How does recorder instrument work

The locations of the holes and their alignment with the interior shape of the bore have been developed through over years of trial and error, with the aim of producing tones at different pitch intervals. To this end, a variety of approaches have been used. For example, for the double holes, where there are two open holes in one place, the combined surface area of both holes is the same as the surface area of a single hole for a single tone.

Also, when holding in the instrument, if only the hole on the right is covered a note at a semitone interval is produced, but if both of the holes were made to be exactly the same size, the interval produced would not be a semitone. The lower two double holes, covered by the little finger and ring finger of the right hand, also may appear at first glance to be the same size, but if you look closely you will see that they are actually different sizes.

The tone holes of a recorder tend to be thought of as being positioned at regular intervals, but that is not actually the case. They are not at regular intervals, nor are they all positioned in a straight line. The holes are not in a straight line because they are positioned so as to be easier to cover with the fingers. In fact, providing they are positioned at the same height in the bore, the same pitch of sound will be produced irrespective of where they are placed on a circumference of the bore at that height.

If you try stretching your fingers, you will find that on the human hand, the middle finger and the ring finger are harder to stretch than other fingers. Therefore, for the position of the holes on a recorder, the space between holes covered by the middle finger and the ring finger is also minimized. In accordance with the closely related pitch of the notes and size of the holes, the locations for all of the holes have been precisely adjusted so as to be easy to cover with the fingers.

To give an example of the relationship between the positions of the tone holes and their size, if the position of the hole is moved farther down the bore of the recorder, the pitch of the sound can only be preserved by making the hole bigger. As a child overcomes the problems that learning the recorder can present, their confidence and self esteem are built up. If you have ever watched a child perform and then talked to them afterwards, they are usually smiling from ear to ear as they know that they have just been a part of something that was truly special.

When students try to create a piece of music, either from one that is written or one that they are creating, there will always be problems. Students need to work together to come up with a solution, and this requires patience and thinking outside the box to fix an issues that may come their way.

When our young music students perform as part of a group, there will always be problems that arise. Being a part of a team, or musical group, is one way that students get the opportunity to build teamwork skills.

We all need to know how to behave in certain situations and playing the recorder in front of an audience is one way of learning this life skill. The more diverse music that our students experience helps them develop their own musical ear. If students only hear and perform one type of music, they are not then having the chance to experience every different flavor that music has on offer. It is an instrument that can be easily taken to and from school in a backpack. The popularity of the recorder comes from the ease of storing and moving the instrument.

When students play the music that they are reading, both sides of the brain are engaged in the activity. Reading and playing music is one of the few activities that uses both sides of the brain at once! Studies have shown that playing and reading music improves brain function and helps to make us use more of our brains creating new neural pathways. Learning the recorder and tackling the difficulties that this can present head on, helps our students to learn what it takes to make it real life.

Grit and perseverance cannot be taught when success comes easily, it can only be learned through experiencing failure and trying something new. It is OK to fail, but it is not OK to try. Learning the recorder means students must try and keep trying to develop musical skills through grit and determination. Once students have mastered learning finger positions and have them committed to memory, then students learn to memorize pieces of music to play. This skill only gets stronger the more that students have the chance to use these skills.

It simply is cheap to purchase — consider the price of one trumpet compared to the price of one recorder! Schools can purchase easily recorders for the same price as a trumpet!

Schools get more bang for their buck with recorders — more students can play because of the price and portability of the instrument. Beginning players are usually absorbed in their own sound, this needs to change for successful group playing. Your ears should hear less of your instrument, more of the others. This is a skill to be developed. Some instruments, the harmonica for example, are based around improvised playing, without printed notation.

Recorder is different, almost all players read their parts. So, learning recorder also means learning to read music. Music enters through the eyes, is produced by breath, fingers and tongue, and is monitored by the ears.

Paying close attention to music scores is a learned skill, likewise "sight reading", where an unknown piece on a printed page becomes music. Professional players usually have remarkable sight reading facility. The various tasks for breath, fingers, tongue, ears and eyes are mechanical ones, they combine to make recorder music. However there is more going on. Has music ever raised a prickle on the back of your neck?

Emotions are being conveyed through the mechanical actions of playing. The heart is involved. As a beginning recorder student, I well remember encountering the works of Corelli. I felt a deep emotional connection to his music, despite how poorly I no doubt played it back then. I still feel the same way about his music, along with countless others since it first appeared, over three hundred years ago.

Beginning players struggle with technique, with little else to consider. However as facility grows, technical challenges diminish. Your heart then more fully engages with your music. Start Now. How to Play the Recorder While recorder basics are easily grasped. Here we discuss key elements of how to play the recorder.