Recorder
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The recorder is a musical instrument that is a type of flute. It is shaped like a tube with one end bigger than the other end. A recorder player puts the bigger end in their mouth and blows into it.
In Europe, people started to play the recorder in medieval times. The recorder was often used by musicians to sound like bird songs. Purcell, Bach, Telemann and Vivaldi all wrote music for the recorder. By the 1900s very few people played the recorder. They liked the flute and other instruments better than the recorder. These instruments are louder than the recorder and are better for playing difficult music.
In the 1900s more people started to learn the recorder again. One reason was that people wanted to play old music on old kinds of instruments. A second reason was that the recorder is a good instrument for children to learn about music.
[change] History of recorders
Whistles are very old instruments. People have found some whistles that were made in the Iron Age. A recorder is a type of whistle. It has holes for seven fingers and one thumb. It also has one end bigger than the other. The first recorders were made in the 1500s. Some remains of these have been found in Germany, the Netherlands and Greece.
Many people played the recorder in Europe in the 1500s and 1600s. King Henry VIII of England had 76 recorders. William Shakespeare talks about recorders in his play Hamlet and John Milton talks about them in his poem Paradise Lost. Recorders from that time are now called Renaissance recorders.
In the 1700s the people who made recorders tried new ways to make them sound better. They also wanted them to play more difficult music. Recorders from this time are called Baroque recorders. They were thinner than Renaissance recorders. They were also made in several parts that fitted together. In the picture at the top of the page, one of the recorders is in three parts.
In the 1800s people preferred to play the flute and clarinet instead of the recorder. Flutes are good for playing music which has a large range of notes. Flutes are also better for playing music which needs many chromatic notes.
In the 1900s people wanted to play old music with old kinds of instrument. In England, Arnold Dolmetsch was one of the people who was famous for this. Other musicians also began to play the recorder at serious music concerts. Some of these people were Frans Brüggen, Hans-Martin Linde, Bernard Kranis and David Munrow. In modern times, people have written new music for the recorder. Some of these people are Paul Hindemith, Luciano Berio, John Tavener, Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein, Gordon Jacob and Edmund Rubbra.
The recorder is sometimes used in popular music. The Beatles played the recorder in their song Fool on the Hill and the Rolling Stones used a recorder in Ruby Tuesday (song).
Plastic recorders were invented in the 20th century. These are cheap. They are easy instruments to play simple music. Many schools use plastic recorders to teach music to children.
[change] Kinds of recorder
Recorders are made in different sizes. The lowest note of most recorders is either C or F. This is the note that is heard when the player covers all the finger holes and the thumb hole. The soprano recorder is the size of recorder which is usually played in schools. The lowest note of the soprano recorder is C. Some recorders are smaller than the soprano recorder but are not common. The alto recorder is bigger than the soprano recorder. Its lowest is F. The other main sizes are the tenor recorder (with lowest note C) and the bass (with lowest note F). Instruments larger than the bass are made but are not common.
[change] Recorder groups
The recorder is a very social instrument. Many people enjoy playing in large groups. Groups often play music that is written for several different sizes of instrument. Often there is a separate musical part for soprano, alto, tenor and bass recorders. Some people play in recorder orchestras. These sometimes have 50 or 60 players with nine sizes of instrument.
