The Recorder -- a genuine musical instrument

The recorder is an ancient flute, originally made of wood and recently also made of plastic. (The plastic recorders sound amazingly good!) The recorder has seven holes on top for the fingers and a single hole on the bottom. By "pinching" this hole on the bottom, you can cause the pitch to jump up to a higher sounding note of the same letter name (up an octave).

The recorder is easy to play because you just blow into it from the end. You don't have to blow across it like we do with the modern orchestral, metal flute.

The recorder is an inexpensive and fun way to get into music, if you didn't learn a musical instrument as a child. The recorder is not just a toy, but a serious musical instrument.

But a recoder can be used to give a child a headstart in music. Children can start learning with a recorder before they can handle, say, a saxophone or clarinet. And the skills they learn in playing the recorder can easily transfer to other instruments. Some schools start children in a "recorder program" in about the fourth grade, while the band program is available in later grades.

One of the earliest views we have of a recorder is in the painting

The Mocking of Jesus (around the year 1315!)

Here's a picture of perhaps the oldest recorder in the world, called the Dordrecht Recorder.

In the 15th century, people started enjoying a variety of recorders in different sizes. Recorders created during this time known as renaissance recorders.

In the Late 17th centure, recorders were redesigned and given a greater range and more notes. These recorders are know as baroque recorders.

Really, recorders are great for performing real chanmber music, not just "hot cross buns."

The recorder came to Japan in the 16th century when Francisco Xavier came to Japan as a Christian missionary. However, Japan became closed to Christianity (including musical instruments brought by missionaries). Japan had a law that resulted in national isolationism. However, that law was replealed in 1876 by Meiji Restoration. In 1929 a Japanese who had studied music in England brought home some recorders. After World War II, Leo Trayno, an American living in Japan encouraged the Japanese to learn the recorder. In 1948 the Japanese Ministry of Education made it part of the official Japanese music curriculum. Today, the recorder is very popular in Japan. You can see a list of compositions for recorder by Japanese composers, here.

Although the soprano recorder can be quite simple and inexpensive, other recorders can be more elaborate and expensive.

Harmonic Tenor Recorder -- 3 octave range -- more stable lower notes.

There is also an Harmonic Alto Recorder

Japanese recorder maker Yukio Yamada, has made an electronic device that will transpose the recorder two or three octaves above the pitch you play. Note that this facility is available on the Bolton electro-acoustic recorder attached to an effects processor or MIDI device.

For a more detailed discussion of recorders, you may want to see the scholarly, detailed discussion of recorders by Nicholas S. Lander

Below is a description of a useful book for learning the Recorder.

The Recorder from Zero

Click here to buy The Recorder from Zero from Amazon. -- --The Recorder From Zero, Vol 1 is a systematic approach for beginners on the soprano recorder which treats the instrument in its proper historical context. This revised and expanded 2nd edition includes 107 pieces of original, folk, medieval, and renaissance music which are very carefully graded for difficulty. The pieces can be enjoyed by children as well as adults. The book has many duets as well as good solo examples, permitting the book to be used with a teacher or for self study, following the included Teacher's Guide. --I've been using the revised edition of Volume 1 for almost a year now in my private teaching and in a University setting. Most spectacularly, I used it as an 'introduction to the recorder' for a music education class earlier this year. --One of the commonest complaints I hear from music education students is that they don't know where to turn to find good repertoire when they want to introduce recorders into their classrooms. Students have been singing Hot Cross Buns since Grade 1, and are easily bored with it by the time they're in Grade 4! With Fischer's book, teachers can use authentic recorder material that follows the same sequence of notes as the earliest songs use, and a large class can be divided up to include percussion and movement.

--At the moment I'm introducing it to students in a Kodály Level 1 summer course, and the students are having a blast. After 30 minutes this afternoon, four very insecure recorder players were performing 6 Renaissance dances comfortably and musically.

--Volume 1 is a must-have for any music teacher who deals with recorders, and I can't wait for Volume 2. [Note: Volume 2 is also now available] ">Click here to buy Learn to Play Recorder -- --

--The Recorder From Zero, Vol 1 is a systematic approach for beginners on the soprano recorder which treats the instrument in its proper historical context. This revised and expanded 2nd edition includes 107 pieces of original, folk, medieval, and renaissance music which are very carefully graded for difficulty. The pieces can be enjoyed by children as well as adults. The book has many duets as well as good solo examples, permitting the book to be used with a teacher or for self study, following the included Teacher's Guide. --I've been using the revised edition of Volume 1 for almost a year now in my private teaching and in a University setting. Most spectacularly, I used it as an 'introduction to the recorder' for a music education class earlier this year.

--One of the commonest complaints I hear from music education students is that they don't know where to turn to find good repertoire when they want to introduce recorders into their classrooms. Students have been singing Hot Cross Buns since Grade 1, and are easily bored with it by the time they're in Grade 4! With Fischer's book, teachers can use authentic recorder material that follows the same sequence of notes as the earliest songs use, and a large class can be divided up to include percussion and movement.

--Volume 1 is a must-have for any music teacher who deals with recorders, and I can't wait for Volume 2. [Note: Volume 2 is also now available]

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