Recorder Music

Content

– Description of recorder.

-The recorder family.

-Holding the recorder.

Content development

Description of the recorder.

      The recorder is an ancient instrument. Its history dates back to the medieval period of music history. Actually the recorder belongs to the flute family,but then it is regarded as the member of the wood wind family and really operates on the same mechanism as other wood wind instruments. However, whereas the other instruments of woodwind family are used in the orchestra the but the recorder does not appear in the orchestra.

               Nowadays, the recorder is very popular in schools as used to be in England between 16^th and 17^th centuries. Its popularity rises from the fact that it is quite cheap to buy the mass produced type and also portable, thus it is easy for students to carry about.

The recorder family

      The family consists of Descant, Treble, Tenor, Bass. The descant recorder is the smallest in size and produces very high pitch. The bass recorder, on the other hand is the largest member of the family and produces a more mellow tone. Below are pictures of the family;

Holding the recorder

     Normally, the left hand is used to hold the recorder. The thumb of the left hand is placed behind the instrument and is used to cover the only hole at the back. Then, the next three fingers of the left hand are so adjusted as to cover the first three holes in front, nearest to the mouthpiece. These four fingers, first to fourth, keep the instrument in position as below. (Left hand).

Similarly, the thumb of the right Hand is placed underneath the instrument, just midway between the third and fourth holes. The rest of the fingers of the Right Hand are kept in the position as to take charge of the of the remaining holes in the front of the recorder.

Evaluation

1. Describe the recorder.
2. State the recorder family.

  Reference

   Fundamentals of Music, for junior secondary schools, Upper Basic Education 1, Dr.H.C. Nwafor.