Resin recorders are moderately priced and robust, with a solid sound and sensation during play. They can also be washed with neutral detergent, and have the advantage of relatively straightforward maintenance, although water droplets can clog the windway airway because these instruments do not absorb moisture. If this occurs, lightly tap just above the window, and blow forcefully to force out the droplets of water. If doing this during a performance, take care to ensure the sound of blowing cannot be heard.
It is possible to dislodge and reduce moisture that has adhered to the inside of the instrument by sucking just a little. The ABS resin used for Yamaha resin recorders has a high ratio of butadiene, giving these instruments excellent impact resistance.
Their characteristic features include an exceptional wood-like feel during play, a clear timbre, and a perfect pitch, achieved by using the understanding developed through the manufacture of wooden recorders. With Hz used as a reference pitch for A, the pitch can be tuned by adjusting the extension of the head joint, allowing the recorder to be tuned to participate in an ensemble with other musical instruments.
Wooden recorders have the timbre of rosewood, with emphasized gentle, sweet characteristics. There is a wide range of plastic instruments.
The extra cost of a better one is money well spent. We recommend the Yamaha plastic recorders, which feature good intonation and easy playability. Yamaha plastic recorder models include soprano, alto, tenor and bass , as shown below. This has an imitation woodgrain finish, and the classic baroque recorder profile. More importantly, the intonation is good, the instrument responds evenly from the lowest to the highest notes.
Similar to the Yamaha plastic alto, this instrument is reliable across the entire range. If you want to play the sort of music that works better on the descant recorder a tenor is a possibility but there are drawbacks. The tenor is not easy to handle, even for an experienced player. If you are of advancing years, are small or have joint problems particularly all three factors combined I strongly advise against attempting the tenor recorder.
It is almost inevitable that you will have trouble covering the holes and suffer discomfort, if not real pain, in your hands. Solutions like keys are not so effective as you might expect. I have posted advanced comments on tenor recorders here. Price is a fairly easy issue, to a large extent you get what you pay for.
Most of the cheapest recorders are rubbish, toys at best. Beware of most instruments that to not trace their ancestry back to a musical instrument manufacturer. White and pretty coloured recorders are unlikely to be very worthwhile as musical instruments, but there can be surprises, I have played a "My Little Pony" descant in puke making pastel colours that was a usable musical instrument! Most, but not all, wooden recorders are better than plastic recorders, though I think that the dividing line of quality between the more expensive plastic recorders and the cheaper wooden ones is indistinct.
The notion that any particular material makes a recorder that is 'easier to play' whatever that means! Wooden recorders are sometimes credited with all manner of superior qualities. Do not be taken in.
There are many very poor and fairly high priced wooden recorders about. A plastic recorder is generally the best choice for an absolute beginner. Once a fair degree of proficiency has been acquired, an improving player should be able to judge what a more expensive wooden recorder offers and make a sensible informed choice. I do not attach much importance to whether a baroque 'normal' recorder has a separate foot joint.
Cheaper wooden descants never do Many very high quality descants are made without one. Indeed, my favourite descant, the one I use for solo performance, is made this way. It is fairly usual for 'early' model trebles and tenors not to have a separate foot and this can be a problem. The position of the lowest hole is sometimes unsuitable for a particular player.
I am unconvinced about the value of keys on trebles. If you have a normal hand you are likely to find that they make problems worse, particularly if you are looking for help with bottom F.
Turning a moveable foot joint so that the holes are 'nearer' tends to put them at a awkward angle. The answer is to revise your whole hand position, move away from the concept of covering the holes with the tips of your fingers and straighten your fingers, so that the holes are covered with the fleshy part nearer the joint.
The most difficult questions I have to answer at the shop relate to the performance of expensive recorders compared with cheap recorders. Expensive recorders are bought for all sorts of reasons, some of them not valid. There are times when the customer is not entirely happy with the purchase often for someone else and returns for advice or reassurance. Often I have to call upon my diplomatic skills to avoid causing an upset.
There are those to whom a recorder is more of an artefact than a musical instrument. An expensive one is bought in order to be flaunted, like jewellery, or a clothing, to gain admittance to a club or a higher level of society. As a shop keeper, I have to provide what the customer wants, but it is difficult to cope with complaints that an expensive recorder "won't play" or "doesn't sound any better that a cheap one".
The trouble lies in the fact that a musical instrument is a tool, and the old comment about a bad workman and his tools can be very apt. While on the subject of tools, a recorder maker spends about as much time sharpening his tools as he does shaping the wood. Part of the problem is that cheap recorders can be tremendous value for money. Be wary of those who criticise your instrument rather than your performance, particularly if you are young.
It is not helpful to be told that you will "play better", or "succeed in your exam" if you buy a more expensive instrument. That is a form of blackmail. An experienced player will know whether your performance is limited by your recorder or not and be more understanding and constructive. Unfortunately, recorder players are often at the mercy of other woodwind players who have slight recorder knowledge and give bad advice. It is all too easy to appear wise and tell you to buy wood when it is easy to see if not hear that you are playing on plastic.
If you are an older artist you should be able to make your own decisions. You will see an account of my second encounter with a "master" on my " new fingering? My first was some thirty years earlier when I moved to Bristol and had the choice of joining either a recorder ensemble or youth orchestra. I auditioned for both. I remember nothing of the recorder audition except that my handmade Dolmetsch instruments were disparagingly referred to as "soloist's instruments" and that I would have to play Kung if I wanted to join the ensemble.
I was not impressed! At the orchestra I was invited to join them for an evening and was subsequently enrolled there and then. I could play and that was all that mattered. It turned out to be a life changing decision. If you only need a recorder to play tunes, or to take part in group playing, there is no absolute need to acquire an expensive instrument. Its role may be compared to that of a donkey, docile, long suffering and able to take goods on real journeys, or children under supervision along the beach.
However, for greater speed, style and excitement, a pony or horse is more appropriate. But there are penalties, like increased cost and the need to learn to ride properly. If you want to compete at the Olympics, both rider and horse have to train together for years to establish the rapport and trust that enables them to perform as one. It is much the same with recorders.
The cheap ones can be excellent donkeys. Do not buy an expensive instrument in the expectation that it will automatically turn you into a good performer. The answer to the problem of choice lies in knowledge. If you are not fortunate enough to have a teacher, or have a teacher whose experience is only with "donkeys" you must do all you can to learn and understand where the recorder playing road leads and decide if that is the way you really want to go.
The way to do this has never been easier but it is still not a push over. Listen to broadcasts and recordings of recorder music and ensembles that include recorders. Get a real feeling for the instrument. Beg, buy or borrow printed music for the great works and learn to play them off by heart even.
You don't have to play them fast. Learn the notes and get a feel for the music. Learn some scales and arpeggios too! Copy the style of a performer who appeals to you. Build yourself a foundation and when you are secure in what you are doing branch out for yourself. Find an experienced keyboard player and form a partnership. One thing will lead to another. At some stage you will probably want more from your recorder than it will give. When you have reached this point you should be able to play different recorders, understand the finer points of their tone and response and have got past the "it won't play top whatever" stage.
I cringe when customers talk about "a nice mellow recorder". With some old models the tone is soft and as they are forgiving of undeveloped technique it is very easy to play all the notes. These are not actually "good" instruments in the strict sense of the word, though they may be thought so by their owners.
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