I don't meen to insult anybody, but recorders sound like a bunch of squeaky pvc tubes.

That's your opinion. Of course, I could say that oboes are just as squawky, but it's just the player's talent.

I personally think that this board has seen WAY too much of recorder bashing. If you don't play it, or don't like it, DON'T VISIT THIS FORUM!

I wasn't talking directly to you, Oboe1. I was stating my opinion.

Hey Everyone. I agree with SimpsonSaxGal. If you don't play the recorder and/or you don't like it, then you shouldn't visit this fourm. Recorder are good insturments to play when you are first learning how to play an insturment and read music. And even after that, they can still be fun. So don't come here to bash recorders. Come here to positively participate in conversations. (And I'm not talking to anyone in specific.)

~*kimmie*~

Hey Im New......!

true recorders do sound squeaky. you know what else sounds squeaky? violins.

Oboe1 if you didn't mean to insult anyone, why on earth did you bother to post this on a RECORDER forum?? Did you loose your mind or was the courtesy part of it just not put in when you were created?

~*Naira*~

I AGREE WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! because i play a "sqeaky" recorder too.


(V)
( . .)
c(")(")

Hello, everybody,

I started with the recorder myself and thought it a perfectly hateful, limited, unnerving instrument. I stuffed it away at 12 and started with the guitar. But then I heard - during a rehearsal at my brother's boarding school - some pieces played by a C-soprano recorder and a harpsichord. It was absolutely glorious (something that resembled Vivaldy but most likely was not Vivaldi). The hateful parts of the instrument were entirely on my side. I dug it out again and tried to concentrate more on the sound.

My daughter learns to play it now and I noticed that the teaching method is very different from what it was when I learned. They concentrate on playing at sight, timing and creating a pleasant sound. We, on the other hand, just learned all the notes as quickly as possible, with dreadful results.

Greetings,
Aleysha

As far as I'm concerned, recorder is a perfectly valid instrument with a lovely sound and has the same qualities and standards as any other instrument. I do not believe that a recorder is an inferior instrument and I think that a violin sounds more squeaky, and an oboe too, than a recorder, when you're beginning to learn it. Recorder has a great repertoire and is a very satisfying instrument to play. (I play violin and piano, amongst other things, as well as recorder.)

I know I haven't been online lately, but it really pleases me to see so many recorder supporters. Several months ago, left and right were recorder bashers. I think they're almost gone now. Thanks to all of your hard work and great responses!

And recorder bashers, please do not come back and write something just because I said that.

Thanks!

i ply obe and stll lke recorders! cmon, were wld we b without recorders?

well, i got into this forum because i'm learning to play tenor recorder without a teacher (financial reasons) and i was looking for help with a "squeaky" lower register (C, D, & E). apparently, i'm not alone in this problem. so, i guess the question is "are all recorders squeaky by their very nature" or "am i doing something wrong?" if anyone knows any way for me to correct my squeakiness, i would appreciate any advice.

P.S. while i don't have a teacher, i did study cladssical organ for 6 years and clarinet for 4 when i was a teen. i'm sure that i can navigate a lesson book on my own - it's just the technique that i could use a little help with.

Well, I never touched a tenor recorder, but remember that a recorder is nothing but a slightly conical tube with holes in it and that there are many factors influencing the sound of a tone. (BTW - do you have a wood or a plastic recorder?) In one point recorders are very much like stringed instruments - the tone is not fixed exactly by the instrument itself, but depends on how you play it. This can be as much as a half tone up or down.

If you say your lower notes sound squeaky, do you mean they are not full, but - how do you say in English? - overblown, 1 octave higher than they should be and without much sound?

I own two descant recorders, and with the plastic one i have to change the angle of the instrument slightly with the lower notes, I have to hold it mor vertical. Maybe you just need to find the perfect position. The lowest tones on the recorder are the beginner's bane, anyway... one has to practise them. It is not like an electronic keyboard: touch a key and the tone will come.

The wooden recorder, on the other hand, is more sensitive to the pressure I blow into it. The c' must be sort of breathed, not blown.

If you have a plastic recorder and it tends to get hoarse (rough, gargling, something like that), it might be due to condensation in the upper part. There is an anti-condensation-fluid on the market that can be dripped into the mouthpiece. It is helpful not to eat or drink anything except water 1 h before practising. Or try putting the top piece of the recorder in your pocket for 15 min before practising to warm it up gently.

HTH, Aleysha

i think it is a valid instrument.
let's not exclude recorders from other instruments just because it sounds different.
well, every instrument has its own character.

oboe1 I totaly agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!