Beginning Recorder Study

Each year the Chets Creek Elementary PTA purchases a recorder for every fourth grader in our building (approximately 200 students). Their gift provides an avenue for large numbers of students to learn to play an instrument and build their music-reading skills over the course of the year.

The recorder was a very popular instrument in Elizabethan England during the Renaissance period (circa 1600). It was easy to master and could be enjoyed as a solo instrument or preferably, in an ensemble setting with all four voicings playing simultaneously.

As with any instrument, the first few months of acquainting onesself with the instrument can be somewhat painful. One must figure out correct playing position, correct fingerings, correct tone production and endure much screeching until the amount of airflow needed to make a nice sound on the instrument is realized. For some students, it comes very easily. For others, their parents require that they practice in their bedroom with the door closed.

At our first class meeting with the fourth graders, I give them the opportunity to "blow the bejabbers out of it" while I plug my ears. This is their one and only opportunity to do so in my classroom. From that moment on, we work really hard at trying to produce a good tone at all times on the instrument.

Before they ever touch the instrument, we use colored reinforcement circles to create a practice instrument on their forearm. We go through the process step-by-step as a group activity. Once our circles are in place, we practice fingerings for B-A-G without having to worry about airstream, hole coverage ("leaks make squeaks") and note-reading. The students love this activity and it gives me time to build in the rituals and routines that will guide our instructional time when they return for the next class.

Until next time...