There certainly something special about your first recorder. Mine is a wooden one (German fingering) from the mid 1960s. I thought it was broken, but knocking the block out and cleaning brought it back to life (thanks Sarah - I learnt that from your channel). Now it is my magical flute - bringing back childhood memories.
Oh, what a lovely video. I'll take that "the instrument doesn't make the musician" assesment into my heart and, as I'm new to the recorder and a little bit many years old, I'll add -if I'm aloud to- "age isn't enough to stop my learning ". I love your channel, Sarah. Thanks for all your teachings.
It still exist on the market, it's the Aulos' "Robin" series. For those interested, the tenor of this series is the (plastic) only one available without keys.
The plastic Aulos 311N E tenor is also keyless, but it's a model that's no longer being made. I found mine on a marketplace website. I can play it really well with my tiny hands, yay! Actually it requires more stretch on the left hand then the right hand. The Robin 211A tenor is slightly longer, as I found out when I recently managed to buy one second hand as well. Both are lovely instruments, I personally prefer the 311N E.
@@stefaniedecoster2772 It's such a pity that all the good plastic tenors (Yamaha and Aulos' Symphony) have those keys. I don't appreciate this system, the keys can be easily broken and sometimes they're unreliable. The Robin series, if I have correctly understood, is the mid range by Aulos.
"The instrument doesn't make the musician." Thank you for reminding us of that. I have read comments from people who feel bad about the instrument they play. When I read it, I remind them of what you say in many of your videos "The instrument doesn't make the musician" Thank you, Sarah, for reminding us again. ☺
"The instrument doesn't make the musician." I can attest to that. People are simply amazed when a play my $4.56 harmonica made in China during public performances. They think that I was playing on a harmonica that sells for at least 12 times that amount made in Germany. They find it hard to believe that someone can put so much feeling, phrasing, vibrato, note-bending, and all that good stuff on a cheap harmonica made in China that sells for less than the price of a Starbucks grande frappuccino. 😉 BTW: I do have many expensive harmonicas that are made in Germany. 😊
@@christophertsiliacos8958 If you don't mind my asking, what is it about your $4.56, less than a Starbucks cappuccino, harmonica that you choose to play, even though you have many expensive ones? I'm asking for those who may feel bad about playing their instruments.
@@kharmaviv I don't mind at all. First, I like to preface this with I've been playing diatonic harmonicas for 50 years. I choose to play this cheap harmonica to prove a point: "The instrument doesn't make the musician." But rather it’s the musician that makes the instrument. Before I play it, I tell the audience, "Now, I'm going to give you a demonstration what a cheap harmonica made in China that sells for less than a Starbucks grande frappuccino sounds like. Of course, they are expecting it to sound like a cheap toy. Then when I start playing it, they are absolutely flabbergasted by how amazing it sounds when I play it. There’s one major caveat about these cheap harmonicas: the lack of longevity. Even with normal use, one may end up blowing out a draw/blow reed or two after several months of play. But for less than 5 bucks - it’s not going to bust the bank. Surprisingly, this one is still functioning since January.
@@christophertsiliacos8958 AWESOME! I would love to see a video of you playing your instrument. Thank you so much for sharing and I hope to one day hear you play. 🎶
@@kharmaviv Hello KharmaFamily - Thank you for the kind words. I’ve been asked in the past to set up a music TH-cam channel. That’s something I hope to do in the future. I plan to use the moniker: “Carousel of musical instruments.” From time to time I’ll introduce another instrument, such as the concertina. Naturally, I’ll defer my soprano, alto and tenor recorder playing to…you guessed it…“Team Recorder.” 😊 Unfortunately, at the present time, I don’t have the technical ability to set up my own channel. Nonetheless, when that time comes, for my first video, I plan to do a comparative side-by-side play between a $5 harmonica made in China, and a $55 harmonica made in Germany. Then I’ll have the listener guess which one is the cheap harmonica made in China, and the more expensive harmonica made in Germany. BTW: My music genres of choice with the harmonica are hymns, folk, Celtic and tunes from the American Old West; and of course, I always play with lots of feeling, phrasing, vibrato, individual note-bending, and all that good stuff (to borrower an expression from the “Fiddlerman”). 😉 🎶🎵
My first recorder is a white plastic Yamaha that I painted to look like the 2nd Dr Who's. Tassel and all. It's my favourite. The tone isn't as good as my 302, but it's WAY prettier! 🙂
I really liked it when you played that "Modern Gavotte". Please, play some other pieces from your teen years, so you can tell how you played them back then and what you notice now. And nice thoughts about an instrument making a player. It is not a good idea to start with professionals' instruments. Just start playing with cheaper ones and buy better ones if it looks like you enjoy playing! There is no need to rush. There is plenty of time to buy instruments, no need to do everything when you're a beginner. And even if you have wooden instruments, those plastic ones are perfect for training. That's what I do, I play wooden ones daily but still use also plastic recorders because it's not good for the wooden recorder if you play it too much.
My first recorder was an plastic school model. I taught myself the basics from the fingering chart printed on onion-skin paper that came in the package. I guess it was OK, certainly good enough to learn on. A year later, I bought a Moeck maple soprano (Rottenburgh model). I have continued to play it for 43 years. I've taken it to be professionally cleaned and revoiced four or five times. One of the technicians told me he thought my Moeck was the finest factory-built recorder he had ever encountered. I have no recollection of what happened to my original plastic school recorder. It's probably in a landfill. Sadly, it might remain playable for the next 10 million years! :(
What magic is this, first I discover Tali Rubenstein, Jazz recorder player, then Lucy Horsch playing Anthropologie on TV, then the OG Sarah Jeffries playing this “Modern Gavotte”, aka Jazz masquerading as a Barique dance!! As a recorder enthusiast and jazz musician I feel the stars are aligning!!! More please!!! 😁😁😁
At 3:39 mins in, as soon as I saw ‘Suo-gan’ (Traditional Welsh tune) on the screen and heard the tune being played, it brought back the sweetest memories of learning recorder in primary school (Australia)! I didn’t recognise the book’s front cover but I absolutely remembered the first tune. I’m watching these videos because I just purchased my first descant and treble recorders after having not played music for 20 years (primarily piano and flute), with recorder in primary school. I’m so enjoying playing music again!
I had that exact same recorder! And about the same era.... I still have it somewhere. It does have a case though - a felt ‘sock’ case made to look like a snake that my mum made me :-)
Maybe its serial number can be found just above the back joint :D I reckon we might have gotten the same model as well. My recorder looks very similar to that one!
Took my grade 6 on one of those. I finally bought wooden when my school asked me to teach it to individuals. Why did I wait so long? But Aulos served me very well for decades - a good choice! Which thumb did you break? How did you get it back working and able to hold heavy instruments again? I fell down the stairs and broke mine at Christmas - beginning to despair of it ever working properly again with anything bigger than a treble!
My first recorder was a german Moeck wooden recorder that I inherited from my mom. I think it was from the early 70’s. It had a crack in the head joint, the labium was damaged, but I still managed to play with it. Also nobody had ever cleaned it... haha!
While a student at the Norwegian Academy of music I borrowed a Moeck Rothenburg alto from my teacher while my instrument was repaired. I managed to sit on it, and it broke in many parts. I really didn't feel good when I came to the next lesson with a pile of firewood :-)
That was fun. Thanks Sarah. I still have my first recorder, also a plastic Aulos soprano, from the 60s! I was 8 years old and loved that instrument. I also never took it apart (!) nor cleaned it (but I have since, of course). Yikes! It still plays okay, but doesn't compare to my lovely boxwood Rottenburgh. One thought that kept running through my mind as I watched your video was...did she clean it before playing it? I hope you did!
I was impressed by Ring of Bright Water, it had all the trapping of the perfect theme for a Western movie. Modern Gavotte was also very nice to hear, modern but still easy on the ears.
I have some old wooden recorder, which I got second-hand as a child, and didn't play for years until I decided to pick it up last winter. I don't know its age, brand or wood type; the wood is light-coloured and stained, with the paint a little chipped around the holes. It's single hole two-piece soprano in a modern tuning (I can't tell the difference between 440 and 442). It has a very nice timbre, soft but not breathy; the high notes are very unstable compared to some plastic school recorder I also have lying around. I feel like the tuning is a bit off, but maybe it's a problem with my playing. I quite like it, but unfortunately, it's got German fingering. I was planning to go to London to EMS and choose something nicer and Baroque, preferably three-piece (I have very small hands and it would be nice to adjust the hole position to my short pinky) but the physical shop is closed due to Covid. I decided I don't want to keep practising with German fingering any longer, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on an instrument without trying it first either. Luckily, I had seen your '£30 vs £300 recorder' video, and found Ecodear sounds quite nice and would be a decent substitute for a fancy instrument for a beginner like me, and now I'm waiting for the delivery. When everything is open again, and I'm able to walk into the shop and try out instruments, I'll treat myself to something nice, wooden and a bit of a waste considering my skill level.
Cool, that's an Aulos 205 part of what's now called the Robin series. I have its big brother, the 211 tenor. I think I played a 205 in school when I was in short trousers. That little instrument should be in a museum, it got you where you are now!
I had exactly the same first recorder and first book! I got them in 1997 and I loved them both some much. I played the Sammartini concerto right before starting music college and I remember practicing on my plastic aulos so as not to wear my wooden soprano out too much, so I got even more excited when you played an extract of it! Thank you for this video, sometimes a bit of nostalgia is nice!
Haha, the thumb hole of my recorder looked exactly like this. So, are you telling me there's a way to play these high notes without pressing your nail into that hole?
I loved this video. Thank you. I thought it did work out really well considering the difficulty if the pieces you were playing. So I went and dug out my first one. I am 60 now and started playing at school when I was 7 but on a hand-me-down wooden recorder with german tuning. I don't know when this thing was made but it was probably just after the war. It's... Ok. Better after it has warmed up a bit, but still not fantastic.
I play a RAHMA ABS plastic alto recorder made in France that I bought from a charity shop in Crowborough, England. It cost 1 quid and I was already bitten haha Great video Sarah !!!
My first recorder: My grandparents neighbour dug up a wooden recorder in his garden and gave it to me. We cleaned it but it was not really playable although I tried. I haven't got my real first recorder anymore. I got it when I was 9 in 1968. It was a wooden one. I don't know the brand. Maybe it was an Aura. My first alto I bought in 1980. It was made of pear but I don't have it anymore. I played all the notes out of those instruments until they couldn't but whisper.
That was the second type of recorder I had 😂 I still have it and use it at aged 37. The recorders are 39 years old. Mine was a hand me down from my sister then I got the same type a hand me down from my oldest brother. We used books called recorder rules. The first was recorder rules for beginners, it was green. The next one was cream covered. It has photos of my siblings with others all taught by the author of the books Mary ring with prizes they got at a competition that was the best competition for kids and teens in our county in Ireland 😂. My wooden soprano and treble are hand me downs frommy sister 😂. I also got her hand me gown Aulos treble recorder but my basette is one I bought myself after seeing your video on different types of basette recorders. As a child I had a problem with low notes as I have even now really small hands and baby fingers don't bend, have bone bits missing and the nuckes are at the side of the baby fingers. I just play for fun as when I was 11 we moved area. My mom searched for a music teacher in our area, even places 30 minutes drive away and there was no recorder teacher so I had to give up lessons. But I took it back up at 16 and after graduating from institute of technology I bought myself a new Aulos treble to replace my hand me down one, huge mistake, it plats off key, is pitchy. I clean my recorders weekly and this one keeps getting muffled and clogged, my other two trebles, another Aulos and a wooden one don't. I bought a CD and book to teach myself the treble recorder. I love playing by ear as well. I got my Bassett recorder 2 years ago, got a book to teach myself to play it. I am not great but I am not bad either. I usually play as it came me, helps me destress if a hard day at work.
I am wondering if I still have my first (school) recorder somewhere.. Must see if I can dig it up some time (if I didn't throw it. I remember other kids playing with my recorder, and it was always full of spit...)😊
I started on a (German fingering) plastic Aulos in 2000 - I'll have a look if it still exists when I visit my parents tomorrow... I then played exclusively on Yamaha plastic recorders for what must be over 15 years now (on and off). I have the 300 series from sopranino to bass, and for soprano and alto I'm on at least my second each. And I stand by the plastic - everyone having the same models made playing in a bigger ensemble easier, and we also played a lot in cold churches! It's only in the past couple of months that I've taken up playing a bit more seriously again and I played in a lovely Moeck Rottenburgh that was gifted to me by someone who apparently never actually played it. And yesterday I invested some money in a new wooden soprano by Küng that I'm super excited about!
I play on a Yamaha YRS 24B, still going strong after 11 years. Sarah - If I might suggest...please clean that recorder of yours. I don't want you to have health issues with it. :)
Nice to See you Love your old Recorder so much after all time... When I was start learning Recorder in my mid twenties, I bought my (Gebrüder) Schneider wooden Tenor in DARK BROWN (the Shop had to order the colour for ne 😅) and I LOVE IT ssooo much!
My first recorder was a Moeck Tuju from my mother from the 60s. It was probably never treated well (First recorder of my mother, then forgotten for decades and then my first recorder), but I still have the original case, accessoires and even the fingering chart and it still sound better than I expected.
I played on a plastic Yamaha Soprano as a child, and still have that instrument and vinyl sheath. But have invested in the Mollenhauer you suggested for beginners, when I decided to take up the recorder again at the start of the Pandemic.
My first recorder was a wooden Huber soprano - my teacher insisted that I start on a good instrument with baroque fingering (no use for my mom's old school recorder with German fingering...) I still have that, I played it for about 11 years and got me a new one three years ago because I wanted a good, clearer sound for eventually playing a solo in my ensemble, so i decided to "retire" my first soprano, but I still have it and treasure it :) I never played on plastic instruments much, I just played a Yamaha tenor borrowed from my school for a while until I was able to get my own - a wooden one, I always preferred the sound of wooden instruments personally
I think we had the same starting recorder because I was in primary school in the 80s too ha ha. I also remember being pretty gross with mine. I think I used to clean it with the rod a few times, but I never ever washed it with water or anything. I just played it and mostly threw it straight in that draw string bag that it came in ha ha. I was trying to remember the model I had and I think we had the same. The Yamaha I just ordered is certainly a little fancier looking than what I had. I didn't go for a wooden one and just re-starting on a slightly more expensive plastic one to see how I get along. I'm also trying to re-connect with my flute and remember how to do high notes without sounding like a dying animal :'))))
I have played on plastic recorders (I have three of them), but just got an upgrade to Mollenhauer Denner soprano wooden recorder. I love it! The tone is so nice and the pitches are so much easier to control.
I have a wooden soprano from Aura that I used for a year to learn how to read sheet music when I was 9 - 10 years old and a month ago I bought a plastic/resin tenor from Yamaha. After that first year I started playing the euphonium and I still do, with the tenor as second instrument.
I just discovered this clip today. The only recorders I remember having played (and still have, although I haven’t played for ages) are wooden recorders from Aura (turns out to be a Dutch brand, which I never realised until now). I started with the soprano/descant and later added the alto/treble - all baroque fingering and double holes at the 6th and 7th holes). This was for 10 years or so (on and off) since the mid-70s when I was at primary school. I always loved the sound of the tenor recorder, but my lung capacity and fine motor skills in my right hand in particular made the alto challenging enough, so I never really tried playing the tenor. If anyone is still reading these comments: I also heard that on your old recorder the accidentals in particular were out of tune, but is there an explanation for this? Why wouldn’t the other notes (I don’t know what the non-flat and non-sharp notes are called in English) be affected just as much?
I have a tenor recorder but I have left it uncleaned for like... 7 months so I am hoping that it will still work. I am going to get it out and clean it asap!
Hi Sarah!!! First off I love your work & your videos!! I love Aulos Recorders. If I can ask, what are your thoughts on the Aulos Tenor 211A & the rest of the Aulos 200 series recorders? I love my Tenor 211A. Also if I may, have you reviewed a Peripole Angel Renaissance Alto PB6250? The Soprano PB6000 is pretty much standard class room issue in my area of Indiana but I love the shape of these Peripole’s. Hope this isn’t too much!! But I’d love to hear your thoughts on these plastic recorders. 😃
Isn't it amazing how you can remember how you played it wrong? This was really cool. Thanks. 8:35...to my taste there's something endearing about the shrill tone with that piece of music... 😄...11:40...well, I guess I'm good to go then. That's precisely the kind I've got...ancient, old, five dollar plastic recorder...
I have the same one! Since I was about 8, I think. To this day, I can't help but play 'Lord of the Dance' when I pick it up which your first little warm up totally reminded me of! You're a great deal more accomplished than me though, of course.
A brown plastic Yamaha soprano for me from 1982. Still have it, and still plays fine. And yes the thumb hole is also worn from my nail over the years. A white Yamaha inherited from my aunt might be older though, she used to be a music teacher but gave it up. I have that one too, and that's the same condition.
Hi Sarah. Got almost the same from my childhood and I found the model number at the bottom end of the main tube, on the opposite side of the D hole (the one to play a D when you put your finger on it). Mine is written 205E.
Unfortunately I don't have my first recorder anymore. It was a blue plastic one, don't know the brand, and I lost the insert from the mouthpiece. (I was swinging the recorder around on the school playground to get the spit out, and the insert just flew out. Never found it.) But I DO have an old recorder that used to belong to my grandfather. Also plastic. It's a hohner! A bit yellowed from age. It comes with its own orange plastic pouch! By now I have collected quite a few instruments, but I still only have that one plastic recorder from my grandfather and a wooden recorder that someone gave to me two or three years ago. It's about time that I go dig them up for some practice :p
Yes, I have one of those kicking about - they're beyond criticism given the price if you ask me. I had Aulos tenor, treble, descant and sopranino recorders, but my first was a Schott with the plastic mouthpiece, followed by a Dolmetsch made from something which may well have been Bakelite. That one might have been better if the joints had been airtight ... Memory lane! I can see why you liked the Modern Gavotte, by the way - sounds like a hoot to play.
My first was a wooden Aura soprano, baroque fingering, which my dad bought for me somewhere around 1984. Even though I don't play recorder a lot, it's still with me, on my desk no less, and it's still very playable.
Looks exactly like my first plastic Aulos, toothmarks and all. I remember having a major crisis when I realized that I was playing with hands backwards- the right hand on top.
That is the Aulos 205 and it used to come in a yellow case. It was also my first recorder and it lasted until I was in my 20s as a music teacher when it rolled off the school piano and then got trapped underneath causing it to crack!
I played my recorder for more or less one year while in teacher's college. That was in 1969. I don't know what I spent on it but it's made of wood and the only writing I can see on it is - Made in W. Germany! I recently dug it out of my piano bench and decided it would be a good Covid pastime. It is. I had forgotten almost everything, which wasn't much, and found a fingering chart online. My question is: Was it always this out of tune? Could time and disuse have affected the tuning? I'm really enjoying it and have a friend who's looking forward to getting together with his ukulele. I fear that tuning-wise it will be a disaster.
That’s my first recorder too! And incidentally the one I’m playing on now. I have recently picked it up again 30 years later. I’m gonna buy a new one, just practicing a bit more and then choosing one I like.
My first recorder was a plastic Hohner soprano. I gave it to my friend's daughter when I gave her some lessons. I liked it so much that I got another one.
My first recorder in 1952 was a black plastic thing with no brand name. When I joined the school recorder group I saved my pocket money and bought a Schotts wooden recorder with a plastic beak for 14/6d. Both long gone now but I still have an old bakelite Dolmetsch alto that actually sounds quite good.
I personally don't play the recorder but have watched Sarah's videos on and off during the years and I love the recorder as an instrument and how diverse it is. Though, I did play a type of flute (not a recorder) during my 5th year of school but that's about it (I'm a violist). At my parents place we do have a wooden Moeck recorder (soprano I think) that use to belong to my dad's grandma. I remember playing some on it when I was younger. Sadly I've realized now, after watching Sarah's videos, that it has some nags in the labium :/ I remember being surprised when I realized that it actually had a brand and apparently had been a decent instrument once. Thanks a lot Sarah!
Unfortunately, my first recorder, and also my mum's wooden Schott were stolen. I think mine was probably Aulos and it would have been bought in about 1980. I also had a plastic Schott treble recorder, which I still have, though I want to replace it as it has a break where the foot joint screws in, but it's a lovely looking model, and I have no idea what to buy to replace it with something equivalent or slightly nicer sounding.
Dear Sarah, I'd like to see a video from you about agogik, where you explain, when, where and why you strech and snatch, push and pull the tempo! Would you please ...??
I think this is a Robin - I have the same one - they still make them - I bought mine less than 5 years ago!!! I use it as a practise instrument to save my lovely Moeck Rottenburgh in palisander. I also have the Trinity grade 4 and grade 5 - bought both for 20p (just the white sheet music without accompaniment)about 15 years ago when I began playing again and was always desperate for new stuff to play. I love 'Nice and easy' by Brian Bonsor and 'Le Tambourin' by Rameau - the Gavotte is one I haven't attempted - going to try it now!!
I recently unearthed my own Aulos from 1989 or 1990. It's a different model than yours, all black with a barely conical bell. Not something I'd perform on, but all things considered it's not bad. Very easy and responsive in the upper octave, and the bottom C is fine as long as you keep things ... very quiet. Now my 20-month-old plays with it.
I still have my original Aulos too! It's slightly longer and flatter in pitch than the new Aulos I bought for teaching. I also still have that book - with my infant school handwriting still in it! Xx
Mine was similar. The 200's series Aulos soprano and alto. I got mine in 1991. I was 7 years old. I gave them to my brother later, and replaced them with Aulos 500 series, then I've bought a Dolmetsch bressan alto. My brother still have them in his drawer.
I have basic Yamaha plastic recorders from sopranino to tenor and a 40$ CAD Hohner wooden soprano. I mostly play Christmas or children songs, so it's enough for my needs.
This is far more generally true. It also holds for photography equipment. I no longer have my first recorder, which was an Aura recorder with German fingering. My second soprano recorder I got second had from my sister. I was a poor student and she had a job already and switched to the treble recorder. Later I got my own treble recorder (Bärenreiter).I still play it. All were wood. Recently I visited Aafab and bought a new treble and tenor recorder. I still like them somehow.
My old recorder - Gill German soprano - the only wooden recorder I've owned and I've had since high school (I was class of 93) = eaten by my dog. *sigh* Edit: oh my goodness! I lied. I finally dug into my instrument collection and there was my recorder!! I remembered wrong. My dog ate my suona - not my recorder. My suona is dead. My recorder lives on. Now I have a set that I got online from a company "Frederick" - I suspect that it's a set that is often rebranded and it made very inexpensively - but they do the job I suppose. :) and having access to a 5 recorder set that all fits in one bag is kind of nice.
I agree that you can make beautiful music (and excellent performances) on a plastic recorder. I bought 3 wooden recorders hoping I would sound better on one of them, but I decided I sound best on my Aulos Haka (alto). I think that wooden recorders will eventually become obsolete, with future improvements in plastic recorders.
The first recorder I actually owned was the Zen-On Bressan Alto, which I bought when I was about 14. Before that I had to play on borrowed instruments (parents hated the recorder, so I had to buy my own instruments and pay for my own lessons). The Zen-On Bressan took me pretty far in my recorder journey. I still have it and it plays pretty well. From the Zen-On, I went crazy and jumped right in to acquiring a handmade alto recorder at Baroque pitch, a Bressan Alto made by Guido Hulsens. It was kind of a big leap, but it actually turned out to be a practical move, because soon after I was invited to join a Baroque ensemble that played at Baroque pitch. Funny that I didn't have a soprano recorder until someone gave me the Zen-On Stanesby Junior soprano. BTW, I recently acquired the latest iteration of the Zen-On Bressan, the G-1A, and it is a considerable improvement from my old instrument. Oh, and the one a=415 is now available, yeah!
I just purchased the Zen-on a=415 so that I can possibly play with a friend who has a baroque pitch instrument. Sarah did a review on the model back in November.
My first one was a plastic Aulos as well, secondhand even! German fingering though. I got a Yamaha 23 likewise with german fingering for my 12th birthday, it's resting at my parents', the poor thing. I did take it out when I was at home though, even if just for a bit. It was fun :)
My first one was a cheap one (single plastic piece), when I was about 6. Never learned it very well... sometimes later I found it. I was trying to learn keyboard playing and loved music theory. So I started playing again. Decided on buying a better one (still plastic) and got one from a Brazilian brand (RMV). It had 3 pieces and 2 middle sections (one with german fingering and one with barroque). Got a professor, but quit after the third lesson when he blatantly disrespected the cleaning lady in front of the students... It was with him that I tried my first (plastic) tenor and fell in love... After a few years I have 3 plastic yamahas... one soprano, one alto and one tenor. I love the alto one even having german fingering (I made this mistake)... I cannot play the tenor for more than a few minutes without having a headache or an asthma attack, so it's been a long time. I don't consider recorders as my gateway instruments. My current instrument of choice is bass guitar (which I always loved), but sometimes I still try my recorders!
I have one of those, exactly the same model Aulos descant but mine is from the late 1970s. I also have early 1980s Aulos treble and sopranino recorders, but they're either a better or later model.
I probably have a dozen or so recorders. Dunno if my first is,still there. I wanted a good wooden soprano and the shopkeeper WOULDN’T SELL ME ONE. he insisted on a two dollar Yamaha plastic thing for starters. It took a while to learn, I began with a death grip trying to prevent leaks. I think I went back in a month or two and bought a moerk rottenberg grenadilla soprano which I still have and cherish. I currently play a five string carbon fiber fiddle made by Fred Gayford in Canada. I love it. A very resonant instrument that talks to the fiddler. Bye for now. I also have all the flutes from piccolo to bass.
I still play my 1976 44 year old Aulos descant recorder all the time! The lowest portion is a bit loose and is held in place with some duct tape! But I feel the pitch is truer than my new Yamaha (Btw, my daughter lost my alto recorder too)
I still play my first recorder. It's a wooden soprano from Huber (I don't know the model) and it is now a bit more than 10 years old and still sounds good 😇
Every recorder sounds good when you're playing it... My first recorder (more then 30 years ago!) was a moeck, wood one. Even english fingering. I still have it but don't play on it anymore.
Did you hold it upside down as a toddler? All my kids wanted to hold it with the holes down. They also bit them. In fact, my poor Bernolin alto has little teeth marks in the wood block where our 1-year old grabbed it when I had inadvertently left it where she could get it. My first recorder was a plastic 1-piece Hohner soprano I bought when I was 13 or 14. I'm not sure I ever saw one before then.
I just bought my first tenor recorder today! Excited to finally play it. I wanted to get into the soprano first before I spent more money on a bigger one. My housemates and parents will be pleased.
Congratulations and have fun! I found my way back to the recorder years ago, bought one soprano first and now I have... many recorders, sopranino all the way to tenor, and I was sooooo excited to discover I could play the tenor with my tiny hands!
Day 1 as a tenor player: Omg it is gigantic I can reach the low c but it is uncomfortable so I am going to pretty much take it a note at a time starting at high DCand b. I can get a good sound out of the left hand only notes so I practiced making my own tune out of DCba. I love it already. It gives your and your family and/or housenates a break from the high soprano. Plus the soprano feels miniature when you go back to it. I might do 1 hour on soprano and then the odd 10 mins on tenor till I get the stretch.
Middle School 2001-2004, I played an Hohner plastic instrument which to me sounded very poorly made, but I recently dabbled with it again and discovered it had a Baroque layout and I played it with German fingerings... It anyway wasn't a very good instrument still, in particular it had sub-par emission above second octave G, you had to struggle to "coax" out the notes. I now have bought a Yamaha plastic soprano (still with Baroque fingerings, of course) and I'm much more satisfied. I also sometimes played the half-woode, half-plastic Hohner 9514 ( worldsfinestpianos.com/store/hohner-9514-soprano-studio-recorder-key-of-c-pearwood/ ) my mother yet had played at Middle School, but apart for a rich, beautiful sound in its "home-key" it probably was even worse, chromatic notes were precarious to say the least.
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There certainly something special about your first recorder. Mine is a wooden one (German fingering) from the mid 1960s. I thought it was broken, but knocking the block out and cleaning brought it back to life (thanks Sarah - I learnt that from your channel). Now it is my magical flute - bringing back childhood memories.
Oh, what a lovely video. I'll take that "the instrument doesn't make the musician" assesment into my heart and, as I'm new to the recorder and a little bit many years old, I'll add -if I'm aloud to- "age isn't enough to stop my learning ". I love your channel, Sarah. Thanks for all your teachings.
You are very welcome!
It still exist on the market, it's the Aulos' "Robin" series. For those interested, the tenor of this series is the (plastic) only one available without keys.
The plastic Aulos 311N E tenor is also keyless, but it's a model that's no longer being made. I found mine on a marketplace website. I can play it really well with my tiny hands, yay! Actually it requires more stretch on the left hand then the right hand.
The Robin 211A tenor is slightly longer, as I found out when I recently managed to buy one second hand as well. Both are lovely instruments, I personally prefer the 311N E.
@@stefaniedecoster2772 It's such a pity that all the good plastic tenors (Yamaha and Aulos' Symphony) have those keys. I don't appreciate this system, the keys can be easily broken and sometimes they're unreliable. The Robin series, if I have correctly understood, is the mid range by Aulos.
I have a Robin tenor (keyless) because I play left-handed. I love it.
It (her Aulos) resembles the Aulos 205A, which also looks identical to the 205-E that I have on hand
I have the 211. Its not bad though its not in tune when I play along on piano
"The instrument doesn't make the musician." Thank you for reminding us of that. I have read comments from people who feel bad about the instrument they play. When I read it, I remind them of what you say in many of your videos "The instrument doesn't make the musician" Thank you, Sarah, for reminding us again. ☺
"The instrument doesn't make the musician." I can attest to that. People are simply amazed when a play my $4.56 harmonica made in China during public performances. They think that I was playing on a harmonica that sells for at least 12 times that amount made in Germany. They find it hard to believe that someone can put so much feeling, phrasing, vibrato, note-bending, and all that good stuff on a cheap harmonica made in China that sells for less than the price of a Starbucks grande frappuccino. 😉
BTW: I do have many expensive harmonicas that are made in Germany. 😊
@@christophertsiliacos8958 If you don't mind my asking, what is it about your $4.56, less than a Starbucks cappuccino, harmonica that you choose to play, even though you have many expensive ones? I'm asking for those who may feel bad about playing their instruments.
@@kharmaviv I don't mind at all. First, I like to preface this with I've been playing diatonic harmonicas for 50 years. I choose to play this cheap harmonica to prove a point: "The instrument doesn't make the musician." But rather it’s the musician that makes the instrument. Before I play it, I tell the audience, "Now, I'm going to give you a demonstration what a cheap harmonica made in China that sells for less than a Starbucks grande frappuccino sounds like. Of course, they are expecting it to sound like a cheap toy. Then when I start playing it, they are absolutely flabbergasted by how amazing it sounds when I play it.
There’s one major caveat about these cheap harmonicas: the lack of longevity. Even with normal use, one may end up blowing out a draw/blow reed or two after several months of play. But for less than 5 bucks - it’s not going to bust the bank. Surprisingly, this one is still functioning since January.
@@christophertsiliacos8958 AWESOME! I would love to see a video of you playing your instrument. Thank you so much for sharing and I hope to one day hear you play. 🎶
@@kharmaviv Hello KharmaFamily - Thank you for the kind words. I’ve been asked in the past to set up a music TH-cam channel. That’s something I hope to do in the future. I plan to use the moniker: “Carousel of musical instruments.” From time to time I’ll introduce another instrument, such as the concertina. Naturally, I’ll defer my soprano, alto and tenor recorder playing to…you guessed it…“Team Recorder.” 😊
Unfortunately, at the present time, I don’t have the technical ability to set up my own channel. Nonetheless, when that time comes, for my first video, I plan to do a comparative side-by-side play between a $5 harmonica made in China, and a $55 harmonica made in Germany. Then I’ll have the listener guess which one is the cheap harmonica made in China, and the more expensive harmonica made in Germany.
BTW: My music genres of choice with the harmonica are hymns, folk, Celtic and tunes from the American Old West; and of course, I always play with lots of feeling, phrasing, vibrato, individual note-bending, and all that good stuff (to borrower an expression from the “Fiddlerman”). 😉 🎶🎵
My first recorder is a white plastic Yamaha that I painted to look like the 2nd Dr Who's. Tassel and all. It's my favourite. The tone isn't as good as my 302, but it's WAY prettier! 🙂
I really liked it when you played that "Modern Gavotte". Please, play some other pieces from your teen years, so you can tell how you played them back then and what you notice now.
And nice thoughts about an instrument making a player. It is not a good idea to start with professionals' instruments. Just start playing with cheaper ones and buy better ones if it looks like you enjoy playing! There is no need to rush. There is plenty of time to buy instruments, no need to do everything when you're a beginner. And even if you have wooden instruments, those plastic ones are perfect for training. That's what I do, I play wooden ones daily but still use also plastic recorders because it's not good for the wooden recorder if you play it too much.
It is incredible how she can make beautiful songs airing out from an old plastic recorder! I am really impressed!
“Modern Gavotte” has a pronounced jazz tinge. Very nice!
My first recorder was an plastic school model. I taught myself the basics from the fingering chart printed on onion-skin paper that came in the package. I guess it was OK, certainly good enough to learn on.
A year later, I bought a Moeck maple soprano (Rottenburgh model). I have continued to play it for 43 years. I've taken it to be professionally cleaned and revoiced four or five times. One of the technicians told me he thought my Moeck was the finest factory-built recorder he had ever encountered.
I have no recollection of what happened to my original plastic school recorder. It's probably in a landfill. Sadly, it might remain playable for the next 10 million years! :(
You've been playing your Moeck for 43 years!? That's incredible! I bet it only sounds better as the years go on.
What magic is this, first I discover Tali Rubenstein, Jazz recorder player, then Lucy Horsch playing Anthropologie on TV, then the OG Sarah Jeffries playing this “Modern Gavotte”, aka Jazz masquerading as a Barique dance!! As a recorder enthusiast and jazz musician I feel the stars are aligning!!! More please!!! 😁😁😁
1991? My first recorder-a Dolmetsch- was in 1967. Now I feel ancient.
Aula school recorder, 1965. Still have it.
@Christopher Dudman, you and me both. Also had a Dolmetsch, and also now feeling really old.
@@anna.g That settles it- I'm going to find that instrument, re-learn the fingering, and try and extract some music from it.
Mine too!
Mine was 1954!
At 3:39 mins in, as soon as I saw ‘Suo-gan’ (Traditional Welsh tune) on the screen and heard the tune being played, it brought back the sweetest memories of learning recorder in primary school (Australia)! I didn’t recognise the book’s front cover but I absolutely remembered the first tune. I’m watching these videos because I just purchased my first descant and treble recorders after having not played music for 20 years (primarily piano and flute), with recorder in primary school. I’m so enjoying playing music again!
I had that exact same recorder! And about the same era.... I still have it somewhere. It does have a case though - a felt ‘sock’ case made to look like a snake that my mum made me :-)
Maybe its serial number can be found just above the back joint :D
I reckon we might have gotten the same model as well. My recorder looks very similar to that one!
Sarah giving her first recorder a hug is so sweet :3
Took my grade 6 on one of those. I finally bought wooden when my school asked me to teach it to individuals. Why did I wait so long? But Aulos served me very well for decades - a good choice!
Which thumb did you break? How did you get it back working and able to hold heavy instruments again? I fell down the stairs and broke mine at Christmas - beginning to despair of it ever working properly again with anything bigger than a treble!
My first recorder was a german Moeck wooden recorder that I inherited from my mom. I think it was from the early 70’s. It had a crack in the head joint, the labium was damaged, but I still managed to play with it. Also nobody had ever cleaned it... haha!
I still have my Cambridge from 1972. It's very soft, but I learned basic scales on it when I was a wee tot.
While a student at the Norwegian Academy of music I borrowed a Moeck Rothenburg alto from my teacher while my instrument was repaired. I managed to sit on it, and it broke in many parts. I really didn't feel good when I came to the next lesson with a pile of firewood :-)
That was fun. Thanks Sarah. I still have my first recorder, also a plastic Aulos soprano, from the 60s! I was 8 years old and loved that instrument. I also never took it apart (!) nor cleaned it (but I have since, of course). Yikes! It still plays okay, but doesn't compare to my lovely boxwood Rottenburgh. One thought that kept running through my mind as I watched your video was...did she clean it before playing it? I hope you did!
My one was a zen on soprano with baroque fingering. 1993. Unforgettable!!
I was impressed by Ring of Bright Water, it had all the trapping of the perfect theme for a Western movie. Modern Gavotte was also very nice to hear, modern but still easy on the ears.
I have some old wooden recorder, which I got second-hand as a child, and didn't play for years until I decided to pick it up last winter. I don't know its age, brand or wood type; the wood is light-coloured and stained, with the paint a little chipped around the holes. It's single hole two-piece soprano in a modern tuning (I can't tell the difference between 440 and 442). It has a very nice timbre, soft but not breathy; the high notes are very unstable compared to some plastic school recorder I also have lying around. I feel like the tuning is a bit off, but maybe it's a problem with my playing. I quite like it, but unfortunately, it's got German fingering. I was planning to go to London to EMS and choose something nicer and Baroque, preferably three-piece (I have very small hands and it would be nice to adjust the hole position to my short pinky) but the physical shop is closed due to Covid. I decided I don't want to keep practising with German fingering any longer, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on an instrument without trying it first either. Luckily, I had seen your '£30 vs £300 recorder' video, and found Ecodear sounds quite nice and would be a decent substitute for a fancy instrument for a beginner like me, and now I'm waiting for the delivery. When everything is open again, and I'm able to walk into the shop and try out instruments, I'll treat myself to something nice, wooden and a bit of a waste considering my skill level.
Yay! Released on my Birthday! Thanks to your videos I've started playing the recorder again after 45 years!!!
Cool, that's an Aulos 205 part of what's now called the Robin series. I have its big brother, the 211 tenor. I think I played a 205 in school when I was in short trousers. That little instrument should be in a museum, it got you where you are now!
Please tell me you cleaned it!
Honestly to my ears, it sounds a little off from your professional recorder but still good.
My exact sentiments when she said it was never cleaned 😂. But I guess after she opened it, she would go and clean it right away
Wow! The "Modern Gavotte" sounds so jazzy!❤️. Congratulations, I think I've never heard a recorder virtuoso like you 💪
I had exactly the same first recorder and first book! I got them in 1997 and I loved them both some much. I played the Sammartini concerto right before starting music college and I remember practicing on my plastic aulos so as not to wear my wooden soprano out too much, so I got even more excited when you played an extract of it! Thank you for this video, sometimes a bit of nostalgia is nice!
I went nuts when you played Cello Suite No.1! I love that piece, but I never thought about playing it on recorder! I’m definitely going to try it!
Haha, the thumb hole of my recorder looked exactly like this. So, are you telling me there's a way to play these high notes without pressing your nail into that hole?
:D I had (and still have) the same recorder! With the same bite marks!!
Still got mine and my books from around 1991 too! I still play it when learning new choir pieces to get the notes stuck in my head 😁
I loved this video. Thank you. I thought it did work out really well considering the difficulty if the pieces you were playing.
So I went and dug out my first one. I am 60 now and started playing at school when I was 7 but on a hand-me-down wooden recorder with german tuning. I don't know when this thing was made but it was probably just after the war. It's... Ok. Better after it has warmed up a bit, but still not fantastic.
I play a RAHMA ABS plastic alto recorder made in France that I bought from a charity shop in Crowborough, England. It cost 1 quid and I was already bitten haha Great video Sarah !!!
My first recorder: My grandparents neighbour dug up a wooden recorder in his garden and gave it to me. We cleaned it but it was not really playable although I tried.
I haven't got my real first recorder anymore. I got it when I was 9 in 1968. It was a wooden one. I don't know the brand. Maybe it was an Aura.
My first alto I bought in 1980. It was made of pear but I don't have it anymore.
I played all the notes out of those instruments until they couldn't but whisper.
That was the second type of recorder I had 😂 I still have it and use it at aged 37. The recorders are 39 years old. Mine was a hand me down from my sister then I got the same type a hand me down from my oldest brother. We used books called recorder rules. The first was recorder rules for beginners, it was green. The next one was cream covered. It has photos of my siblings with others all taught by the author of the books Mary ring with prizes they got at a competition that was the best competition for kids and teens in our county in Ireland 😂. My wooden soprano and treble are hand me downs frommy sister 😂. I also got her hand me gown Aulos treble recorder but my basette is one I bought myself after seeing your video on different types of basette recorders.
As a child I had a problem with low notes as I have even now really small hands and baby fingers don't bend, have bone bits missing and the nuckes are at the side of the baby fingers.
I just play for fun as when I was 11 we moved area. My mom searched for a music teacher in our area, even places 30 minutes drive away and there was no recorder teacher so I had to give up lessons. But I took it back up at 16 and after graduating from institute of technology I bought myself a new Aulos treble to replace my hand me down one, huge mistake, it plats off key, is pitchy. I clean my recorders weekly and this one keeps getting muffled and clogged, my other two trebles, another Aulos and a wooden one don't. I bought a CD and book to teach myself the treble recorder. I love playing by ear as well. I got my Bassett recorder 2 years ago, got a book to teach myself to play it.
I am not great but I am not bad either. I usually play as it came me, helps me destress if a hard day at work.
I am wondering if I still have my first (school) recorder somewhere.. Must see if I can dig it up some time (if I didn't throw it. I remember other kids playing with my recorder, and it was always full of spit...)😊
I started on a (German fingering) plastic Aulos in 2000 - I'll have a look if it still exists when I visit my parents tomorrow... I then played exclusively on Yamaha plastic recorders for what must be over 15 years now (on and off). I have the 300 series from sopranino to bass, and for soprano and alto I'm on at least my second each. And I stand by the plastic - everyone having the same models made playing in a bigger ensemble easier, and we also played a lot in cold churches!
It's only in the past couple of months that I've taken up playing a bit more seriously again and I played in a lovely Moeck Rottenburgh that was gifted to me by someone who apparently never actually played it. And yesterday I invested some money in a new wooden soprano by Küng that I'm super excited about!
I play on a Yamaha YRS 24B, still going strong after 11 years. Sarah - If I might suggest...please clean that recorder of yours. I don't want you to have health issues with it. :)
Nice to See you Love your old Recorder so much after all time...
When I was start learning Recorder in my mid twenties, I bought my (Gebrüder) Schneider wooden Tenor in DARK BROWN (the Shop had to order the colour for ne 😅) and I LOVE IT ssooo much!
My first recorder was a Moeck Tuju from my mother from the 60s. It was probably never treated well (First recorder of my mother, then forgotten for decades and then my first recorder), but I still have the original case, accessoires and even the fingering chart and it still sound better than I expected.
I played on a plastic Yamaha Soprano as a child, and still have that instrument and vinyl sheath. But have invested in the Mollenhauer you suggested for beginners, when I decided to take up the recorder again at the start of the Pandemic.
My first recorder was a wooden Huber soprano - my teacher insisted that I start on a good instrument with baroque fingering (no use for my mom's old school recorder with German fingering...) I still have that, I played it for about 11 years and got me a new one three years ago because I wanted a good, clearer sound for eventually playing a solo in my ensemble, so i decided to "retire" my first soprano, but I still have it and treasure it :)
I never played on plastic instruments much, I just played a Yamaha tenor borrowed from my school for a while until I was able to get my own - a wooden one, I always preferred the sound of wooden instruments personally
I am just starting to learn in a Yamaha plastic soprano recorder. I an having fun learning music while using it. Great informative channel by the way.
Sarah I have an Aulos soprano recorder from the 1970's this my first ever recorder still have and play it it still sounds good
I think we had the same starting recorder because I was in primary school in the 80s too ha ha. I also remember being pretty gross with mine. I think I used to clean it with the rod a few times, but I never ever washed it with water or anything. I just played it and mostly threw it straight in that draw string bag that it came in ha ha. I was trying to remember the model I had and I think we had the same. The Yamaha I just ordered is certainly a little fancier looking than what I had. I didn't go for a wooden one and just re-starting on a slightly more expensive plastic one to see how I get along. I'm also trying to re-connect with my flute and remember how to do high notes without sounding like a dying animal :'))))
I have played on plastic recorders (I have three of them), but just got an upgrade to Mollenhauer Denner soprano wooden recorder. I love it! The tone is so nice and the pitches are so much easier to control.
I have a wooden soprano from Aura that I used for a year to learn how to read sheet music when I was 9 - 10 years old and a month ago I bought a plastic/resin tenor from Yamaha. After that first year I started playing the euphonium and I still do, with the tenor as second instrument.
I just discovered this clip today. The only recorders I remember having played (and still have, although I haven’t played for ages) are wooden recorders from Aura (turns out to be a Dutch brand, which I never realised until now). I started with the soprano/descant and later added the alto/treble - all baroque fingering and double holes at the 6th and 7th holes). This was for 10 years or so (on and off) since the mid-70s when I was at primary school. I always loved the sound of the tenor recorder, but my lung capacity and fine motor skills in my right hand in particular made the alto challenging enough, so I never really tried playing the tenor.
If anyone is still reading these comments: I also heard that on your old recorder the accidentals in particular were out of tune, but is there an explanation for this? Why wouldn’t the other notes (I don’t know what the non-flat and non-sharp notes are called in English) be affected just as much?
I have a tenor recorder but I have left it uncleaned for like... 7 months so I am hoping that it will still work. I am going to get it out and clean it asap!
Hi Sarah!!! First off I love your work & your videos!!
I love Aulos Recorders. If I can ask, what are your thoughts on the Aulos Tenor 211A & the rest of the Aulos 200 series recorders? I love my Tenor 211A.
Also if I may, have you reviewed a Peripole Angel Renaissance Alto PB6250? The Soprano PB6000 is pretty much standard class room issue in my area of Indiana but I love the shape of these Peripole’s. Hope this isn’t too much!! But I’d love to hear your thoughts on these plastic recorders. 😃
Isn't it amazing how you can remember how you played it wrong?
This was really cool. Thanks.
8:35...to my taste there's something endearing about the shrill tone with that piece of music...
😄...11:40...well, I guess I'm good to go then. That's precisely the kind I've got...ancient, old, five dollar plastic recorder...
I have the same one! Since I was about 8, I think. To this day, I can't help but play 'Lord of the Dance' when I pick it up which your first little warm up totally reminded me of! You're a great deal more accomplished than me though, of course.
A brown plastic Yamaha soprano for me from 1982. Still have it, and still plays fine. And yes the thumb hole is also worn from my nail over the years. A white Yamaha inherited from my aunt might be older though, she used to be a music teacher but gave it up. I have that one too, and that's the same condition.
Hi Sarah. Got almost the same from my childhood and I found the model number at the bottom end of the main tube, on the opposite side of the D hole (the one to play a D when you put your finger on it). Mine is written 205E.
So lovely! 😊
Unfortunately I don't have my first recorder anymore. It was a blue plastic one, don't know the brand, and I lost the insert from the mouthpiece. (I was swinging the recorder around on the school playground to get the spit out, and the insert just flew out. Never found it.)
But I DO have an old recorder that used to belong to my grandfather. Also plastic. It's a hohner! A bit yellowed from age. It comes with its own orange plastic pouch!
By now I have collected quite a few instruments, but I still only have that one plastic recorder from my grandfather and a wooden recorder that someone gave to me two or three years ago. It's about time that I go dig them up for some practice :p
Yes, I have one of those kicking about - they're beyond criticism given the price if you ask me. I had Aulos tenor, treble, descant and sopranino recorders, but my first was a Schott with the plastic mouthpiece, followed by a Dolmetsch made from something which may well have been Bakelite. That one might have been better if the joints had been airtight ... Memory lane! I can see why you liked the Modern Gavotte, by the way - sounds like a hoot to play.
My first was a wooden Aura soprano, baroque fingering, which my dad bought for me somewhere around 1984. Even though I don't play recorder a lot, it's still with me, on my desk no less, and it's still very playable.
Looks exactly like my first plastic Aulos, toothmarks and all. I remember having a major crisis when I realized that I was playing with hands backwards- the right hand on top.
It sounds not so bad. I have an alto by this company, It was the cheapest one alto I could afford, but I totally adore it, it makes me happy
I still have my first, a mid-seventies Dolmetsch. I played it from age 4 to age 19 and it's pretty beaten-up.
That is the Aulos 205 and it used to come in a yellow case. It was also my first recorder and it lasted until I was in my 20s as a music teacher when it rolled off the school piano and then got trapped underneath causing it to crack!
I played my recorder for more or less one year while in teacher's college. That was in 1969. I don't know what I spent on it but it's made of wood and the only writing I can see on it is - Made in W. Germany! I recently dug it out of my piano bench and decided it would be a good Covid pastime. It is. I had forgotten almost everything, which wasn't much, and found a fingering chart online. My question is: Was it always this out of tune? Could time and disuse have affected the tuning? I'm really enjoying it and have a friend who's looking forward to getting together with his ukulele. I fear that tuning-wise it will be a disaster.
That’s my first recorder too! And incidentally the one I’m playing on now. I have recently picked it up again 30 years later. I’m gonna buy a new one, just practicing a bit more and then choosing one I like.
My first recorder was a plastic Hohner soprano. I gave it to my friend's daughter when I gave her some lessons. I liked it so much that I got another one.
I started with a wooden soprano Adler.
So did I in 1954!
My first recorder in 1952 was a black plastic thing with no brand name. When I joined the school recorder group I saved my pocket money and bought a Schotts wooden recorder with a plastic beak for 14/6d. Both long gone now but I still have an old bakelite Dolmetsch alto that actually sounds quite good.
I personally don't play the recorder but have watched Sarah's videos on and off during the years and I love the recorder as an instrument and how diverse it is. Though, I did play a type of flute (not a recorder) during my 5th year of school but that's about it (I'm a violist). At my parents place we do have a wooden Moeck recorder (soprano I think) that use to belong to my dad's grandma. I remember playing some on it when I was younger. Sadly I've realized now, after watching Sarah's videos, that it has some nags in the labium :/ I remember being surprised when I realized that it actually had a brand and apparently had been a decent instrument once. Thanks a lot Sarah!
Say, I was a violist when I took up the recorder in high school. That eventually led to viola da gamba, which became my principal instrument.
Unfortunately, my first recorder, and also my mum's wooden Schott were stolen. I think mine was probably Aulos and it would have been bought in about 1980. I also had a plastic Schott treble recorder, which I still have, though I want to replace it as it has a break where the foot joint screws in, but it's a lovely looking model, and I have no idea what to buy to replace it with something equivalent or slightly nicer sounding.
Ahh yes I remember playing Suo-gân when I was in elementary. It’s such a good piece while being very simple. 👍
Dear Sarah, I'd like to see a video from you about agogik, where you explain, when, where and why you strech and snatch, push and pull the tempo! Would you please ...??
I think this is a Robin - I have the same one - they still make them - I bought mine less than 5 years ago!!! I use it as a practise instrument to save my lovely Moeck Rottenburgh in palisander.
I also have the Trinity grade 4 and grade 5 - bought both for 20p (just the white sheet music without accompaniment)about 15 years ago when I began playing again and was always desperate for new stuff to play. I love 'Nice and easy' by Brian Bonsor and 'Le Tambourin' by Rameau - the Gavotte is one I haven't attempted - going to try it now!!
I had a wooden Schott Descent recorder in the 1960’s !! 😁😁
I recently unearthed my own Aulos from 1989 or 1990. It's a different model than yours, all black with a barely conical bell. Not something I'd perform on, but all things considered it's not bad. Very easy and responsive in the upper octave, and the bottom C is fine as long as you keep things ... very quiet. Now my 20-month-old plays with it.
I still have my original Aulos too! It's slightly longer and flatter in pitch than the new Aulos I bought for teaching. I also still have that book - with my infant school handwriting still in it! Xx
Mine was similar. The 200's series Aulos soprano and alto. I got mine in 1991. I was 7 years old. I gave them to my brother later, and replaced them with Aulos 500 series, then I've bought a Dolmetsch bressan alto. My brother still have them in his drawer.
I like "Ring of Bright Water", and found it available for download at Sheet Music Plus.
Very nice video! And a fascinating mixture of music. Do you really remember all these pieces? Or do you read the sheets as quickly?
I have basic Yamaha plastic recorders from sopranino to tenor and a 40$ CAD Hohner wooden soprano. I mostly play Christmas or children songs, so it's enough for my needs.
This is very cool
This is far more generally true. It also holds for photography equipment. I no longer have my first recorder, which was an Aura recorder with German fingering. My second soprano recorder I got second had from my sister. I was a poor student and she had a job already and switched to the treble recorder. Later I got my own treble recorder (Bärenreiter).I still play it. All were wood. Recently I visited Aafab and bought a new treble and tenor recorder. I still like them somehow.
My old recorder - Gill German soprano - the only wooden recorder I've owned and I've had since high school (I was class of 93) = eaten by my dog. *sigh*
Edit: oh my goodness! I lied. I finally dug into my instrument collection and there was my recorder!! I remembered wrong. My dog ate my suona - not my recorder. My suona is dead. My recorder lives on.
Now I have a set that I got online from a company "Frederick" - I suspect that it's a set that is often rebranded and it made very inexpensively - but they do the job I suppose. :) and having access to a 5 recorder set that all fits in one bag is kind of nice.
I agree that you can make beautiful music (and excellent performances) on a plastic recorder. I bought 3 wooden recorders hoping I would sound better on one of them, but I decided I sound best on my Aulos Haka (alto). I think that wooden recorders will eventually become obsolete, with future improvements in plastic recorders.
Fun video thanks for sharing!
The first recorder I actually owned was the Zen-On Bressan Alto, which I bought when I was about 14. Before that I had to play on borrowed instruments (parents hated the recorder, so I had to buy my own instruments and pay for my own lessons). The Zen-On Bressan took me pretty far in my recorder journey. I still have it and it plays pretty well. From the Zen-On, I went crazy and jumped right in to acquiring a handmade alto recorder at Baroque pitch, a Bressan Alto made by Guido Hulsens. It was kind of a big leap, but it actually turned out to be a practical move, because soon after I was invited to join a Baroque ensemble that played at Baroque pitch. Funny that I didn't have a soprano recorder until someone gave me the Zen-On Stanesby Junior soprano. BTW, I recently acquired the latest iteration of the Zen-On Bressan, the G-1A, and it is a considerable improvement from my old instrument. Oh, and the one a=415 is now available, yeah!
I just purchased the Zen-on a=415 so that I can possibly play with a friend who has a baroque pitch instrument. Sarah did a review on the model back in November.
very sweet...
My first one was a plastic Aulos as well, secondhand even! German fingering though. I got a Yamaha 23 likewise with german fingering for my 12th birthday, it's resting at my parents', the poor thing. I did take it out when I was at home though, even if just for a bit. It was fun :)
Trophy Cambridge 'Vibra-Bell'. I remember it as a significant step up from its predecessor, a Trophy Flutophone.
My first one was a cheap one (single plastic piece), when I was about 6. Never learned it very well... sometimes later I found it. I was trying to learn keyboard playing and loved music theory. So I started playing again. Decided on buying a better one (still plastic) and got one from a Brazilian brand (RMV). It had 3 pieces and 2 middle sections (one with german fingering and one with barroque).
Got a professor, but quit after the third lesson when he blatantly disrespected the cleaning lady in front of the students... It was with him that I tried my first (plastic) tenor and fell in love...
After a few years I have 3 plastic yamahas... one soprano, one alto and one tenor. I love the alto one even having german fingering (I made this mistake)... I cannot play the tenor for more than a few minutes without having a headache or an asthma attack, so it's been a long time.
I don't consider recorders as my gateway instruments. My current instrument of choice is bass guitar (which I always loved), but sometimes I still try my recorders!
This video makes me feel confused about school,I got my first recorder when I'm 4 and now I'm ten and lost it(somehow I'm in the sixth grade)
I have one of those, exactly the same model Aulos descant but mine is from the late 1970s. I also have early 1980s Aulos treble and sopranino recorders, but they're either a better or later model.
I probably have a dozen or so recorders. Dunno if my first is,still there. I wanted a good wooden soprano and the shopkeeper WOULDN’T SELL ME ONE. he insisted on a two dollar Yamaha plastic thing for starters. It took a while to learn, I began with a death grip trying to prevent leaks. I think I went back in a month or two and bought a moerk rottenberg grenadilla soprano which I still have and cherish. I currently play a five string carbon fiber fiddle made by Fred Gayford in Canada. I love it. A very resonant instrument that talks to the fiddler. Bye for now. I also have all the flutes from piccolo to bass.
I still play my 1976 44 year old Aulos descant recorder all the time! The lowest portion is a bit loose and is held in place with some duct tape! But I feel the pitch is truer than my new Yamaha
(Btw, my daughter lost my alto recorder too)
I think u need to frame the recorder with a photo of u and the ring of bright water music of which a remember watching the film with midge the otter
I still play my first recorder. It's a wooden soprano from Huber (I don't know the model) and it is now a bit more than 10 years old and still sounds good 😇
Every recorder sounds good when you're playing it...
My first recorder (more then 30 years ago!) was a moeck, wood one. Even english fingering. I still have it but don't play on it anymore.
Did you hold it upside down as a toddler? All my kids wanted to hold it with the holes down. They also bit them. In fact, my poor Bernolin alto has little teeth marks in the wood block where our 1-year old grabbed it when I had inadvertently left it where she could get it. My first recorder was a plastic 1-piece Hohner soprano I bought when I was 13 or 14. I'm not sure I ever saw one before then.
I just bought my first tenor recorder today! Excited to finally play it. I wanted to get into the soprano first before I spent more money on a bigger one. My housemates and parents will be pleased.
Funny how I am really a pianist yet I own 3 recorders and 0 pianos.
Congratulations and have fun! I found my way back to the recorder years ago, bought one soprano first and now I have... many recorders, sopranino all the way to tenor, and I was sooooo excited to discover I could play the tenor with my tiny hands!
Day 1 as a tenor player:
Omg it is gigantic
I can reach the low c but it is uncomfortable so I am going to pretty much take it a note at a time starting at high DCand b. I can get a good sound out of the left hand only notes so I practiced making my own tune out of DCba. I love it already. It gives your and your family and/or housenates a break from the high soprano. Plus the soprano feels miniature when you go back to it. I might do 1 hour on soprano and then the odd 10 mins on tenor till I get the stretch.
Best regards from Brazil
Middle School 2001-2004, I played an Hohner plastic instrument which to me sounded very poorly made, but I recently dabbled with it again and discovered it had a Baroque layout and I played it with German fingerings... It anyway wasn't a very good instrument still, in particular it had sub-par emission above second octave G, you had to struggle to "coax" out the notes. I now have bought a Yamaha plastic soprano (still with Baroque fingerings, of course) and I'm much more satisfied.
I also sometimes played the half-woode, half-plastic Hohner 9514 ( worldsfinestpianos.com/store/hohner-9514-soprano-studio-recorder-key-of-c-pearwood/ ) my mother yet had played at Middle School, but apart for a rich, beautiful sound in its "home-key" it probably was even worse, chromatic notes were precarious to say the least.