A quick glance at the recorder

In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, the recorder was coined the “English flute” and enjoys great acceptance. It was played by everybody from countrymen all the way up to kings, queens, as well as some of the most world-famous composers like Bach and Handel. The recorder was even featured in plays published by Shakespeare himself! We have evidence that the oldest recorder that's still physically working is from roughly 1400 A.D. which is certainly amazing! You can find paintings through the Middle Ages and Crusades which show people playing and using the it. Slowly after these time periods, however, the recorder was long forgotten and replaced by its sister-instrument the flute. However, lately, the it has gone through a complete revival.

Though usually when heard by the hands of young school children the sound can be quite ear piercing, a properly mastered recorder gives sounds of beauty. There are professional musicians in the greatest, most professional, ensembles throughout the world. There are actually seven different sizes of the recorder. The smallest is the soprano which is only about 9 inches in length and ranging to the contra-base which is eight feet! The most popular, however, are the soprano and alto. The recorder's pitch, although written on a normal staff, generally in the key of C, is actually written at an octave lower than the pitch actually heard.

Similarly to guitars, hardwoods like rosewood, maple, and ebony are usually what make the recorder. In historical times, however, they were usually made with a wood called box wood; sometimes even made completely out of ivory. King Henry VII owned his own collection of 47 different recorders. He was known to compose music for the it with his vast collection. Nowadays, they can be made of plastic and can range all the way up to the most exotic of woods.

The instrument has a full range of recorder notes in the chromatic scale and can range over two full octaves. It is generally paired up with a piano, guitar, or harpsichord. Sometimes it is in an ensemble made entirely of other recorders. There are many travelling recorder groups from countries all over the world such as, Germany, Canada, United States, The United Kingdom, and Japan. Much folk and pop music is suited to the versatile instrument. Light jazz can even be played by some of the more skilled musicians. The recorder has definitely come back to life over the past fifty to sixty years and is most definitely not considered an antique instrument; but instead an important instrument in part of today's society.