Does My Child REALLY Need to Learn the Headache Inducing Recorder?

There are benefits of learning the recorder.  No, seriously there are.  This situation has probably happened to the parents at your school…

You sit down with your child after school to look at any notes that came home and to help them with their homework, when all of a sudden you notice a strange looking plastic object protruding out of their backpack.  “What is this” you ask your child as you hold the foreign object in your hands.  Excitedly your child answers, “it’s my recorder from music class and we get to bring it home to practice” as they proceed to play you a song that can only be compared to the sound of a flock of loud, dying seagulls.

You wonder why anyone would want to torture you this way.  What did you do to deserve such a cruel and unusual punishment?  Why is your child learning this flute thing?  Well, believe it or not, there are real reasons why your child should learn the recorder and if your child learns how to play it correctly, it can make a beautiful sound.

Teachers, I know you see the eye rolls and hear the complaining from the parents.  I’m hoping through this blog post, you’ll be able to explain to your parents the benefits of learning the recorder.

 

History of the recorder

The recorder has been around for a long time (1400s or 1500s), and it is said that King Henry VIII of England owned 76 of them. It was known as the English flute in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries, then it’s popularity declined when other woodwind instruments like the oboe, clarinet, and flute gained popularity.  In the 20th Century, the recorder gained popularity again because of it’s ease in teaching it to children and gets its name from it being a simple instrument for students to use when they were practicing (“recording”) their music.

There are wooden and plastic recorders and different sized ones including the soprano, alto, and bass , but the most popular one is the plastic soprano recorder.  It was used by the Beatles in”The Fool on the Hill”, by Led Zeppelin in “Stairway to Heaven”, and by the Rolling Stones in”Ruby Tuesday”, but of course the main popularity comes from using it in an elementary music class.

 

The benefits of learning the recorder

There are so many benefits of learning the recorder.  Like I stated above, the recorder is easy to teach to children.  Band instruments require correct embouchure, breathing, posture, tonguing, and hand position.

The recorder requires the finger holes to be covered and the mouth to go over the mouth piece and that’s pretty much it.  Now, when the recorder is taught, kids are instructed to sit up straight to play it, but since it doesn’t require a lot of correct breathing technique, it is not stressed too much (depending on the teacher of course.)

The other benefits of learning the recorder are…

• they are cheap
• don’t break easily
• easy to put together and take apart
• don’t take long to clean after use
• are portable enough to take home (you’re welcome parents)

 

The recorder prepares students for band or orchestra

Before the 4th grade, children have probably played any combination of rhythm and barred instruments, but have never had the experience of playing an instrument that requires them to use their mouth.  This experience sets students up for playing any band OR orchestra instrument, even the ones that don’t need to be played by mouth.

The reason for this is while learning the recorder, students are needing to focus on more than one thing at a time.  They need to focus on not blowing too hard (this is what makes the eardrum popping screech sound), covering the holes completely (making cheerios on their fingers), reading music notation, and staying with the beat.  When and if they move on to a woodwind, brass, string, or percussion instrument, they will already be used to following along in music, playing with a group of students, and holding an instrument, and will have an easier time transitioning to their new instrument of choice.

How to teach the recorder

Go to your happy place

No seriously though, know that the recorder will squeak, it will cause internal pain to you as the teacher at first, and you will need to take deep breaths before beginning.  As with teaching any instrument, it requires A LOT of patience by not only the teacher, but the student as well.  I promise that just as annoyed as you are with the sounds coming out of the instrument the first few times, they are just as eager for a better sound to come out.

Start with teaching how to put it together and take it apart

If the student puts it together correctly, the holes will line up in a straight line.

Pick a recorder method

Using any recorder method book, just start at the beginning of the book, and work your way to the end.  The book will teach the student the proper way to put air into the instrument, how to hold the recorder, how to cover the finger holes, and a finger chart for the notes.  If you google recorder books, anything written by Hal Leonard or Alfred publishing are great to use.

Take time teaching each song

Have the child practice the songs on their own and make sure they can play them with the correct rhythm while keeping a steady beat before moving on to the next song.

Teach about recorder care

There will be spit involved since it is a wind instrument.  Shake the spit out, use a lysol wipe to clean inside of it or any type of cloth, disassemble it, and put it back in its case or bag.

So as you can see, the recorder is taught for a reason.  If you give it a chance, after getting rid of your headache, you will see your child improve over time.  They will gain such confidence in learning an instrument at such a young age and will be so excited they have mastered a few songs.

 

Do you teach recorder to your students?  What is your favorite way to teach the recorder? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post.   

Also, I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it.

P.S.  Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher?  Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!