Recorder

What it means

The recorder is a duct flute: a wooden or plastic block in the mouthpiece directs the blown air through a narrow slit against a sharp edge, producing the tone. Unlike the transverse flute, the player needs no special lip technique to direct the air stream.

The main body has seven finger holes on the front and a thumb hole on the back; opening and closing these holes with the fingers changes the sounding length of the air column and thereby the pitch.

Musical use

Recorders come in various sizes and pitches, from the high sopranino through soprano and alto down to the low bass recorder, which together can form a consort. In the Renaissance and Baroque periods the recorder was a full-fledged concert instrument before it was increasingly displaced by the transverse flute from the eighteenth century onward.

Today the recorder is widespread mainly as an introductory instrument in school music education, while it also plays an important role again in historically informed performance. It should be distinguished from the transverse flute, which is blown from the side and has no duct.

Performance practice

When you play the recorder, aim for even, not overly forceful breath support, since too much air pressure makes the tone overblow and crack. Cover the finger holes completely with your fingertips so no unwanted noise occurs and the tone speaks cleanly.