it, and buying recommendations.

And, of course, how to teach a bird to sing using a bird flute.

Here's the agenda...

How It Sounds

Before we delve into details, you might want to hear some of the varied sounds of the garklein. Click on a sound sample or two:

  

The garklein has a very sweet, high-pitched voice that fulfills its moniker as "the bird flute." It's a pleasing sound, though the highest couple notes can sometimes sound a bit piercing. Those highest notes may be too loud for enclosed rooms, or for extended practice sessions.

In ensembles the garklein can be useful because it can project over the top of accompanying instruments. People can hear its bright voice even in environments with percussive background parts or ambient crowd noise.

History

If you haven't heard of the garklein before, join the pack. The highest pitched recorder most of us have heard of is the sopranino. It's lowest note is F5. That's three notes above the soprano recorder's lowest note, C5.

The garklein's lowest note is C6. That's a full octave above the soprano recorder.

Garkleins have been around for several hundred years. They've just never been popular. The earliest authenticated specimen dates from 1670. It was made in ivory by an unknown maker in Nuremberg who merely identified himself by the mark M.

Very little music has been written specifically for the garklein. In modern performance, it tends to be used for special effects or novelty purposes. Most consider its voice as unsuitably high-pitched for solo work in an orchestra.

A list of recorder ensemble pieces with parts for garklein appears at the end of this article.

It's the Modern Bird Flute!

The garklein's voice makes it a very suitable modern "bird flute," following a tradition of bird flutes or flageolets that dates back hundreds of years in France and England.

Bird flutes were used to teach birds to sing, and to imitate bird songs in more complex melodies composed by humans. This concept had an important historical influence on the development of small woodwinds.

The photo shows how similar an early keyless flageolet looks to the modern garklein.

If you've ever wondered about "bird flutes" or thought about playing one, here's your chance. You don't need to acquire a museum-piece flageolet to have fun. Just purchase a modern garklein and you can sing with the robins.

Try enticing your local bird population! I'll give you recommendations for a suitable instrument below.

So, what I said earlier about there being almost no music written for the garklein? That's true for the modern garklein. But if you consider your garklein a bird flute, that's not accurate. There are many songs composed in centuries past for the little bird flute.

For starters, download the sheet music booklet "The Bird Fancyer's Delight" from 1717 for free from here. (The file includes three versions of the famous booklet.)

Or try another timeless classic, The Pleasant Companion, also by Thomas Greeting, from 1680.

Facsimiles of these old booklets are a bit hard to read. If you prefer more modern fare, check out the tons of free sheet music from our resources webpage.

How to Teach Your Bird to Sing

Here's a video of Philippe Bolton, expert French flageolet maker, giving a first lesson to a bird with his bird flute.

You can see how the avian quickly gets interested in the song, then he eventually squawks twice in response.

Specific instructions on how to use your bird flute to teach your bird to sing appear at the end of this article.

The instructions suggest that success requires anywhere from two to six months' effort.

You can learn more about bird fluting in my article Play the Bird Flute!

Even Smaller?

Could someone make a recorder even smaller than the garklein? There have been attempts, but the results aren't truly playable. Recorder fingering just can't be further miniaturized.

Probably the best example today is Mollenhauer's miniature recorder that they clearly label and market as a "brooch". At 8 centimeters long, it does play notes but is really more of a cute collectible than musical instrument.

Click on the photo to hear Mollenhauer's sound sample. It's simply too small to play in tune.

Mollenhauer helpfully suggests that one can best play it after mastering how to cover two holes with a single finger.

Size

Back to the garklein, the modern bird flute. It's really small. But it's also a serious, playable musical instrument.

Here's an Aulos garklein compared to a sopranino and soprano:

That little garklein is only about 6 1/4 inches long. That's only half the length of the typical soprano. The plastic garklein weighs about an ounce.

Here are a few comparative statistics between the plastic garklein and two wood instruments shown in the photo.

These statistics will vary a bit by the brand of the instruments compared, but they do give you an idea of the differences.

	Length:	Weight:	Finger Span:	Base Note:	Range:  (apx.)
Garklein	6.25"	0.9 oz.	3.25"	C6	C6-A7
Sopranino	10"	1.9 oz.	4.5"	F5	F5-F7
Soprano	12.5"	2.9 oz.	5.25"	C5	C5-C7

The key statistic in this chart is "finger span." The entire range between the first and last fingering holes for the garklein is only around 3 1/4 inches. That's tight!

This forces the big question: Can you fit your fingers on this diminutive instrument? Or will they be so tight you can't play it?

Most people can fit their fingers on the garklein. But not everyone. The only way to know for sure is to try one. Or, measure the best you can and estimate.

Here's a close-up of that 3.25" finger span. If you tilt your head appropriately you should be able to make out all the fingering holes. The holes start at the start of the ruler and stretch across 3.25 inches:

The best advice I can give you about finger span is: try it before you buy it.

Construction

The garklein is a one-piece instrument. There is no separate mouthpiece to move in or out to tune it, or to make cleaning it easier.

Here's a photo of the Aulos garklein with its carrying case.

Garklein's don't have double holes for playing low C# and low D#. The only way to finger these two notes is by half-holing (covering half a fingering hole). If you've played sopranos or other recorders you're probably familiar with the technique. It's takes a bit of practice to develop but is well within the skills of the typical recorder player.

However, with the tiny garklein, half-holing is more challenging. The holes you need to half-hole are tiny and close together. You've got to have good muscle memory and small, dexterious fingers to half-hole tones quickly and accurately.

Like other recorders, garkleins are available in high quality ABS resin plastic, or a variety of woods. Wood garkleins are generally pretty expensive.

Fingering

All baroque-fingered soprano recorders finger the same. But if you've played lots of different sopranos, you know that there are some small exceptions to this rule. Usually the difference is only a note or maybe two, most often with sharps or flats, for specific manufacturers.

All garkleins of which I'm aware employ baroque (aka English) fingering. None use the German fingering system.

The garklein's fingering diverges a bit from the common soprano, especially with the accidentals. Most the variances concern the placement of but a single finger.

Here's a fingering chart for the Aulos garklein. Red and yellow rectangles show which notes vary from their soprano counterparts.

Garkleins from different manufacturers have slight differences between them. Here's a Küng fingering chart, for example:

The bottom line is that these fingering differences don't mean much. If you often switch between different recorders during a playing session, this is the kind of small accomodation you're already familiar with.

But if you're in a situation where you're fast-fingering and need 100% accuracy (for example, you're performing before an audience), then you'll have to memorize these small differences and know them cold.

Another difference to note between the garklein and other sizes of recorder: the garklein's range is a couple notes lesser. Sopranos and most other recorders have a full two-octave range (very skilled players may even coax more from their instruments).

In contrast, the garklein is usually cited as ranging from C to A above C (in musical notation, that's C6 to A7). That's two whole notes short of the soprano's range. But again, it ultimately depends on the skill of the player.

Here's a tip for fingering the garklein. If you place your fingertips on the holes, you'll have more room for your fingers than if you splay the ends of your fingers across the holes (like you might when playing tenor recorder). Fingertips take less space than fingers.

Also you'll notice that, compared to a soprano recorder, the garklein is narrower. This means that the instrument's body rounds more dramatically near the fingering holes. So fingers have to cover more exposed angle to completely cover the holes.

Finally, given the garklein's small size, you may want to swab it out frequently to eliminate any moisture that accumulates inside as you play during a session.

Cost

As with all recorders, plastic is much less expensive than wood. And the best plastic garkleins sound quite good.

Garkleins fall within four price points, as shown in this chart:

You can see that there is a collection of very inexpensive plastic garkleins made by Thomann, Woodi, Triebert, Harmony and others. These cost less than $20 USD.

Then there is the high-end plastic garklein by Aulos. Usually it's around $40. (Their arch competitor Yamaha does not make a garklein at the time of writing.)

Prices spike when you buy wood. Probably the least expensive offering is the garklein in either pearwood or maple from Küng. It's usually about $125 USD. That price can jump around a bit depending on currency exchange rates.

On the high end are several professional garkleins that cost hundreds apiece. Often rendered in exotic woods, they are only recommended for serious musicians.

Recommendation

Given the garklein's peculiarities, I recommend that musicians try an inexpensive one before they spend hundreds for a high-end instrument.

Be sure to try it out in person, or carefully review the finger spread photos in this article to ensure what you want to buy will fit your hands.

The Aulos suits many enthusiasts. It guarantees the best quality in a plastic recorder, but still costs much less than even the least expensive wood garkleins. If offers a nice balance between cost and quality.

I'm very pleased with my Aulos. It projects a very clear voice that sounds sweet. Like all garkleins, it can be a little too loud or piercing on the very highest notes.

Free Resources

Because the garklein is pitched in C, you can play the tons of free sheet music available for the soprano recorder.

Visit our free resources page for links to free lessons, videos, books, community, music, and more. These resources pertain to all sizes of recorder. There's little information available that specifically addresses the garklein.

You may also wish to watch Sarah Jeffery's Youtube video on the garklein.

Final Words

If you play soprano recorder, why not try the garklein? It's a quick ticket to fun, and doesn't cost much if you stick to a plastic instrument.

First Purchase Recommendation

Instrument: Aulos Garklein
Material: High quality ABS Plastic
Pitch: C major, one octave above a soprano recorder
Range: About two whole notes less than two full octaves (C6-A7)
Fingering: Baroque (differs somewhat from standard soprano baroque)
Length: apx 6.25"
Weight: apx 0.9 ounce
Components: 1-piece construction, comes with leather carrying case
Finger Span: 3.25"
Cost: Varies, often about $40 USD

Ensembles with Garkleins

Here's a list of ensemble pieces that include a part for the garklein:

This list is courtesy of Sarah Jeffery of TeamRecorder.

How to Teach Your Bird to Sing -- using a bird flute

Translated from -- "Traité des oiseaux de chant, des pigeons de volière, du perroquet, du faisan, du cygne et du paon" (1818)

"In order to teach a canary with a flageolet it should be placed in a separate cage a week or two after it has begun to eat on its own.

If it begins to chirp, showing that it is a male, it should be separated from the others. Put it in a cage covered with some light coloured cloth for the first week, in a room far from other birds so that it cannot hear any birdsong.

Then play tunes that are not too high pitched on a small flageolet. After two weeks the light coloured cloth should be replaced by thick red or green serge, and the bird left in that situation until it knows its tune perfectly.

When giving food this should be done for two days at a time, and only in the evening so that the bird does not get distracted and can learn more quickly.

As far as tunes are concerned, only one prelude should be taught with one particular tune because too many tunes or those that are too long can easily be forgotten.

If no flageolet is available a bird-organ can be used instead. These birds do not all learn easily. Some manage after two months, but for others more than six months can be necessary. This all depends on their temperament and inclination."