Label the Recorder – Printable Sheet With an Answer Key

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 7 main parts 7

Head joint The top piece, holding the beak, windway, block and window.
Beak (mouthpiece) The shaped end that goes between the lips.
Window The opening where the air stream meets the edge.
Body joint (middle joint) Carries the thumb hole and six finger holes.
Foot joint The bottom piece; it turns to line up its hole.
Finger holes (tone holes) Covered and uncovered to change the note.
Thumb hole The left thumb’s hole, on the back; half-covered for high notes.

From above 1

Double holes Holes six and seven, split in two for half-covering.

The head cut open 3

Windway The narrow duct that shapes the breath into a flat stream.
Block (fipple) A plug inside the head that forms the windway’s floor.
Labium (edge) The air stream splits on it, and the tube sounds.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-24. (1) Wikipedia, Recorder (musical instrument), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorder_(musical_instrument) : head joint, foot joint, beak, windway, block (fipple), window, labium, thumb hole, finger holes, and double holes for the lower two fingers on baroque-pattern modern recorders. (2) A music teacher's Parts of a recorder explained, https://dynamicmusicroom.com/parts-of-a-recorder/ : head joint with mouthpiece or beak, windway, block, window and labium edge; body joint with one thumbhole and six tone holes, the lowest doubled; foot joint with one doubled hole, turned to line it up. (3) A music information site's The recorder, https://www.skwiix.com/recorder.html : head joint, mouthpiece, windway, block or fipple, window, labium, middle joint, foot joint, seven finger holes and a thumb hole. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-24. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the recorder, write a name on the line for each number. The top drawing is the whole recorder from above, the middle one its long piece from underneath, and the bottom one the top piece cut in half.

Read the full guide

Word bank for the recorder sheet

In alphabetical order: beak, block, body joint, double holes, finger holes, foot joint, head joint, labium, thumb hole, window, windway. The key gives five of them a second name: mouthpiece, fipple, middle joint, tone holes and edge.

Lines that start close together

On the top drawing, 2 starts on the shaped tip (beak) and 1 on the piece the tip belongs to (head joint). 6 starts on a single hole (finger holes), 8 beside a pair of small ones (double holes). On the cut piece, 9 is the thin channel (windway), 10 the plug under it (block), and 11 the sharp edge past the opening (labium). The opening itself is 3, up on the top drawing (window).

For a first lesson, ask for numbers 1 to 7 only: the three joints, the beak, the window, the finger holes and the thumb hole.
Number 7 has a drawing to itself because the thumb hole is on the back and cannot be seen from above.

Questions and answers

Is a recorder a woodwind instrument?

Yes. The recorder is a woodwind, and one of the duct flutes, like the tin whistle. The duct is the windway on line 9, which carries the breath to the edge.

Which hand goes on top on a recorder?

The left. Its thumb covers the thumb hole and its first three fingers the top three finger holes. The four fingers of the right hand cover the lower four.

What is a recorder made of?

School recorders are commonly molded plastic. Recorders were traditionally made of wood or ivory, and professional instruments today are wooden, often boxwood.

Does the label the parts of the recorder sheet have an answer key?

Yes. The key prints the three drawings again with a name on each of the eleven lines, head joint first and labium last.