| A member of the woodwind family, the | | | | simple tunes can be learnt on them that do |
| recorder's history is not well known, | | | | not tax the young player too much, and |
| although examples of it can be found in | | | | therefore sheet music is much easier to read. |
| medieval paintings, and what appears to be a | | | | Fourth, they are small and easy to carry |
| recognizable recorder-type instrument dating | | | | about in a satchel or bag. And fifth, they |
| back to the Iron Age has been found - | | | | never need tuning as they are pre-tuned - |
| although it is made of sheep bone rather than | | | | there are no strings to slacken. |
| wood! The instrument, however, often gets a | | | | |
| bad press, largely due to people's | | | | Unfortunately, rigidly observed school |
| recollections of struggling to learn the | | | | curricula quite often meant that people with |
| instrument in the classroom - or perhaps | | | | no interest in music were forced to learn the |
| being unfortunate enough to have to teach the | | | | instrument, and those who were interested |
| instrument to several new classes each and | | | | might not have been overenthusiastic about |
| every year. | | | | playing rounds of London's Burning with the |
| | | | teacher doing a Toscanini at the front of the |
| Considering the fact that it is so commonly | | | | class. This could explain the humour and |
| used as a learning instrument, it is actually | | | | scornful nostalgia associated with the |
| quite difficult to get a smooth, warm tone | | | | instrument. In mitigation, however, nobody |
| out of a recorder, and very easy to end up | | | | leaves school without knowing that all cows |
| with a screech or a bending note. However, | | | | eat grass and that every good boy deserves |
| with practice, the recorder can be made to | | | | something beginning with an F, be it food, |
| produce a beautiful sound, with its distinct | | | | football, fudge or fun - or should that be |
| warm, woody tones and even vibrato. The | | | | five-a-day? |
| instrument was certainly taken seriously | | | | |
| during the Renaissance; Bach, Purcell and | | | | Range and Fingering |
| Vivaldi wrote music for it. | | | | |
| | | | A recorder has a range of just over two |
| School Use | | | | octaves, with the lowest note being the tone |
| | | | produced when every hole is closed with the |
| There are plenty of very good reasons why the | | | | fingers. Since most learning instruments will |
| recorder has entrenched itself in the | | | | be in the key of C, that will be the tone |
| national psyche as a school instrument. | | | | produced. Recorders do come in other keys, |
| First, it is relatively cheap to make, | | | | however. F is also a common key, and more |
| consisting basically of a tube with holes and | | | | specialist instruments come in D, E flat and |
| a mouthpiece - there are no moving parts. | | | | G. A little known fact is that recorders are |
| This is enhanced by the fact that they can | | | | actually chromatic - they can play all twelve |
| also be made of plastic and therefore | | | | tones in an octave including sharps and |
| mass-produced. Second, they are durable, | | | | flats. This is done by half-covering certain |
| tough instruments that will withstand a bit | | | | holes, but isn't required in Frere Jacques. |
| of abuse. Third, they are monophonic, so | | | | |