Musical Instruments: The Recorder

The recorder is an instrument that is very popular in schools. It is quite easy to play and comes in a variety of sizes; sopranino, descant, treble, alto, tenor and bass. The descant is the recorder that is most widely used. It is a very old instrument and was very popular during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Recorders can be made of wood, ivory or plastic. Today the plastic recorder is the most popular. It is held vertically and the performer blows into the head joint and covers different holes along the tube to create different notes. All recorders apart from the bass have a range of two octaves. The bass range is under two octaves.

The recorder can be dismantled into three pieces for ease of storage as in the picture below.

Photo credit: Sheep purple via Foter.com / CC BY

The pictures below show the various sizes of recorders.

Photo credit: NCReedplayer via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Photo credit: skeggy via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Warburton, Annie O. Basic Music Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print, p. 137.

Taylor, E. (1991). The AB guide to music theory, part II. 1st ed. London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. p. 207.