Ukelele suffers from the same image problem for many of the same reasons, including that very cheap souvenir versions are available in destinations like Hawaii and that many children learn to play it in school.
A lot of the image problem with the Ukulele is older folks in amateur groups that transpose everything to C because they don't really want to improve their playing...
Not only the ukulele, but the slide whistle "suffers from the same image problem for many of the same reasons..." 😢 As for the slide whistle, getting no respect, I prefer to play "The Bridge on the River Kwai" with the slide whistle. 😊
Same happening with otamatone and kazoo. They're considered as "kid instruments", but with some practicing they can make beatiful songs cover. Sully G and others proved it.
If actually-playable, inexpensive clarinets, violins, or trumpets could be produced, those instruments would also be considered "toys." That's the beauty of the recorder: A very inexpensive model can be played competently by a trained musician if necessary, but it can also lead a novice to progress to something much more refined! So the cheap, plastic one is NOT a toy -- it is a GATEWAY INSTRUMENT.
My recorder was about $30.00 US, and is classed as a student level instrument. I was rather shocked when I found out that there are $1,000,00 US + instruments out there. As I'm retired, I can't afford that quality. See my previous comment to find out why I chose the one I got. No, it's not a good reason, but I got better that I thought I was getting even so. When I was in school, I used to play the Trombone, so I do have some musical training.
Just come across your channel now. I played recorder in secondary school, I really enjoyed it and remember it wasnt "easy", especially when it came to half finger notes (forgive me if that's not the correct term, it's just what I called it!) I'm thinking of taking it up again, really love your channel. It's got to be almost 20 years since I played it. I really love your passion for it , and I'm loving learning about the different types of recorder.
Myth told to me when I was 11-----''Now take up the real flute'' 20 years ago I got a ''real'' recorder teacher and have played both jazz and classics in NY night clubs I'm 72 and have a lot of catching up to do.
True and also the "easy" myth is partially true, it's not too terrible to get to basic proficiency level for normal non-classical music at least, which motivates you to practice even harder and become more skilled.
When Sarah busts the " You can't play jazz on the recorder" myth, she mentions Israeli /NYC-based jazz recorder pro Tali Rubinstein. I am currently taking lessons with her and SHE IS GREAT! I just started a month ago, but I'm learning a lot already. I don't think I will ever play gigs in NYC like Acyutananda das, but I'm certainly having a lot of fun. Check out her videos to find out what a recorder can do in jazz! Particularly impressive are those of her playing over Charlie Parker's solos and other jazz greats'
My default response to anyone who doubts the recorder is a real instrument, or who subscribe to many of the other myths listed is simply for them to look up Tali Rubinstein on TH-cam. That usually settles the matter. And it also makes me proud to play the same instrument that she does, albeit only at a low casual hobbyist level and mostly for my own enjoyment (though I do also make the occasional video and post it on TH-cam).
@@acyutanandadas1326 great suggestion thanks! I didn't know him, but he sounds great indeed. What he does in his video is exactly what Tali is prompting me to do (no surprises there): learning from the masters and their solos. I'm working on bye bye blackbird , but it will take me.... a while to transcribe let alone play Miles's version. It's super educational for sure
I was one of those ten year olds that was told “Now it’s time to learn a proper instrument- here’s a clarinet!” My dad was delighted- Acker Bilk was in the charts with”Stranger on the Shore” 🙄 I sort of liked the clarinet but never really loved it. I alway saw the recorder as an extension of myself ( the clarinet was more like a badly designed artificial limb!) I studied the clarinet to a high level but always secretly kept up with the recorder when no one was around. Later, as a music teacher in a junior school I always spent a lot of time teaching kids in my clubs decent technique. At the local music festivals other teachers would ask me “What is your secret? How do your pupils sound so good when mine sound like a bag of strangled cats? “ News Flash - I can actually play the recorder! It’s such a shame that so many kids are taught by a well meaning primary school teacher who doesn’t have a repertoire beyond “Hot Cross buns...” I have to say the recorder is infinitely more difficult than the clarinet to play really well ( no lovely boehm key system to keep the fingerings simple.) I get so fed up of uneducated twits who think it’s cool to tease me for playing the recorder. ( Yes SIL I’m looking at you! ) But I suppose we just have to raise our eyes, sigh and not rise to it. 🙃
Me too. I had to play the clarinet, but never put the recorder down. See my comment at the "Sarah learns the clarinet" video... And always hated that Boehm keying. Just the holes. Four sharps? Don't bother me. Just use cross fingerings & enjoy!
It's easy to get basic proficiency but about the same difficulty as any other instrument to master, also you can play anything on recorder and it sounds great. Find the sheet music or figure out the notes for your Favorite rock or pop or metal songs and it sounds nice on everything.
I have heard all these negative comments throughout my life so often that I became embarrassed to say I played the recorder and told people I played the flute. I gave up playing and only returned recently to playing after a 20 year break. I discovered you Sarah during the pandemic lockdown and the huge recorder community. I used to think that I was the only recorder player in the world. Delighted to get back playing again and proud to be a recorder player. Thanks Sarah.
An instrument of nobility indeed! In the 1974 movie, "Romance with a Double Bass," the Princess (Connie Booth) says to bassist John Cleese, "I'm learning to play the recorder..." to which he replies, "Are you?! How marvelous! What a coincidence!" In the final scene, the two are playing a duet, she presumably having escaped/abandoned her royal family in favor of pursuing a more exciting life (as a recorder player) with the other musician. :-)
I am pianist. I used to think recorders were just toy instruments that kids play which is mostly true here in the USA. I always felt that there was a lot more the recorder could do and then I discovered your channel. Thanks for the inspiration. I just bought a very nice Mollenhauer Denner soprano recorder to start my recorder journey. So far I'm loving it. Almost done playing it in. I like to record accompaniments on piano and play recorder with myself at the piano. Lot's of fun.
I was so sad when our recorder lessons were over, in school. I didn't want to give mine back. I half-forgot about my love for the instrument, until I was watching Two Set Violin and saw Eddy messing around with one. Not long after that, I found you. I've now been inspired (probably 42 years later) to pick up the recorder again. And looking back, all these years later... Some of my favorite music had recorders playing in it! I thought they were flutes - nope! Recorders! I've ordered a recorder and a book and will hopefully be playing this weekend. :)
Like many American children I learned soprano recorder (on the low-end Yamaha) in school, but unlike my classmates I didn't discard it, continuing to play soprano and alto at least at a moderate amateur level. I've also since picked up clarinet, which I play less competently than recorder, but I try to keep practicing both. (I'd probably not have tried clarinet without my prior recorder experience tbh.) The first-step idea/problem really is vexing. The recorder's ease of sound production does make it a better first wind instrument than either reeds or the transverse flute, and yet so few music teachers have the time and training necessary to get the best out of their young players, many of who would rather not be doing it anyway. Yamaha has even tried to make a reed-recorder with their Venova; I've played one and would not recommend it as a school instrument. Embouchure/resistance/tuning all make it inferior to the recorder for that purpose, and I think bad Venova playing sounds even more offensive than bad recorder playing. Thanks for your channel, Sarah. You've not only motivated me to improve my skills but to keep my kids going after 4th grade, treating the recorder with the dignity it deserves.
@@emilia1911 The Venova is a very fancy plastic pipe with some interesting engineering/acoustics, overblowing at the octave and played with a saxophone mouthpiece. It was designed to use recorder fingerings and is marketed as a "casual" wind instrument. It's anything but casual IMO, because it doesn't play in tune chromatically, and even with a developed sax embouchure some notes are so off that you can't quite bend them back to pitch. I think they would have done better to make it more like a sax, with more keys.
We should stop bad-mouthing plastic recorders. Some of the plastic recorders produced these days are really good musical instruments and I think they will become even better in the future, due to innovations in polymer science. Remember - there is nothing inherently special or "magic" about wood; it's a polymer produced by nature, with lots of imperfections - for good and bad.
I play basset and occasionally tenor, and have reasonable plastic ones (TBH my plastic basset seems better than my old "cheap" (AU$500 back in the 80s) wooden one ever was) because I'm not a serious enough player to warrant having spent thousands on them.
Well... Bad-mouthing is unnecessary - but my plastic Yamaha definitely lacks the overtones of my old Moeck tuju. That said I ordered a Bernolin - it's resin (a polymer) and should have an amazing tone. Sarah did an unboxing and you can hear it's on a totally different level from a student plastic Yamaha. Can't wait for it to arrive!
Other wood Winds were developed and keys added to make different scales easier. So the recorder would be the hardest because it keeps the baroque no keys look.
I’m on the older side and a die-hard knitter. I play piano, cello and flute, but sought out the cheery sound of the soprano recorder. The soprano recorder sound makes me happy, and because it’s so small and light-weight, my aging joints are happy too. I’m enjoying the challenge of making pleasant music on my soprano recorder and seeking a non-plastic one with the most mellow tone possible.
0:35 - the recorder is not a real instrument 1:14 - the recorder is a child's instrument 2:18 - the recorder is not an orchestral instrument 3:09 - you can't play chromatic notes 3:32 - the recorder is easy to learn 3:43 - You don’t need an embouchure 4:44 - you can't tune a recorder 6:33 - recorders only play early music 7:11 - recorders are cheap 7:48 - you can ruin a recorder by oiling the block 8:55 - you can't play jazz on the recorder 9:15 - you have to keep all your instruments played in at all times 10:14 - if you can play one recorder, you can play them all 10:47 - the recorder should be used as a first step instrument before you move on to something real
You forgot the myth at 3:42. “You don’t need an embouchure…” That is a myth! As Sarah pointed out, the recorder definitely does require an embouchure to play it, especially the low C and playing in the upper register above the staff. Now, on the other hand, one wind instrument that requires no embouchure is the Native American flute. 😉 🎶🎵
Though it is subtle: 4:16, 7:05 - the recorder has no keys (this is more important in her other videos) Implied at 3:24 - the recorder can only play microtones because it has no keys (busted more directly in th-cam.com/video/q1XOnIk2ai8/w-d-xo.html)
In this video, in the section about playing-in the recorder, Sarah mentions getting "saliva" into the instrument. But no saliva can get into the recorder unless the player actually spits into it (yechh); the moisture that builds up in the bore, and has to be swabbed out, is just that--moisture. Not saliva.
Very interesting, as always! I have a percussionist friend who was a xylophone virtuoso. He also suffered from the perception people had of his instrument, a so-called "children's" instrument. *** «The piano is tuned in equal temperament, where every semi-tone is the same distance apart.» The verdict of my piano technicians (yes, I have more than one): FALSE!!!!!!! Tuning a piano is making a whole series of compromises. Equal temperament and perfect octaves are impossible to obtain on this instrument, due to the high inharmonicity of his strings.
I remember someone picking up one of my handmade instruments at a gig and blowing down it in imitation of a dying eider duck, before pretending to drop it. I breathed and continued, That’ll be £1500 please, in the event of you fully demonstrating your innocence - and yes, I have receipts and no, at the moment, I don’t have a throat infection.”
The first one I watch at time of getting out. I'm really glad I found your channel. I'm a beginner. Have been binge watching your channel every since I needed to start studying the recorder.
The recorder is NOT easy. I spent weeks just figuring out a low D and thought I was doomed to squeak through pieces forever. Is there a video on why the recorder stopped being an instrument in the orchestras and ensembles? Thanks!
A simplified story is this. The recorder didn't evolve like other wind instruments after their peek. Most professional recorder players during late Baroque were usually primarily professional oboists or flutists and it was these instruments that underwent continuous modifications to make them stronger and louder. You can see this as all modern orchestral wind instruments have keys and flutes changed material to metal. At some point, orchestral setting was not appropriate for the recorder because it was too weak to participate and its sound stopped being appreciated. A similar thing happened to viols and the harpsichord.
@@gnolex86 That is it in a nutshell. Almost all the instruments that are considered "chamber music" are very difficult to modify their volume. Basically non-amplified recorders are not loud enough for the popular music of the 1700-1800-1900s. (Think big overtures like 1812 and boisterous marches). To get more volume you have to add more recorders or switch to an instrument that allows you to get REALLY loud like a metal flute with keys.
Have you passed the phase yet, when you can see the impression of the holes on your fingers? :) No worries, just keep on perfecting your skills. For example, it was a relevation for me back then, when someone showed me that technique with the thumb whole, where you bend your thumb, and the thumbnail has a role to actually go into the upper part of the whole. Up until then, I just rolled over the hole partially with the tip of the thumb skin. If you know what I mean. That's just one example. Another was when I realised that it's much more comfortable to use not the very end of the fingertips to cover the upper three holes, but it's all right to cover them with a little bit further back part of the fingertip. No "death grip" anymore! My point is to keep an open mind, and try out things. :)
- the recorder is easy to learn I thought this when I started, (because they give it to kid). About 10 minutes I was like why do we give these to kids, this is hard. -I'll play it for a bit and if I can stick with it i'll get the other instrument I want. I thought this to, i mean $70 AUD to see if I can stick with music in general seemed like a deal. vs. say $1500 for student tenor sax, or $5k for a not great double bass... was easy choice. After finding lots of resources for the recorder and how cool it was. I just kept with the recorder. I'd still like a double bass..but price is a killer.
By ''miking the amp'' is when you hang a second microphone over the front of an amplifier. Harmonica players have done this since Little Walter in the '50's This way a recorder can play with a full orchestra and be heard in a stadium!!! (and I'm not even talk'n about all the distortions you can put on it)
@@Fretfeeler I play mostly harmonica (Rob Paparazzi my teacher) But I got the charts for Bach's Aire on Gstring and Ravel's Pavanne por lenfant defant---I Played alto recorder w piano bass and drums
There is some merit to the idea of starting on a recorder before going to other instruments where it comes to children. Small children can reach and hold a soprano recorder, plus, the instant gratification of it making a sound helps as a starting point. My son wanted to play clarinet when his arms were way too short, so I was teaching him recorder with the hope that he would maintain his interest and love of music until he was big enough. I did the same with my daughter who now plays the flute. I bought her a mollenhauer picco flute because she could already make a good sound, and she played it off and on until she could reach flute keys. It's too bad that people took an idea that works and reinterpreted it to mean that recorders are not an instrument that people play after they're 8.
If the caliber of a wind instrument’s bore is small enough, it won’t have an easy time playing its fundamental tone accurately: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_instrument#Whole-tube_vs._half-tube. A hypothetical “third-tube” clarinet thus has a register key that raises its tones a major sixth rather than a perfect twelfth. A register of a major sixth means the instrument needs less keywork to cover it, and less keywork means people need shorter arms to be able to reach all the notes. This will solve why people hate the recorder so much by removing the appearance of having to start smaller children playing woodwind instruments on it (technically there is also the tin whistle but that isn’t even taught professionally, at least that I know of).
I teach the recorder young children and many of them find it far from easy to start out with. You have to cover the holes accurately - even when you start with one or two simple fingerings you have to cover the thumbhole properly, which is a big difficulty for many children. In addition, you have to take care to adjust your breath, not to blow too hard, and on top of this you'll have to learn basic articulation and understand and pay attention to what your tongue is doing. Plus, if children are really starting out musically, they have to understand the basics of music notation. All that taken together is a LOT and can be very frustrating. It's very rare actually that any of my young pupils experience instant gratification, unless you count the mischievous joy of producing high squeaky sounds. Instant gratification is much more likely with, say, the piano, where you just press down a key and a wonderful sound is produced.
@@hunithmusic I did just mean the instant gratification with blowing, and it makes a sound, even if a bad one. A boehm flute or clarinet both have holes (I know child flutes don't) and require a lot more control to make any sound at all, that's all I was comparing. Kids tend to want to bang on the piano, too and have to be taught to use the right pressure. IMHO, that's exactly the same thing. The breath control to make a recorder work properly is still an issue on any wind instrument, and it isolates one of the many things that have to be learned. FWIW, I only worked on recorder with 2 of my kids. The others showed no interest in wind instruments, so I didn't bother. The interested ones were willing to put in the effort to make a good sound and cover the holes.
@@hunithmusic a hypothetical “third-tube” clarinet would be easier for young children to start out with since its keys automatically cover the holes accurately and it needs fewer of them to cover its major sixth register, making it easier for young children to reach the notes the score asks for. It is instantly gratifying in a certain way to able to play an entire piece of music accurately. Of course the sound may still be high and squeaky, but it’s really supposed to be because G4 (375-396Hz) is one of the instrument’s “low” notes.
@@alsatusmd1A13 Possibly, but then again I'm the recorder teacher at my music school and the pupils they're sending my way keep insisting on showing up with recorders ;)
For me, the recorder was a stepping-stone to other treble clef wind instruments, such as the ocarina, the tin whistle, the pan flute, the fife flute, the concert flute, the Bb clarinet, and the alto saxophone. All of which I regularly play along with my soprano, alto and tenor recorders - thanks to…you guessed it…the recorder. 😉 🎼 🎶🎵
I agree that recorder is a substantial instrument in its own right, but the inexpensive Yamaha plastic ones are very good gateway instruments if the child is too small to hold a clarinet, flute, or other woodwind. You have to almost adult-sized hands to reach the keys. Because of that, I have found (as a flute instructor) that starting small students, younger than about 10 years old, on recorder has turned out to be ideal. It is also much more financially accessible for young beginners as well. P.S. I would LOVE to hear you play Vivaldi Concerto in C on recorder as I am learning it on piccolo!
I think one of the things you touched on here is really important. If we want the recorder to be taken seriously as an instrument there needs to be availability of good teachers. So often it is a basic music lesson that is offered on the recorder and it never progresses from that. The grade exams in the UK help and raise the understanding and expectation of the recorder as a serious instrument but how easy is it to find a teacher who can teach this instrument through to the higher grades? It used to be virtually impossible, I don't know if this has improved in recent years.
It's the bad reputation of the squeaky plastic racket of kids in school. They would feel differently if they actually heard and saw impressive recorder performances in some way, be it through a skilled teacher at school or listening to a pro like Sarah Jeffery, Michaela Petri or Tali Rubenstein. That being said, it looks humble, and yet the simple open holes mean it's really flexible to play in different ways.
I’ve got a cheap recorder (someone gave it to me years ago). And today I was scouring through my old stuff and saw it. I thought to myself why not actually learn playing it after years it’s lived in the trunk 😅 so here am I watching your videos ☺️
Some people said that they are traumatised when being forced to play a recorder at school, but they don’t know that being able to learn a music instrument at a young age is such a privilege. Tbh I wished I had a chance to learn the recorder when I was in elementary school 😛
Parientou I’m starting to learn the Recorder and music at 30 haha. I grew up in VN and the music education in schools are mostly non-existent. We learned to sing in elementary school for one hour per week and that’s it. From 6th grade music education was complete cut off. If you need to learn music you’ll have to be rich enough to hire private tutor. I remember I was drooling when I saw my cousin have keyboard lessons. I asked my parents but we wasn’t able to afford the keyboard, left alone the lessons. If I knew there was a thing called recorder back then I’d just be so happy with a cheap plastic recorder and a method book 🥰🥰🥰
Hi, Sarah. 71-year old descant recorder player here. Did you know that on Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven', John Paul Jones played no fewer than three recorders (bass, tenor, soprano) mixed over each other on that track? I've only ever played descant (soprano) so I'm looking to have a try with a tenor. Wish me luck! 😉
I learned the recorder as a child and now I play the piano. Almost 20 years later, I'm thinking of re-learning the recorder because well, a piano is not portable at all lol and I'm not always at home, but I'm always in the mood of making some music 🎶
Other Rodney Dangerfield "I get no respect" instruments are the flutophone, slide whistle and song flute. And while we're at it, let's throw the kazoo (an instrument that imparts a buzzing quality to the human voice) into the mix. 😆
@@christophertsiliacos8958 the kazoo and other singing membranes get no respect because they make no sound of their own, changing the quality of the sound put into them instead. Also, an African ceremonial instrument supposedly inspired its design, but this is due to a legend attributing its origination to an an African-American who supposedly invented it decades before it was first officially documented: www.mentalfloss.com/article/29859/great-moments-kazoo-history. As for the other instruments you mention, it turns out the flutophone and song flute are just brand-name versions of the soprano recorder though the flutophone is supposedly only diatonic: www.liveabout.com/profile-of-the-flutophone-2457219 www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-song-flute.htm, and the slide whistle inspired the slide saxophone: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_whistle.
@@alsatusmd1A13 I agree with you with the exception that “the flutophone and song flute are just brand-name versions of the soprano recorder though the flutophone is supposedly only diatonic:” The Flutophone I play is fully chromatic as is the song flute (at least mine are). Like the soprano recorder, the flutophone’s lowest note is the low C (with C#) below the staff, but unlike the soprano recorder, the highest note that the flutophone can play is D natural on the fourth line of the staff. The song flute can play the low C but without the C# and its highest note is also the D natural on the fourth line of the staff. The fingering chart is the same for both the flutophone and song flute, but different for the recorder. This being the case the soprano recorder, although may look somewhat like a flutophone, is a different instrument. That is, a recorder player who has never played a flutophone nor song flute cannot just pick either one up and proceed to read treble clef music with it because the soprano recorder has a different fingering chart from that of the flutophone and song flute.
Christopher Tsiliacos then I wouldn’t call the difference particularly obvious if they look just the same to someone who isn’t playing them because they all have the same number of holes, 7 fingers plus the left thumb; and the upper holes are for the same fingers: indices, middles and rings plus the right pinky and both the flutophone and the real soprano recorder give the right pinky (and ring finger) the double hole(s). So, to be more accurate, the flutophone and song flute appear from the outside as if just brand name versions of the soprano recorder.
I think it’s easy to get to an intermediate level- assuming you practice. I think it gets more difficult to go from intermediate to expert than other instruments.
In college I played a tenor sax and a alto recorder. I loved the recorder in stairwells. Some of the modern recorder music is right up there with Sun Ra, Eric Dolphy, Pharaoh Sanders, with percussive sounds and soundscapes.
Recorder is an excellent first instrument, but there's no reason to stop playing it! The fingerings are excellent for learning other woodwinds such as sax, clarinet, oboe, flute, etc. It's good for small hands, and it's easy to make a sound, so great for kids! The kids can focus on learning to read music without having to struggle with a another woodwind such as saxophone where they may not have the hands or embouchure quite yet. Also the costs and low maintenance of a plastic recorder (even a pretty good one) is good for young children.
Played recorder in secondary school, havent played it for nearly 20 years but watching your videos has inspired me to take it up again. If anyone makes fun of me for playing again, I will direct them to this video!
I was in a Thrift Store yesterday, there in a box of mixed toys was a plastic "Mt Vernon" Soprano Recorder for 50cents! I couldn't resist the thought of learning an Instrument! :)
If someone tells you a recorder is not a serious instrument, point out that Händel used it to great effect in his opera Rodelinda, who knew recorder and sporano go so well together?! I knew oboe goes well together with soprano (Salieri, anyone?), I never would have thought recorder can work in this way as well. In addition to being and amateur recorder player, I'm an opera nerd.
Moving on to another instrument reminded me my story with the recorder. I wanted to learn play the flute, so we went with that idea to get listened in the music school when I was about 9 years old. It was told I should start with the recorder because it was planned that I will get soon braces on my teeth. They recommended to move on with the flute when my braces will be removed. I honestly did not want to start recorder, just started - you know I was a kid, followed the „order”. Fortunately I got a really great teacher, and he made me like the instrument. I stayed in the music school playing the recorder until I could - even when my braces were removed finally about 10 years later. I was the oldest blockflöte student in my town for awhile when I quit from that music school at age 21. I loved the time when we played dances in a small ensemble with the much younger students and with my former teacher using instruments from sopranino to bass. I was the tenorist that time, the younger students did not have enough long fingers :)) My teacher passed away few years ago and I really miss him. I could join his memorial concert last year where I could fortunately play again with a small ensemble group. About the „orchestral music” - recorder is rarely needed in orchestra, but since internet is here it is so easy to find ensembles or find people around you and start one. In my city I could not find a „band” to join, but could find one in another city and now I play with them, so finally I found a group of people where I can again practice and improve in playing the recorder. Soon I will get my Tony Dixon low D duo instrument which is a whistle and flute in one, so I can even try to play on a flute :))) and I just discovered half year ago there is a small forming group of baroque musicians in my town, so will join their concerts when I have the chance to listen them... and who knows what happens later ;)
Loved the (intended?) pose of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' @ 10:57 - which is pretty perfect (picture = 1000 words) for that moment! Well done, as always.
As far as I know, flute students play the same pieces earlier than recorder students. That means recorder is actually harder than flute at advanced levels?
I have had to deal with most of these over the years, even when I didn't play as seriously as I do now; however, I consider all instruments to be special, worthy, and delightful. So many contexts in which they may shine, and 900 years of recorder...there's your proof in the pudding!
I oil my recorder the way you do. I viewed your video on how to do it and that's what I feel confident about and comfortable with. The fact that to this day, there are still those who soak the entire recorder, must mean that both ways are fine. There is no right or wrong. You just have to pick what you like best. Also :') I ain't going to soak my recorder for it takes too long in my personal opinion. I'm just a hobbyist with a muscle disease that is trying to enjoy a bit of 'playing' (more like fiddeling around). Fast, quick, easy are the way to go for me.
Thinking of a Renaissance orchestra : the recorders are an important and normal part of the ensemble ! Look for Skip Sempé and his "Cappricio Stravagante" ! :))
Is it easy? To play some simple songs: yes To play anything in the upper register: NO I'm a year into playing tenor recorder and Playing any songs that run higher than upper E and down and up and down are still challenging. Getting that half hole thing right is probably the hardest thing on recorder.
It’s a real instrument. I believe it I love it. I’m happy and proud of it. This for some one who played guitar for twenty more years. I’m totally devoted to it. It’s more challenging than guitar. As hard as the violin and challenging. That’s why I love it. Thank you Sarah for you’re videos. Thank you team recorder go team recorder community. We’re all awesome.
My third comment. That must indicate how much love I have for this video. (Or my second mai tai. Whatever.) On a piano forum, someone posed the thesis that the piano is the most difficult instrument. And other piano players corrected him, saying that piano is the EASIEST instrument. After all, you just press a key and it plays it with good intonation, good attack, and in tune. In contrast to, say, a trumpet, where a beginner sounds like a dying duck because his lips don't know where the notes are yet, and relies on feedback to guide him into the middle of the slot. And the high range can take years to develop, where a piano player just reaches a little farther to the right. And then there's the recorder where, not only do you need to discover the fingering that plays a particular instrument in tune, you also need to discover the fingering to play it in tune when you blow harder or softer. For all that, the recorder is an accessible instrument for the beginner with low standards because you can just use the standard fingering and not worry about developing your embouchure. (My experience is that the number of fingers involved doesn't matter. It's just as easy to hit a wrong note on a trombone, and that only has one thing to control. You rely on the feel, not figuring one finger at a time.) Any instrument has its peculiarities. The piano is difficult because the player is expected to play so many notes in a short time, the trumpet because the embouchure requires both athleticism and finesse, the recorder for multiple sets of fingering. But you master that and move into the artistry, which transcends the technical details.
The Recorder is indeed a serious instrument. The reco is studied at top music schools such as The Guildhall school of Music and Drama and The Royal College of Music
This bass playing, heavy metal loving,middle aged ex professional Musician loves recorder, esp accompanying harpsichord. I still remember how excited I was when I worked out green sleeves when the other kids struggled with Mary had a little lam. I just found the granddaughters plastic recorder and I’m off to scrub it and relive childhood glory.
- Thinking back about the rejection for recorder I had at school, I realized it was actually not because of the instrument itself, nor because of how it was teached, but it had more to do with "rebellious conformism"... so, rejecting the recorder for not being rejected by the group, if it makes sense... No internet in the 80's but viral bashing was already around ;-) - Melodicas and ocarinas will still be my favorite instruments, but thanks to your videos, I bought a recorder today, just to give it a new chance decades after. I chose a tenor one, maybe not the wisest choice for beginning, but I like the sound better (which means more motivation) . I hope for a "second chance love story" ^^ - "not a real instrument" ? Where to even start... Nah, I won't (of course it's a real instrument). - "not looking professional" ? Do they mean looking "serious" ? Quite an ego-trip, if you ask me. It's music we're talking about, something that's (among other things) supposed to bring people together for a better world, not building ivory towers... - Well, bottom line, I totally love your videos and your uplifting energy 🙂
Oct. 8, my birthday, Happy Birthday to me. Anyway, I'm a guitar player and bought a couple of recorders many, many years ago. I hoped my daughter would be interested so we could play duets and such. She chose trumpet. (Que trombone: wha, wha, wha ,whaaaaaaa.) The recorders sat in the closet for years. Just, well, less than one month ago, I brought my alto out of the closet, I discovered your channel, bought the Trapp Family and Hauwe books and I've been having a lot of fun. I'm still working on my guitar, naturally but I love this new voice and new perspective. My special lady friend has expressed interest in the flute, so now she has my soprano recorder and book. I'm focusing on alto. I have questions. They can wait. For now, I just wanted to say thank you for your videos and your enthusiasm. Detroit, Mi.
I just got my first ever basic wood recorder maple school recorder and I love it I’ve been playing recorders over 20 years so my appreciation of recorders is very high and I play all sorts on them
Sarah - I love all your videos - they are so educational and fun and you inspired me to start playing again after 25 years since I played the soprano and flute and now I own and love a tenor Dream! Keep up your amazing energy and videos! And thank you!
I went the way of playing it when I was young and then moving on. I came back to it when I found a good plastic one while I was traveling in europe and missing making music. I was very easy to pack along and it was wonderful to be able to sit and play when I wanted to. I have since added a tenor to my collection and enjoy "jamming" on duets with family over the holidays. Not many instruments travel so well, are reasonable priced (the best plastic yamahas anyway) and are so temp and humidity tolerant. I know the plastic ones are not as good as wood but I'm not very good at playing them so I think that's a good match!😂 Thank you again for your lovely channel! I enjoy every episode and have added some wonderful recordings to my collection from your guests!
I always found it very sad if people started learning the recorder taught by a teacher with very little knowledge of the instrument - as if a violin teacher or trumpet player automatically knows how to play and teach others how to play the recorders! No wonder there is so little respect for the instrument, if the person teaching it has little to no idea what they are doing...
My experience of recorder players is that you reach a point after learning (much like the violin it takes a few years) where it goes 0-100, classroom trash to GOD TIER like professional recorder stuff is very cool and amazing
I think the problem with the recorder is that some trills are very difficult to make. On piano, guitar and many other instruments there are much less limitation..
I think there are a few strawmen here: 1. The recorder is easy. When people say an instrument is easy, they are not referring to advanced levels of playing, because in this sense, all instruments are equally---and infinitely---difficult. One can continue to improve on any instrument forever. When people speak about how difficult an instrument is, they are almost by definition speaking about how easy it is to make simple music on the instrument. In this sense piano is probably the easiest, but it's not very practical to give to school children. I personally think tin whistles would be better for school programs since they are even easier for beginners than recorder and can be produced just as cheaply. Melodica would be even better, but it's a little more pricey. Still, the recorder is easier to produce basic music on than a violin, trumpet, oboe or arguably even a guitar. As one wants to get into intermediate and advanced levels of recorder playing, obviously there are challenges, as with every other instrument. MYTH: TRUE!! 2. The recorder is cheap. Plastic recorders benefit from economies of scale, since they are produced in huge numbers. Guitar is perhaps the only instrument that competes, and it's true that one can get very inexpensive guitars that can be used to make good music. I've performed on a $150 guitar. However, I've also preformed on $12 recorder (and an even cheaper tin whistle). At the cheapest, recorders are cheaper than almost any other instrument. Of course, any hand-made instrument is expensive. Hand-made guitars start around $4,000 and just go up from there. The truth is, the simplicity and elegance of the recorder's design mean that it can indeed be fabricated at incredibly low costs for very musical-sounding instruments. MYTH: TRUE!! However, these are both *good* qualities of the recorder. I'm learning cello right now, and I can only wish that it were as cheap and easy to learn as my recorders! Both cello and recorder are wonderful instruments (especially when used together in chamber ensembles---oh baby!), but there are a lot more obstacles when getting started on cello. People who want to brag about how hard or expensive their instrument is are stupid. It's obviously much better if instruments are cheap and easy! My goal is to effortlessly make beautiful music not "spend a lot of money to do something hard"!
You're absolutely right with the second point, but for the first one I'm not sure. There are people who have problems with covering the holes. That's easier if you have keys, like on every other wind instrument. But you're right - it shouldn't be "bad" for an instrument to be easy or cheap. The problem for the recorder is that there are people who use these arguments to "prove" that recorders are kids' instruments. Also - I'd love to learn cello! It has such a beautiful sound and everything... I love it
It's very interesting how in a sense Dolmetsch resurrected the recorder, but also permanently downgraded its perception to the general public by pioneering cheap unit production with resins and pushing for its adoption at school. It's the passion, energy and determination of professionals like Sarah who will help re-establish its place in the musical instrument. It would be very curious to look at the sales figures of the established wooden recorder manufacturers (Moeck et al) and see to what extent she is fuelling a small renaissance of this instrument!
My musical education was mostly in piano and choir up through high school. I honestly could never quite wrap my head around why a C wasn't the same C across all musical instruments. So the recorder having different fingerings for different tunings makes complete sense to me! 😂 I'm trying to learn alto and soprano at the same time, fun stuff!!
A couple of things. First, the question of oiling. Impregnating an instrument while under construction is not the same as inserting oil in routine maintenance. If you are a qualified builder / voicer (I am) you can fix the problems in either case. But if you are not, as most players, as opposed to builders, are not; then you cannot. Hence the recommendation against oiling the block. It tends to alter the voicing, and that requires specialist care. Second, you can tune recorders. Not just the ways you listed in performance, but also by undercutting or filling (or moving) tone holes, just like any other woodwind (except you usually don't have to - although clarinets are often improved by undercutting) but also by adding or removing material in certain spots in the bore (usually the nodal or anti-nodal points for a given note or harmonic - and the traditional way oboes are tuned). Even plastic instruments can be improved by tuning. As in any instrument, the limiting factor is if the design is good enough to allow a skilled person to tune it or not. If yes, it is a (potentially) good instrument, if no, it is clearly not.
Recorders only play early music. As if there were anything wrong with that. But let's reverse things. A number of instruments only play modern music. Clarinet was beginning to wail at Mozart's times. Saxophone was unknown until the middle of the XIX century. Keyboard instruments didn't become a piano until the first decades of the XIX century. You COULD use it today to play Bach and Mozart (a good technical exercise, for sure) but it is an extremely questionable practice if you do so in the concert hall. I know they do, it's still questionable. Strings. Strings have been there for a long time. Yes. But they were built differently. And played very differently. They sounded like different instruments and in a way they were. The lazy attitude because of which all early works were played with modern instruments lasts to these days but the fact that it is widespread, doesn't mean it is right.
Recorders are amazing versatile. Early 19th century instruments that were just starting to get more keys may be more suitable for 19th century music, but it would be much harder to play Jazz or polyphonic music on them than on a recorder. Modern wind instruments may play jazz well, but are not well suited for early music. The recorder is pretty amazing in that only minor differences in bore design are appropriate to make them suitable to a vast range of music history.
@Wilhelm Orangenbaum love this answer. There is a place for "historical interpretation"---even an important place---but from my perspective it shouldn't even be the "default" way to approach a performance, let alone calling other approaches "questionable". The beautiful thing with music is that each performance somehow gives the piece a new life. I think there is a lot to be gained by playing old music on modern instruments that represent that state of the art, and incorporating (tastefully, I hope) modern technique and articulations. Of course, historical music on historical instruments is also great. There should be room for both in the concert hall.
I think the bad reputation of the recorder comes from several factors. Bad instruments, Children learning instead of real musicians playing, and the fact that most people don't even know the alto and tenor recorders that sound much better than the soprano.
2:18 "The Recorder is not an orchestral instrument". But what about Adriana Breukink's Eagle recorder? -- fully worthy of inclusion in orchestras and fully ABLE to hold it's own due to its much greater volume. Its LOUD, but very clear and sweet. The technology of modern recorder design has improved by leaps and bounds. Our beloved instrument will continue to evolve and improve to meet the demands of whatever musical situations that are required of them.
Good explanations. I also thought recorders are for kids or entry level for advancing to a real instrument. But having heard some of these wonderful instruments and that they can do all sorts of amazing stuff on-off keyed instruments can't possibly do, I am blown away by the potential of the recorder. I guess its relatively easy to get basic recorder skills but to realizing its potential takes years to develop requisite skills. Love the sound of the tenor; just beautiful - must get one and see if I can do it justice.
Tuning: Generally pulling the joints slightly apart to lengthen a recorder will make it flatter. However, on some instruments - presumably if pulled out a little too far (for that one) that can actually change the notes which emerge. I guess players just need to test their own instruments and know if this is something that will happen on particular instruments. I was very surprised to discover this on one instrument.
@@truesoundchris No. I know that pulling out the joints slightly will lower the pitch. This is a common technique for slight tuning adjustment on wind instruments, such as flutes and recorders. I have several recorders. I was very surprised to discover that with one of them - I'd have to revisit that - probably an Ecodear - which is a very good instrument for its type and price - that pulling the joints slightly apart did change the pitch slightly - as expected, but that going beyond a small limit the notes actually changed. From memory pulling the joints even 1/4 inch apart caused this.
Good video. I am a few weeks into learning recorder. Arthritis is my wrists have nearly put an end to my guitar playing. On recorder, I am still making lots of squeaks and fuzzy notes, but on my very affordable plastic Yamaha alto, I am having lots of fun. Bending pitch is cool. BTW, nice blouse Sarah. Your videos are my best defence against being glum in these difficult days.
My experience with pulling the headjoint out for tuning purposes is that it distorts intervals enough that I would rather tune with breath pressure alone.
Holy moly you freaked my dog out so much i had to use headphones haha. I love the recorder, then again there are a small amount of instruments i don't like. I really want to learn how to play medieval/viking style of wind instruments and i think i will start with a cheap recorder just to learn since if i never learn i don't have to stare at the dusty 2000$ recorder on my shelf... I... I've been there.. I'd also love to become a modern court jester of sorts mostly as a hobby and a part of my worship. I will not go into detail. Anyway! Your videos has helped me so so soo much and i love your personality warmth and the love you have for the recorder. I might probably go both ocarina and recorder.
Re:'childs instrument'' Such disparaging term. As a result children don't practice very much since they will probably graduate to a ''real'' instrument. And that's the myth.
Ukelele suffers from the same image problem for many of the same reasons, including that very cheap souvenir versions are available in destinations like Hawaii and that many children learn to play it in school.
A lot of the image problem with the Ukulele is older folks in amateur groups that transpose everything to C because they don't really want to improve their playing...
Not only the ukulele, but the slide whistle "suffers from the same image problem for many of the same reasons..." 😢
As for the slide whistle, getting no respect, I prefer to play "The Bridge on the River Kwai" with the slide whistle. 😊
@@christophertsiliacos8958 Crazy people, the slide whistle is an infinitely microtonal and they say its easy
Same happening with otamatone and kazoo. They're considered as "kid instruments", but with some practicing they can make beatiful songs cover. Sully G and others proved it.
There are to many instrument snobs out there, I was mocked at school for learning the Triangle.
If actually-playable, inexpensive clarinets, violins, or trumpets could be produced, those instruments would also be considered "toys."
That's the beauty of the recorder: A very inexpensive model can be played competently by a trained musician if necessary, but it can also lead a novice to progress to something much more refined! So the cheap, plastic one is NOT a toy -- it is a GATEWAY INSTRUMENT.
Tech Eddie Benoit Suave is so good he plays the $8 white yamaha plastic recorders.
I agree
My recorder was about $30.00 US, and is classed as a student level instrument. I was rather shocked when I found out that there are $1,000,00 US + instruments out there. As I'm retired, I can't afford that quality. See my previous comment to find out why I chose the one I got. No, it's not a good reason, but I got better that I thought I was getting even so. When I was in school, I used to play the Trombone, so I do have some musical training.
There r plastic flutes that aren’t really bad
Just come across your channel now. I played recorder in secondary school, I really enjoyed it and remember it wasnt "easy", especially when it came to half finger notes (forgive me if that's not the correct term, it's just what I called it!) I'm thinking of taking it up again, really love your channel. It's got to be almost 20 years since I played it. I really love your passion for it , and I'm loving learning about the different types of recorder.
Myth told to me when I was 11-----''Now take up the real flute'' 20 years ago I got a ''real'' recorder teacher and have played both jazz and classics in NY night clubs I'm 72 and have a lot of catching up to do.
Recorders for me... are one of the defenitions of "underrated" and "underappreciated" instruments, I personally like their sound😁😍
Yes
Just a question… Do you like the viola as well?
@@Chloe-ze4yy yes, yes I do, oh wait you didn't ask me...
Toben Durrant I like the tune😁 but although I'm a pianist, I'm more into violin😅
True and also the "easy" myth is partially true, it's not too terrible to get to basic proficiency level for normal non-classical music at least, which motivates you to practice even harder and become more skilled.
“That’s what I like about the recorder; its flexibility is its danger but also its beauty”
Wow 🔥🔥💯
When Sarah busts the " You can't play jazz on the recorder" myth, she mentions Israeli /NYC-based jazz recorder pro Tali Rubinstein. I am currently taking lessons with her and SHE IS GREAT! I just started a month ago, but I'm learning a lot already. I don't think I will ever play gigs in NYC like Acyutananda das, but I'm certainly having a lot of fun. Check out her videos to find out what a recorder can do in jazz! Particularly impressive are those of her playing over Charlie Parker's solos and other jazz greats'
My default response to anyone who doubts the recorder is a real instrument, or who subscribe to many of the other myths listed is simply for them to look up Tali Rubinstein on TH-cam. That usually settles the matter. And it also makes me proud to play the same instrument that she does, albeit only at a low casual hobbyist level and mostly for my own enjoyment (though I do also make the occasional video and post it on TH-cam).
Wow! You're learning from the great Tali!? I'm so jealous!!
pippo See YT vids of Benoit Suave
@@acyutanandadas1326 great suggestion thanks! I didn't know him, but he sounds great indeed. What he does in his video is exactly what Tali is prompting me to do (no surprises there): learning from the masters and their solos. I'm working on bye bye blackbird , but it will take me.... a while to transcribe let alone play Miles's version. It's super educational for sure
N
I was one of those ten year olds that was told “Now it’s time to learn a proper instrument- here’s a clarinet!” My dad was delighted- Acker Bilk was in the charts with”Stranger on the Shore” 🙄 I sort of liked the clarinet but never really loved it.
I alway saw the recorder as an extension of myself ( the clarinet was more like a badly designed artificial limb!) I studied the clarinet to a high level but always secretly kept up with the recorder when no one was around. Later, as a music teacher in a junior school I always spent a lot of time teaching kids in my clubs decent technique. At the local music festivals other teachers would ask me “What is your secret? How do your pupils sound so good when mine sound like a bag of strangled cats? “ News Flash - I can actually play the recorder! It’s such a shame that so many kids are taught by a well meaning primary school teacher who doesn’t have a repertoire beyond “Hot Cross buns...”
I have to say the recorder is infinitely more difficult than the clarinet to play really well ( no lovely boehm key system to keep the fingerings simple.) I get so fed up of uneducated twits who think it’s cool to tease me for playing the recorder. ( Yes SIL I’m looking at you! ) But I suppose we just have to raise our eyes, sigh and not rise to it. 🙃
Me too. I had to play the clarinet, but never put the recorder down. See my comment at the "Sarah learns the clarinet" video... And always hated that Boehm keying. Just the holes. Four sharps? Don't bother me. Just use cross fingerings & enjoy!
It's easy to get basic proficiency but about the same difficulty as any other instrument to master, also you can play anything on recorder and it sounds great. Find the sheet music or figure out the notes for your Favorite rock or pop or metal songs and it sounds nice on everything.
I have heard all these negative comments throughout my life so often that I became embarrassed to say I played the recorder and told people I played the flute. I gave up playing and only returned recently to playing after a 20 year break. I discovered you Sarah during the pandemic lockdown and the huge recorder community. I used to think that I was the only recorder player in the world. Delighted to get back playing again and proud to be a recorder player. Thanks Sarah.
😂😅🎉sophie
An instrument of nobility indeed!
In the 1974 movie, "Romance with a Double Bass," the Princess (Connie Booth) says to bassist John Cleese, "I'm learning to play the recorder..." to which he replies, "Are you?! How marvelous! What a coincidence!"
In the final scene, the two are playing a duet, she presumably having escaped/abandoned her royal family in favor of pursuing a more exciting life (as a recorder player) with the other musician. :-)
I must try to watch this!
I am pianist. I used to think recorders were just toy instruments that kids play which is mostly true here in the USA. I always felt that there was a lot more the recorder could do and then I discovered your channel. Thanks for the inspiration. I just bought a very nice Mollenhauer Denner soprano recorder to start my recorder journey. So far I'm loving it. Almost done playing it in. I like to record accompaniments on piano and play recorder with myself at the piano. Lot's of fun.
How can you not love a recorder?
Ear candy just as it is. I like the tenors.
Pair it with a lute, and ya got yourself a two piece time machine.
And pair it with a modern acoustic guitar, you've got folk heaven.
Altos are nice too( also for $20 cant get cheaper flute that sounds so great( No not the wooden ones .. those arent affordable ever))
I am planning to buy two wooden alto recorders, one in F, and one in G.
I would also like a wooden tenner as well
I was so sad when our recorder lessons were over, in school. I didn't want to give mine back. I half-forgot about my love for the instrument, until I was watching Two Set Violin and saw Eddy messing around with one. Not long after that, I found you. I've now been inspired (probably 42 years later) to pick up the recorder again. And looking back, all these years later... Some of my favorite music had recorders playing in it! I thought they were flutes - nope! Recorders! I've ordered a recorder and a book and will hopefully be playing this weekend. :)
Like many American children I learned soprano recorder (on the low-end Yamaha) in school, but unlike my classmates I didn't discard it, continuing to play soprano and alto at least at a moderate amateur level. I've also since picked up clarinet, which I play less competently than recorder, but I try to keep practicing both. (I'd probably not have tried clarinet without my prior recorder experience tbh.)
The first-step idea/problem really is vexing. The recorder's ease of sound production does make it a better first wind instrument than either reeds or the transverse flute, and yet so few music teachers have the time and training necessary to get the best out of their young players, many of who would rather not be doing it anyway. Yamaha has even tried to make a reed-recorder with their Venova; I've played one and would not recommend it as a school instrument. Embouchure/resistance/tuning all make it inferior to the recorder for that purpose, and I think bad Venova playing sounds even more offensive than bad recorder playing.
Thanks for your channel, Sarah. You've not only motivated me to improve my skills but to keep my kids going after 4th grade, treating the recorder with the dignity it deserves.
Do you know more about the reed recorder? Sounds interesting!
@@emilia1911 The Venova is a very fancy plastic pipe with some interesting engineering/acoustics, overblowing at the octave and played with a saxophone mouthpiece. It was designed to use recorder fingerings and is marketed as a "casual" wind instrument.
It's anything but casual IMO, because it doesn't play in tune chromatically, and even with a developed sax embouchure some notes are so off that you can't quite bend them back to pitch. I think they would have done better to make it more like a sax, with more keys.
@@nhaggin Thank you!
I think that what traumatised everyone in the class is the sound of 30 out of tunes recorder played at the same time... That was a horrible sound🤣
@@jollieJollie even worse when you're blessed/cursed with absolute pitch, as I am. :-)
We should stop bad-mouthing plastic recorders. Some of the plastic recorders produced these days are really good musical instruments and I think they will become even better in the future, due to innovations in polymer science. Remember - there is nothing inherently special or "magic" about wood; it's a polymer produced by nature, with lots of imperfections - for good and bad.
I play basset and occasionally tenor, and have reasonable plastic ones (TBH my plastic basset seems better than my old "cheap" (AU$500 back in the 80s) wooden one ever was) because I'm not a serious enough player to warrant having spent thousands on them.
no thank you, I think I'll stick to a nice wooden instrument.The feel of wood can be really beautiful. I'm a bit of a snob
Well... Bad-mouthing is unnecessary - but my plastic Yamaha definitely lacks the overtones of my old Moeck tuju. That said I ordered a Bernolin - it's resin (a polymer) and should have an amazing tone. Sarah did an unboxing and you can hear it's on a totally different level from a student plastic Yamaha. Can't wait for it to arrive!
Other wood Winds were developed and keys added to make different scales easier. So the recorder would be the hardest because it keeps the baroque no keys look.
I’m on the older side and a die-hard knitter. I play piano, cello and flute, but sought out the cheery sound of the soprano recorder. The soprano recorder sound makes me happy, and because it’s so small and light-weight, my aging joints are happy too. I’m enjoying the challenge of making pleasant music on my soprano recorder and seeking a non-plastic one with the most mellow tone possible.
0:35 - the recorder is not a real instrument
1:14 - the recorder is a child's instrument
2:18 - the recorder is not an orchestral instrument
3:09 - you can't play chromatic notes
3:32 - the recorder is easy to learn
3:43 - You don’t need an embouchure
4:44 - you can't tune a recorder
6:33 - recorders only play early music
7:11 - recorders are cheap
7:48 - you can ruin a recorder by oiling the block
8:55 - you can't play jazz on the recorder
9:15 - you have to keep all your instruments played in at all times
10:14 - if you can play one recorder, you can play them all
10:47 - the recorder should be used as a first step instrument before you move on to something real
You forgot the myth at 3:42. “You don’t need an embouchure…” That is a myth! As Sarah pointed out, the recorder definitely does require an embouchure to play it, especially the low C and playing in the upper register above the staff. Now, on the other hand, one wind instrument that requires no embouchure is the Native American flute. 😉 🎶🎵
@@christophertsiliacos8958 ohh yeah, sorry i forgot 😅
@@fionaespiridion5707 👍 😊
Though it is subtle: 4:16, 7:05 - the recorder has no keys (this is more important in her other videos)
Implied at 3:24 - the recorder can only play microtones because it has no keys (busted more directly in th-cam.com/video/q1XOnIk2ai8/w-d-xo.html)
*Sarah's face expressions are National Treasure* 😄💙
In this video, in the section about playing-in the recorder, Sarah mentions getting "saliva" into the instrument. But no saliva can get into the recorder unless the player actually spits into it (yechh); the moisture that builds up in the bore, and has to be swabbed out, is just that--moisture. Not saliva.
Very interesting, as always!
I have a percussionist friend who was a xylophone virtuoso. He also suffered from the perception people had of his instrument, a so-called "children's" instrument.
***
«The piano is tuned in equal temperament, where every semi-tone is the same distance apart.»
The verdict of my piano technicians (yes, I have more than one): FALSE!!!!!!!
Tuning a piano is making a whole series of compromises. Equal temperament and perfect octaves are impossible to obtain on this instrument, due to the high inharmonicity of his strings.
I remember someone picking up one of my handmade instruments at a gig and blowing down it in imitation of a dying eider duck, before pretending to drop it. I breathed and continued, That’ll be £1500 please, in the event of you fully demonstrating your innocence - and yes, I have receipts and no, at the moment, I don’t have a throat infection.”
The first one I watch at time of getting out. I'm really glad I found your channel. I'm a beginner. Have been binge watching your channel every since I needed to start studying the recorder.
Play play play!!!
The recorder is NOT easy. I spent weeks just figuring out a low D and thought I was doomed to squeak through pieces forever. Is there a video on why the recorder stopped being an instrument in the orchestras and ensembles? Thanks!
A simplified story is this. The recorder didn't evolve like other wind instruments after their peek. Most professional recorder players during late Baroque were usually primarily professional oboists or flutists and it was these instruments that underwent continuous modifications to make them stronger and louder. You can see this as all modern orchestral wind instruments have keys and flutes changed material to metal. At some point, orchestral setting was not appropriate for the recorder because it was too weak to participate and its sound stopped being appreciated. A similar thing happened to viols and the harpsichord.
@@gnolex86 That is it in a nutshell. Almost all the instruments that are considered "chamber music" are very difficult to modify their volume. Basically non-amplified recorders are not loud enough for the popular music of the 1700-1800-1900s. (Think big overtures like 1812 and boisterous marches). To get more volume you have to add more recorders or switch to an instrument that allows you to get REALLY loud like a metal flute with keys.
@@gnolex86 Thank you very much!
Have you passed the phase yet, when you can see the impression of the holes on your fingers? :) No worries, just keep on perfecting your skills. For example, it was a relevation for me back then, when someone showed me that technique with the thumb whole, where you bend your thumb, and the thumbnail has a role to actually go into the upper part of the whole. Up until then, I just rolled over the hole partially with the tip of the thumb skin. If you know what I mean.
That's just one example. Another was when I realised that it's much more comfortable to use not the very end of the fingertips to cover the upper three holes, but it's all right to cover them with a little bit further back part of the fingertip. No "death grip" anymore!
My point is to keep an open mind, and try out things. :)
@@HeadCannonPrime I’m a new and do they have metal recorders?
- the recorder is easy to learn
I thought this when I started, (because they give it to kid). About 10 minutes I was like why do we give these to kids, this is hard.
-I'll play it for a bit and if I can stick with it i'll get the other instrument I want.
I thought this to, i mean $70 AUD to see if I can stick with music in general seemed like a deal. vs. say $1500 for student tenor sax, or $5k for a not great double bass... was easy choice. After finding lots of resources for the recorder and how cool it was. I just kept with the recorder. I'd still like a double bass..but price is a killer.
By ''miking the amp'' is when you hang a second microphone over the front of an amplifier. Harmonica players have done this since Little Walter in the '50's This way a recorder can play with a full orchestra and be heard in a stadium!!! (and I'm not even talk'n about all the distortions you can put on it)
I mic my Recorder all the time playing Flute parts from 70's songs
@@Fretfeeler Great Do you platy Jethro Tull ?
@@acyutanandadas1326 working on it I play Firefall and working on some Tull
@@Fretfeeler I play mostly harmonica (Rob Paparazzi my teacher) But I got the charts for Bach's Aire on Gstring and Ravel's Pavanne por lenfant defant---I Played alto recorder w piano bass and drums
I just ordered and received my Mollenhauer Tulipwood...sooooo thrilled...it is gorgeous
There is some merit to the idea of starting on a recorder before going to other instruments where it comes to children. Small children can reach and hold a soprano recorder, plus, the instant gratification of it making a sound helps as a starting point. My son wanted to play clarinet when his arms were way too short, so I was teaching him recorder with the hope that he would maintain his interest and love of music until he was big enough. I did the same with my daughter who now plays the flute. I bought her a mollenhauer picco flute because she could already make a good sound, and she played it off and on until she could reach flute keys. It's too bad that people took an idea that works and reinterpreted it to mean that recorders are not an instrument that people play after they're 8.
If the caliber of a wind instrument’s bore is small enough, it won’t have an easy time playing its fundamental tone accurately: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_instrument#Whole-tube_vs._half-tube. A hypothetical “third-tube” clarinet thus has a register key that raises its tones a major sixth rather than a perfect twelfth. A register of a major sixth means the instrument needs less keywork to cover it, and less keywork means people need shorter arms to be able to reach all the notes. This will solve why people hate the recorder so much by removing the appearance of having to start smaller children playing woodwind instruments on it (technically there is also the tin whistle but that isn’t even taught professionally, at least that I know of).
I teach the recorder young children and many of them find it far from easy to start out with. You have to cover the holes accurately - even when you start with one or two simple fingerings you have to cover the thumbhole properly, which is a big difficulty for many children. In addition, you have to take care to adjust your breath, not to blow too hard, and on top of this you'll have to learn basic articulation and understand and pay attention to what your tongue is doing. Plus, if children are really starting out musically, they have to understand the basics of music notation. All that taken together is a LOT and can be very frustrating. It's very rare actually that any of my young pupils experience instant gratification, unless you count the mischievous joy of producing high squeaky sounds. Instant gratification is much more likely with, say, the piano, where you just press down a key and a wonderful sound is produced.
@@hunithmusic I did just mean the instant gratification with blowing, and it makes a sound, even if a bad one. A boehm flute or clarinet both have holes (I know child flutes don't) and require a lot more control to make any sound at all, that's all I was comparing. Kids tend to want to bang on the piano, too and have to be taught to use the right pressure. IMHO, that's exactly the same thing. The breath control to make a recorder work properly is still an issue on any wind instrument, and it isolates one of the many things that have to be learned. FWIW, I only worked on recorder with 2 of my kids. The others showed no interest in wind instruments, so I didn't bother. The interested ones were willing to put in the effort to make a good sound and cover the holes.
@@hunithmusic a hypothetical “third-tube” clarinet would be easier for young children to start out with since its keys automatically cover the holes accurately and it needs fewer of them to cover its major sixth register, making it easier for young children to reach the notes the score asks for. It is instantly gratifying in a certain way to able to play an entire piece of music accurately. Of course the sound may still be high and squeaky, but it’s really supposed to be because G4 (375-396Hz) is one of the instrument’s “low” notes.
@@alsatusmd1A13 Possibly, but then again I'm the recorder teacher at my music school and the pupils they're sending my way keep insisting on showing up with recorders ;)
when my friend saw me playing my recorder she said "is that a child's instrument" then i was like 😕
For me, the recorder was a stepping-stone to other treble clef wind instruments, such as the ocarina, the tin whistle, the pan flute, the fife flute, the concert flute, the Bb clarinet, and the alto saxophone. All of which I regularly play along with my soprano, alto and tenor recorders - thanks to…you guessed it…the recorder. 😉 🎼 🎶🎵
I agree that recorder is a substantial instrument in its own right, but the inexpensive Yamaha plastic ones are very good gateway instruments if the child is too small to hold a clarinet, flute, or other woodwind. You have to almost adult-sized hands to reach the keys. Because of that, I have found (as a flute instructor) that starting small students, younger than about 10 years old, on recorder has turned out to be ideal. It is also much more financially accessible for young beginners as well.
P.S. I would LOVE to hear you play Vivaldi Concerto in C on recorder as I am learning it on piccolo!
1:06 Sad-trombone-on-the-recorder FTW.
Loved that!
I think one of the things you touched on here is really important. If we want the recorder to be taken seriously as an instrument there needs to be availability of good teachers. So often it is a basic music lesson that is offered on the recorder and it never progresses from that. The grade exams in the UK help and raise the understanding and expectation of the recorder as a serious instrument but how easy is it to find a teacher who can teach this instrument through to the higher grades? It used to be virtually impossible, I don't know if this has improved in recent years.
It's the bad reputation of the squeaky plastic racket of kids in school. They would feel differently if they actually heard and saw impressive recorder performances in some way, be it through a skilled teacher at school or listening to a pro like Sarah Jeffery, Michaela Petri or Tali Rubenstein. That being said, it looks humble, and yet the simple open holes mean it's really flexible to play in different ways.
The Recorder and the Tin Whistle are both my favorites their so much fun to play ❤😊. I like listening to you play.
I’ve got a cheap recorder (someone gave it to me years ago). And today I was scouring through my old stuff and saw it. I thought to myself why not actually learn playing it after years it’s lived in the trunk 😅 so here am I watching your videos ☺️
I believed in those myths until I stumbled on your channel and learned what an amazing instrument it is
Some people said that they are traumatised when being forced to play a recorder at school, but they don’t know that being able to learn a music instrument at a young age is such a privilege.
Tbh I wished I had a chance to learn the recorder when I was in elementary school 😛
Parientou I’m starting to learn the Recorder and music at 30 haha. I grew up in VN and the music education in schools are mostly non-existent. We learned to sing in elementary school for one hour per week and that’s it. From 6th grade music education was complete cut off.
If you need to learn music you’ll have to be rich enough to hire private tutor. I remember I was drooling when I saw my cousin have keyboard lessons. I asked my parents but we wasn’t able to afford the keyboard, left alone the lessons.
If I knew there was a thing called recorder back then I’d just be so happy with a cheap plastic recorder and a method book 🥰🥰🥰
Parientou btw, your painting videos look amazing 👀
Hi, Sarah. 71-year old descant recorder player here. Did you know that on Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven', John Paul Jones played no fewer than three recorders (bass, tenor, soprano) mixed over each other on that track? I've only ever played descant (soprano) so I'm looking to have a try with a tenor. Wish me luck! 😉
When i'm hear "recorder", i mean "tape recorder" (magnetic tape device) - cassete or reel-to-reel magnetophone.
I always liked the sound of baroque music with the recorder or the baroque oboe more as a like the flute. it has character.
As a composer of music for the recorder, I am so glad you mentioned that! Thanks for this great video.
I learned the recorder as a child and now I play the piano. Almost 20 years later, I'm thinking of re-learning the recorder because well, a piano is not portable at all lol and I'm not always at home, but I'm always in the mood of making some music 🎶
I play a bunch of "ain't got no respect", "just for kids, right?" instruments: recorder of course, melodica, autoharp & glockenspiel.
You're amazing.
Other Rodney Dangerfield "I get no respect" instruments are the flutophone, slide whistle and song flute. And while we're at it, let's throw the kazoo (an instrument that imparts a buzzing quality to the human voice) into the mix. 😆
@@christophertsiliacos8958 the kazoo and other singing membranes get no respect because they make no sound of their own, changing the quality of the sound put into them instead. Also, an African ceremonial instrument supposedly inspired its design, but this is due to a legend attributing its origination to an an African-American who supposedly invented it decades before it was first officially documented: www.mentalfloss.com/article/29859/great-moments-kazoo-history. As for the other instruments you mention, it turns out the flutophone and song flute are just brand-name versions of the soprano recorder though the flutophone is supposedly only diatonic: www.liveabout.com/profile-of-the-flutophone-2457219 www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-song-flute.htm, and the slide whistle inspired the slide saxophone: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_whistle.
@@alsatusmd1A13 I agree with you with the exception that “the flutophone and song flute are just brand-name versions of the soprano recorder though the flutophone is supposedly only diatonic:”
The Flutophone I play is fully chromatic as is the song flute (at least mine are). Like the soprano recorder, the flutophone’s lowest note is the low C (with C#) below the staff, but unlike the soprano recorder, the highest note that the flutophone can play is D natural on the fourth line of the staff. The song flute can play the low C but without the C# and its highest note is also the D natural on the fourth line of the staff. The fingering chart is the same for both the flutophone and song flute, but different for the recorder.
This being the case the soprano recorder, although may look somewhat like a flutophone, is a different instrument. That is, a recorder player who has never played a flutophone nor song flute cannot just pick either one up and proceed to read treble clef music with it because the soprano recorder has a different fingering chart from that of the flutophone and song flute.
Christopher Tsiliacos then I wouldn’t call the difference particularly obvious if they look just the same to someone who isn’t playing them because they all have the same number of holes, 7 fingers plus the left thumb; and the upper holes are for the same fingers: indices, middles and rings plus the right pinky and both the flutophone and the real soprano recorder give the right pinky (and ring finger) the double hole(s). So, to be more accurate, the flutophone and song flute appear from the outside as if just brand name versions of the soprano recorder.
I think it’s easy to get to an intermediate level- assuming you practice. I think it gets more difficult to go from intermediate to expert than other instruments.
Not really, they all just take a lot of practice. 😎
In college I played a tenor sax and a alto recorder. I loved the recorder in stairwells. Some of the modern recorder music is right up there with Sun Ra, Eric Dolphy, Pharaoh Sanders, with percussive sounds and soundscapes.
Always love your videos Sarah, your obvious love for the Recorder is such a breath of fresh air in these jaded times
Recorder is an excellent first instrument, but there's no reason to stop playing it! The fingerings are excellent for learning other woodwinds such as sax, clarinet, oboe, flute, etc. It's good for small hands, and it's easy to make a sound, so great for kids! The kids can focus on learning to read music without having to struggle with a another woodwind such as saxophone where they may not have the hands or embouchure quite yet. Also the costs and low maintenance of a plastic recorder (even a pretty good one) is good for young children.
Played recorder in secondary school, havent played it for nearly 20 years but watching your videos has inspired me to take it up again. If anyone makes fun of me for playing again, I will direct them to this video!
I was in a Thrift Store yesterday, there in a box of mixed toys was a plastic "Mt Vernon" Soprano Recorder for 50cents! I couldn't resist the thought of learning an Instrument! :)
Yeah, I am worth 50cents! :) Thank you for sharing!
I just ordered a new recorder to pick it up again after ten years. I really enjoyed playing as a teenager.
I’ve been playin piano for years and not so long ago I started the recorder. Love them either. "Un cimento".
If someone tells you a recorder is not a serious instrument, point out that Händel used it to great effect in his opera Rodelinda, who knew recorder and sporano go so well together?! I knew oboe goes well together with soprano (Salieri, anyone?), I never would have thought recorder can work in this way as well.
In addition to being and amateur recorder player, I'm an opera nerd.
Moving on to another instrument reminded me my story with the recorder. I wanted to learn play the flute, so we went with that idea to get listened in the music school when I was about 9 years old. It was told I should start with the recorder because it was planned that I will get soon braces on my teeth. They recommended to move on with the flute when my braces will be removed. I honestly did not want to start recorder, just started - you know I was a kid, followed the „order”. Fortunately I got a really great teacher, and he made me like the instrument. I stayed in the music school playing the recorder until I could - even when my braces were removed finally about 10 years later. I was the oldest blockflöte student in my town for awhile when I quit from that music school at age 21. I loved the time when we played dances in a small ensemble with the much younger students and with my former teacher using instruments from sopranino to bass. I was the tenorist that time, the younger students did not have enough long fingers :)) My teacher passed away few years ago and I really miss him. I could join his memorial concert last year where I could fortunately play again with a small ensemble group.
About the „orchestral music” - recorder is rarely needed in orchestra, but since internet is here it is so easy to find ensembles or find people around you and start one. In my city I could not find a „band” to join, but could find one in another city and now I play with them, so finally I found a group of people where I can again practice and improve in playing the recorder. Soon I will get my Tony Dixon low D duo instrument which is a whistle and flute in one, so I can even try to play on a flute :))) and I just discovered half year ago there is a small forming group of baroque musicians in my town, so will join their concerts when I have the chance to listen them... and who knows what happens later ;)
Loved the (intended?) pose of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' @ 10:57 - which is pretty perfect (picture = 1000 words) for that moment! Well done, as always.
As far as I know, flute students play the same pieces earlier than recorder students. That means recorder is actually harder than flute at advanced levels?
I have had to deal with most of these over the years, even when I didn't play as seriously as I do now; however, I consider all instruments to be special, worthy, and delightful. So many contexts in which they may shine, and 900 years of recorder...there's your proof in the pudding!
I oil my recorder the way you do. I viewed your video on how to do it and that's what I feel confident about and comfortable with.
The fact that to this day, there are still those who soak the entire recorder, must mean that both ways are fine. There is no right or wrong. You just have to pick what you like best.
Also :') I ain't going to soak my recorder for it takes too long in my personal opinion. I'm just a hobbyist with a muscle disease that is trying to enjoy a bit of 'playing' (more like fiddeling around).
Fast, quick, easy are the way to go for me.
Thinking of a Renaissance orchestra : the recorders are an important and normal part of the ensemble !
Look for Skip Sempé and his "Cappricio Stravagante" ! :))
Is it easy?
To play some simple songs: yes
To play anything in the upper register: NO
I'm a year into playing tenor recorder and Playing any songs that run higher than upper E and down and up and down are still challenging. Getting that half hole thing right is probably the hardest thing on recorder.
It’s a real instrument. I believe it I love it. I’m happy and proud of it. This for some one who played guitar for twenty more years. I’m totally devoted to it. It’s more challenging than guitar. As hard as the violin and challenging. That’s why I love it. Thank you Sarah for you’re videos. Thank you team recorder go team recorder community. We’re all awesome.
My third comment. That must indicate how much love I have for this video. (Or my second mai tai. Whatever.) On a piano forum, someone posed the thesis that the piano is the most difficult instrument. And other piano players corrected him, saying that piano is the EASIEST instrument. After all, you just press a key and it plays it with good intonation, good attack, and in tune. In contrast to, say, a trumpet, where a beginner sounds like a dying duck because his lips don't know where the notes are yet, and relies on feedback to guide him into the middle of the slot. And the high range can take years to develop, where a piano player just reaches a little farther to the right. And then there's the recorder where, not only do you need to discover the fingering that plays a particular instrument in tune, you also need to discover the fingering to play it in tune when you blow harder or softer. For all that, the recorder is an accessible instrument for the beginner with low standards because you can just use the standard fingering and not worry about developing your embouchure. (My experience is that the number of fingers involved doesn't matter. It's just as easy to hit a wrong note on a trombone, and that only has one thing to control. You rely on the feel, not figuring one finger at a time.) Any instrument has its peculiarities. The piano is difficult because the player is expected to play so many notes in a short time, the trumpet because the embouchure requires both athleticism and finesse, the recorder for multiple sets of fingering. But you master that and move into the artistry, which transcends the technical details.
You play the recorder?? mmmm.... And then you have to explain.
The Recorder is indeed a serious instrument.
The reco is studied at top music schools such as The Guildhall school of Music and Drama and The Royal College of Music
This bass playing, heavy metal loving,middle aged ex professional Musician loves recorder, esp accompanying harpsichord. I still remember how excited I was when I worked out green sleeves when the other kids struggled with Mary had a little lam. I just found the granddaughters plastic recorder and I’m off to scrub it and relive childhood glory.
- Thinking back about the rejection for recorder I had at school, I realized it was actually not because of the instrument itself, nor because of how it was teached, but it had more to do with "rebellious conformism"... so, rejecting the recorder for not being rejected by the group, if it makes sense... No internet in the 80's but viral bashing was already around ;-)
- Melodicas and ocarinas will still be my favorite instruments, but thanks to your videos, I bought a recorder today, just to give it a new chance decades after. I chose a tenor one, maybe not the wisest choice for beginning, but I like the sound better (which means more motivation) . I hope for a "second chance love story" ^^
- "not a real instrument" ? Where to even start... Nah, I won't (of course it's a real instrument).
- "not looking professional" ? Do they mean looking "serious" ? Quite an ego-trip, if you ask me. It's music we're talking about, something that's (among other things) supposed to bring people together for a better world, not building ivory towers...
- Well, bottom line, I totally love your videos and your uplifting energy 🙂
Oct. 8, my birthday, Happy Birthday to me. Anyway, I'm a guitar player and bought a couple of recorders many, many years ago. I hoped my daughter would be interested so we could play duets and such. She chose trumpet. (Que trombone: wha, wha, wha ,whaaaaaaa.) The recorders sat in the closet for years. Just, well, less than one month ago, I brought my alto out of the closet, I discovered your channel, bought the Trapp Family and Hauwe books and I've been having a lot of fun. I'm still working on my guitar, naturally but I love this new voice and new perspective. My special lady friend has expressed interest in the flute, so now she has my soprano recorder and book. I'm focusing on alto. I have questions. They can wait. For now, I just wanted to say thank you for your videos and your enthusiasm. Detroit, Mi.
10:14 - "if you can play one recorder, you can play them all". Nope, I can't play my garklein because my hands are too big :(
I share your pain. I have to settle for my Sopranino but at least I can play it decently
On the other hand, short fingered me often finds my tenor too painfiul to play
I just got my first ever basic wood recorder maple school recorder and I love it I’ve been playing recorders over 20 years so my appreciation of recorders is very high and I play all sorts on them
Sarah - I love all your videos - they are so educational and fun and you inspired me to start playing again after 25 years since I played the soprano and flute and now I own and love a tenor Dream! Keep up your amazing energy and videos! And thank you!
I went the way of playing it when I was young and then moving on. I came back to it when I found a good plastic one while I was traveling in europe and missing making music. I was very easy to pack along and it was wonderful to be able to sit and play when I wanted to. I have since added a tenor to my collection and enjoy "jamming" on duets with family over the holidays. Not many instruments travel so well, are reasonable priced (the best plastic yamahas anyway) and are so temp and humidity tolerant. I know the plastic ones are not as good as wood but I'm not very good at playing them so I think that's a good match!😂
Thank you again for your lovely channel! I enjoy every episode and have added some wonderful recordings to my collection from your guests!
Jeffery 2020: Putting a professional recorder teacher in every classroom!
Good luck with that, doesn't pay well
I always found it very sad if people started learning the recorder taught by a teacher with very little knowledge of the instrument - as if a violin teacher or trumpet player automatically knows how to play and teach others how to play the recorders! No wonder there is so little respect for the instrument, if the person teaching it has little to no idea what they are doing...
My experience of recorder players is that you reach a point after learning (much like the violin it takes a few years) where it goes 0-100, classroom trash to GOD TIER like professional recorder stuff is very cool and amazing
I think the problem with the recorder is that some trills are very difficult to make. On piano, guitar and many other instruments there are much less limitation..
@@songfulmusicofsongs that's what alternative fingerings are for. Still E to F on a Soprano is troublesome
“and that’s why our brains are so big” made me laugh! I’ll need to use this now whenever someone says something stupid
I think there are a few strawmen here:
1. The recorder is easy. When people say an instrument is easy, they are not referring to advanced levels of playing, because in this sense, all instruments are equally---and infinitely---difficult. One can continue to improve on any instrument forever. When people speak about how difficult an instrument is, they are almost by definition speaking about how easy it is to make simple music on the instrument. In this sense piano is probably the easiest, but it's not very practical to give to school children. I personally think tin whistles would be better for school programs since they are even easier for beginners than recorder and can be produced just as cheaply. Melodica would be even better, but it's a little more pricey. Still, the recorder is easier to produce basic music on than a violin, trumpet, oboe or arguably even a guitar. As one wants to get into intermediate and advanced levels of recorder playing, obviously there are challenges, as with every other instrument. MYTH: TRUE!!
2. The recorder is cheap. Plastic recorders benefit from economies of scale, since they are produced in huge numbers. Guitar is perhaps the only instrument that competes, and it's true that one can get very inexpensive guitars that can be used to make good music. I've performed on a $150 guitar. However, I've also preformed on $12 recorder (and an even cheaper tin whistle). At the cheapest, recorders are cheaper than almost any other instrument. Of course, any hand-made instrument is expensive. Hand-made guitars start around $4,000 and just go up from there. The truth is, the simplicity and elegance of the recorder's design mean that it can indeed be fabricated at incredibly low costs for very musical-sounding instruments. MYTH: TRUE!!
However, these are both *good* qualities of the recorder. I'm learning cello right now, and I can only wish that it were as cheap and easy to learn as my recorders! Both cello and recorder are wonderful instruments (especially when used together in chamber ensembles---oh baby!), but there are a lot more obstacles when getting started on cello. People who want to brag about how hard or expensive their instrument is are stupid. It's obviously much better if instruments are cheap and easy! My goal is to effortlessly make beautiful music not "spend a lot of money to do something hard"!
You're absolutely right with the second point, but for the first one I'm not sure. There are people who have problems with covering the holes. That's easier if you have keys, like on every other wind instrument.
But you're right - it shouldn't be "bad" for an instrument to be easy or cheap. The problem for the recorder is that there are people who use these arguments to "prove" that recorders are kids' instruments.
Also - I'd love to learn cello! It has such a beautiful sound and everything... I love it
It's very interesting how in a sense Dolmetsch resurrected the recorder, but also permanently downgraded its perception to the general public by pioneering cheap unit production with resins and pushing for its adoption at school. It's the passion, energy and determination of professionals like Sarah who will help re-establish its place in the musical instrument. It would be very curious to look at the sales figures of the established wooden recorder manufacturers (Moeck et al) and see to what extent she is fuelling a small renaissance of this instrument!
My musical education was mostly in piano and choir up through high school. I honestly could never quite wrap my head around why a C wasn't the same C across all musical instruments. So the recorder having different fingerings for different tunings makes complete sense to me! 😂 I'm trying to learn alto and soprano at the same time, fun stuff!!
A couple of things. First, the question of oiling. Impregnating an instrument while under construction is not the same as inserting oil in routine maintenance. If you are a qualified builder / voicer (I am) you can fix the problems in either case. But if you are not, as most players, as opposed to builders, are not; then you cannot. Hence the recommendation against oiling the block. It tends to alter the voicing, and that requires specialist care. Second, you can tune recorders. Not just the ways you listed in performance, but also by undercutting or filling (or moving) tone holes, just like any other woodwind (except you usually don't have to - although clarinets are often improved by undercutting) but also by adding or removing material in certain spots in the bore (usually the nodal or anti-nodal points for a given note or harmonic - and the traditional way oboes are tuned). Even plastic instruments can be improved by tuning. As in any instrument, the limiting factor is if the design is good enough to allow a skilled person to tune it or not. If yes, it is a (potentially) good instrument, if no, it is clearly not.
Oh no, my recorder is a bit sharp
*Pulls out a hairdryer*
Recorders only play early music. As if there were anything wrong with that.
But let's reverse things.
A number of instruments only play modern music.
Clarinet was beginning to wail at Mozart's times. Saxophone was unknown until the middle of the XIX century.
Keyboard instruments didn't become a piano until the first decades of the XIX century. You COULD use it today to play Bach and Mozart (a good technical exercise, for sure) but it is an extremely questionable practice if you do so in the concert hall. I know they do, it's still questionable.
Strings. Strings have been there for a long time. Yes. But they were built differently. And played very differently. They sounded like different instruments and in a way they were.
The lazy attitude because of which all early works were played with modern instruments lasts to these days but the fact that it is widespread, doesn't mean it is right.
That's true...
Recorders are amazing versatile. Early 19th century instruments that were just starting to get more keys may be more suitable for 19th century music, but it would be much harder to play Jazz or polyphonic music on them than on a recorder. Modern wind instruments may play jazz well, but are not well suited for early music. The recorder is pretty amazing in that only minor differences in bore design are appropriate to make them suitable to a vast range of music history.
I play Fusion, Djent, Metal, and 70's Music on Recorder. They certainly aren't limited to early Music.
@@Fretfeeler I need Djent recorder in my life.
@Wilhelm Orangenbaum love this answer. There is a place for "historical interpretation"---even an important place---but from my perspective it shouldn't even be the "default" way to approach a performance, let alone calling other approaches "questionable". The beautiful thing with music is that each performance somehow gives the piece a new life. I think there is a lot to be gained by playing old music on modern instruments that represent that state of the art, and incorporating (tastefully, I hope) modern technique and articulations. Of course, historical music on historical instruments is also great. There should be room for both in the concert hall.
Oooh, I love that modern recorder.
If you haven't already, try to play caprice 24!!
I think the bad reputation of the recorder comes from several factors. Bad instruments, Children learning instead of real musicians playing, and the fact that most people don't even know the alto and tenor recorders that sound much better than the soprano.
One more variable that must be taken into account is the type of wood your recorder is built from as this directly influences the acoustics.
I frigging love the “false” sound!
Started on guitar. Got a recorder played it ; kept it around but it was truly too hard. But from then on I listen as well as I can
As an oboist, the first one is like that but saying that the oboe is a clarinet
2:18 "The Recorder is not an orchestral instrument". But what about Adriana Breukink's Eagle recorder? -- fully worthy of inclusion in orchestras and fully ABLE to hold it's own due to its much greater volume. Its LOUD, but very clear and sweet. The technology of modern recorder design has improved by leaps and bounds. Our beloved instrument will continue to evolve and improve to meet the demands of whatever musical situations that are required of them.
Good explanations. I also thought recorders are for kids or entry level for advancing to a real instrument. But having heard some of these wonderful instruments and that they can do all sorts of amazing stuff on-off keyed instruments can't possibly do, I am blown away by the potential of the recorder. I guess its relatively easy to get basic recorder skills but to realizing its potential takes years to develop requisite skills. Love the sound of the tenor; just beautiful - must get one and see if I can do it justice.
Tuning: Generally pulling the joints slightly apart to lengthen a recorder will make it flatter. However, on some instruments - presumably if pulled out a little too far (for that one) that can actually change the notes which emerge. I guess players just need to test their own instruments and know if this is something that will happen on particular instruments.
I was very surprised to discover this on one instrument.
@@truesoundchris No. I know that pulling out the joints slightly will lower the pitch. This is a common technique for slight tuning adjustment on wind instruments, such as flutes and recorders.
I have several recorders. I was very surprised to discover that with one of them - I'd have to revisit that - probably an Ecodear - which is a very good instrument for its type and price - that pulling the joints slightly apart did change the pitch slightly - as expected, but that going beyond a small limit the notes actually changed. From memory pulling the joints even 1/4 inch apart caused this.
I've heard that ocarinas are not real instruments.and also they are for children. (I've heard the same comments for mandolin)
.....that hurt.
I played recorder for 15 years, than I stopped because I went to study law. You remind me how amazing recorder is 🎶
3:32 I actually wrote an article about how the recorder isn't as easy to learn as people think. And your analogy is pretty close to the one I used.
Link or something? I'd like to read it
@@emilia1911 www.musicestate.com/three-reasons-the-recorder-has-such-a-bad-reputation-a-recorder-players-view/
@@filharmonix Wow, great article! I'll share it.
@@emilia1911 thanks!!
@@emilia1911 thanks!!
Excellent information, and very clearly - and charmingly - presented.
Good video. I am a few weeks into learning recorder. Arthritis is my wrists have nearly put an end to my guitar playing. On recorder, I am still making lots of squeaks and fuzzy notes, but on my very affordable plastic Yamaha alto, I am having lots of fun. Bending pitch is cool. BTW, nice blouse Sarah. Your videos are my best defence against being glum in these difficult days.
My experience with pulling the headjoint out for tuning purposes is that it distorts intervals enough that I would rather tune with breath pressure alone.
Holy moly you freaked my dog out so much i had to use headphones haha. I love the recorder, then again there are a small amount of instruments i don't like.
I really want to learn how to play medieval/viking style of wind instruments and i think i will start with a cheap recorder just to learn since if i never learn i don't have to stare at the dusty 2000$ recorder on my shelf... I... I've been there..
I'd also love to become a modern court jester of sorts mostly as a hobby and a part of my worship. I will not go into detail.
Anyway!
Your videos has helped me so so soo much and i love your personality warmth and the love you have for the recorder.
I might probably go both ocarina and recorder.
Ocarina sounds cool but I already know too much on Recorder so it seems really limited to me. Cool tone though...
@@Fretfeeler Try this for an ocarina quartet. Or their CD 'THE ocarina is no trombone'. th-cam.com/video/T8Tf5aKCW8g/w-d-xo.html
Ocarinas are so cool
How people can actually think an instrument is not a real instrument?
Idk
Ignorance
@@Fretfeeler Yeah, probably...
@5:07 why does it get higher when warmer, my hunch was it expanding makes it lower because it's slightly bigger? or what else does temperature affect?
Re:'childs instrument'' Such disparaging term. As a result children don't practice very much since they will probably graduate to a ''real'' instrument. And that's the myth.