Teaching recorder

[Britishmum]

Have any of you taught your dc to play the recorder? I'm planning to teach dd, but want to buy the right program - a really easy to follow book, as attractive as possible to a 5/6 year old. She reads fluently and I think will enjoy learning now, but still I'd like the presentation to be good for a young child. If she gets into it, I will look for a group lesson, but at the moment she's better learning on her own at home.

Any suggestions for a good book? Also, is a plastic or wooden recorder preferable?

Thanks for any insights.

[wonderactivist]

Dear Britishmum,

We have done recorder together - I usually start with a first easy song in K, then slowly teach more difficult sings through until 3rd when we learn to read music on voice and recorder.

I use a Waldorf book which is really designed for the teacher, called Shepherd's songbook. I have seen a program online, here, which is well-done. I still recommend that you learn and then teach your child - as music is a great sensory and brain-builder, and the computer is not the best venue.

I love wooden recorders for the tone, but they are more expensive - about $30 each now. We bought ours here.

Also, a lot of teachers prefer the plastic variety because a wooden recorder easily wll lose its tuning if you don't take care of it - so we have to learn care of the recorder before actually playing it. You can pick up plasic recorders and very good instruction books at any musician's music store. I say a "musician's store because I really dislike the instruction books carried by a lot of "school" store - a lot designed for school band programs, and not a lot of fun.

Best wishes,

Lucie

[Roar]

Recorder is a lot of fun. My son and I learned recorder together when he was five and six and it was a good time and provided a good foundation for future music study. I agree that the wood recorders sound nicer. If you want to go cheap though go to your local music store and get the Yamaha plastic recorders and a book. You can probably get everything you need for the two of you for under $30.

[Queen Gwen]

I've taught to a group and I've taught my own kids. My 6yo struggles from the standpoint that her fingers are so much smaller than, say, an 8yo's or 10yo's, so it's harder for her to cover the holes well and completely. Also, she has to stretch her fingers more.

I used a variety of materials. Much is available online -- there are even online tutorials for fingering and stance. As Lucie said, I wouldn't just plop a child in front of the computer, hand them a recorder, and announce, "Okay, here, figure it out."

For my purposes, it made the most sense to demonstrate what I wanted the child to do. For example, I might show the fingering for G, then we practiced that; then we tried A, then B. And, in the group setting, I divvied everyone up into 3 groups of one note each (G,A or B), pointed to them in turn, and had them play Mary Had a Little Lamb. It was fun.

I noticed that some kids are able to play by ear once you point them in the right direction. I'm like that, and was surprised to find that others weren't, quite frankly. Some do best when they memorize everything you do, and play by finger/tone memory. And some enjoy learning to read music and learning to count the beats. In any event, don't be too surprised to discover your child takes to music a different way than you do.

I liked Penny Gardner'sNine Note Recorder Method for the music, but I thought the way it taught the notes wasn't the best, and I downright disagreed with some of the fingering (there are various ways to finger various notes, as you'll discover in group lessons). Of course, it only teaches 9 notes, so you miss out on a lot of music!

I learned from the Trapp family's book of recorder, which is currently who-knows-where (we're painting the living room right now, so everything's in an uproar) so I can't give you the complete title. I liked the variety of music in it. Lots of duets.

Most beginning recorder books seem to have pretty much the same tunes in them.

We have 2 plastic Yamaha recorders. Very nice. We also have a couple of cheapo plastic ones that are hard to play in the upper and lower ranges. I also used to have a pearwood soprano. Wood is harder to care for, and varies more in tone.

[HilMama]

Recorder book

My son and I used Recorder Method for Young Beginners (Andrew Scott/GaryTurner) and plastic recorders. The book says they have a website at www.learntoplaymusic.com, but we never went there. I'd looked at a variety of books at our local music store before choosing this one. It has big, easy-to-see print and lessons in a logical order. My ds liked the illustrations.

It was a colorful, fun book. I play piano and had taught myself recorder when I was about 14, but had not played since. The book does teach how to read music, so I don't think you'd need any special musical background to use it.

[Britishmum]

Thanks! I went online and ordered the Andrew Scott book. Now all we have to do is buy two recorders, wait for the book to arrive, and start learning together.

I havent told dd yet, as I know she'll be excited and won't stop asking about it until the book arrives.

Thanks for the input!

[eilonwy]

Both of my kids want to play the recorder (I've got a whole bunch of plastic ones around here for some reason... ); I'm just waiting for their hands to get a bit bigger.

[Mama Shifra]

Originally Posted by Queen Gwen

I learned from the Trapp family's book of recorder, which is currently who-knows-where (we're painting the living room right now, so everything's in an uproar) so I can't give you the complete title. I liked the variety of music in it. Lots of duets.

Enjoy Your Recorder; the Trapp Family Singers' New Complete Method of Instruction for the Recorder - Book M-1 for C-Soprano or C-Tenor
by The Trapp Family Singers is available from amazon.com for the soprano (the most common type) recorder. There is also Enjoy Your Recorder; the Trapp Family Singers' New Complete Method of Instruction for the Recorder (Book M-2 for F-Alto, F-Sopranino, or F-Bass) by The Trapp Family Singers for the alto recorder. The Trapp Family also published Trapp Family Recorder Trios for making musical groups with the recorder.

I just bought Yamaha Recorder Student by Sandy Feldstein, which might not be a good self teaching guide, but has a great selection of folk songs, which is nice when you get tired of either made up songs (to teach you the basics of note reading) or the same old "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and want to play other songs, too.