Recorder for Beginners

The recorder is a fairly popular wind instrument among the population wishing to join the musical culture. This is due to the simplicity of both the instrument itself, and the relative simplicity of mastering playing it, even through independent study. Let's consider the main tasks that novice musicians need to solve from the first lessons in order to subsequently learn how to play the recorder decently.

For beginners who have decided to "conquer" the recorder, it is important to first master the basic settings with the instrument:

• how to stand or sit correctly;
• how to hold the instrument;
• where the fingers of both hands are located;
• rules for placing the mouthpiece in the musician's mouth;
• how to blow to get sounds.

But before that, you need to study the device of the flute in order to imagine what is being said next on the topic.

The tool consists of three dismountable parts that can be removed, cleaned (recommended after each use). The first part is the mouthpiece, which is often referred to as the "whistle". The second part - the main one - is a play one, since almost all play holes (or valves) of a musical instrument are located here. There are 7 of these valves: six on top of the tube and one on the bottom (called an "octave" valve). The third part of the recorder is called the "bell". Between the bell and the main tube there is the last - eighth - hole (or even two next to it), which can be shifted around the circumference in order to conveniently adjust it to the little finger of the right hand.

True, in some cases, you can play while sitting, especially with long music lessons or fatigue from daytime worries.

The body of the musician when playing the recorder in a standing position should be straight, the head should also be straight. You should not strain, the muscles of the back, neck and shoulders are relaxed. Any tension constrains the movements of the hands and fingers, it can even cause pain. In this case, you should stop for a while, take a break. It is better to spread your legs a little, and you should lean on them evenly.

In a sitting position, the legs are placed with both feet in front of you on the floor. There should not be any shifting of legs one on top of the other.

Arms position:

• the elbows do not touch the body: they move slightly forward and spread to the sides;
• the forearms of both hands should make approximately a right angle with each other, the top of which is the recorder;
• the fingers of the right hand are placed on the lower half of the flute, of the left hand - on the upper half (closer to the face).

The placement of the fingers is as follows:

• thumbs located at the bottom of the body (tube) of the instrument: the left one covers the octave hole (located on the back side, has the same appearance as the playing holes in the upper part of the flute), and the right one is responsible for supporting the instrument;
• remaining fingers of the right hand cover 4 play holes located in the lower part of the recorder body;
• index, middle and ring fingers of the left hand superimposed on the remaining 3 holes on the front of the instrument: each finger - on its own hole (while the little finger remains idle).

The instrument itself is located from the musician's lips with the bell down, making an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor. The mouthpiece is inserted into the mouth, and since its configuration really resembles the shape of a whistle, therefore, there are no special difficulties with its position in the mouth, which arise when playing the saxophone or clarinet. The mouthpiece is pressed against the upper lip, but care must be taken that it is completely covered by the lips in order to prevent air from escaping beyond the whistle channel.

The breathing of a brass musician is a rather difficult side of learning, so we will limit ourselves to only the main points:

• you need to blow into the mouthpiece, using diaphragm breathing for this (breathe in the stomach);
• you should inhale the air quickly, doing it through the mouth, relaxing the grip of the mouthpiece with the lips, and the nose;
• exhale smoothly, evenly, avoiding premature interruption of sounds or their trembling.

Lessons of a direct performing nature begin immediately after familiarization with the device of the instrument, the purpose of the holes, including the function of the so-called octave valve, as well as the practice of setting the hands and placing the fingers on the places of action intended for them.

This does not apply to those with perfect pitch. People with perfect pitch memorize sounds at a time, so they can quickly navigate almost the entire range of even the most complex instrument, not to mention the recorder. They only need to practice the technique of fingers, breathing and tongue (in the case of training on wind instruments).

The rest, who do not have an innate musical ear, will have to work on technique, and on hearing, and on many other things on the way to a decent or masterful performing art in music.

So, you need to pick up the recorder and get ready to play the first sounds on it:

1. stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart;
2. bring the mouthpiece to your mouth and clamp it in your lips;
3. the thumbs of both hands are in place (the right one supports the instrument, the left one grabs the octave valve);
4. the rest of the fingers of the right hand are located above the playing holes from the side of the bell;
5. the index finger of the left hand grips the first upper hole.

This is the starting position shown in the image below.

Next, you should draw air into your lungs and try to reproduce your first sound from the recorder.

To make the sound musical, you need to do the following (in order):

1. grabbing the mouthpiece tightly after inhaling with your lips, pull them inward a little;
2. touch the tip of your tongue to the upper teeth from the inside;
3. pronounce the syllable "tu" while pushing your tongue away from your teeth.

As a result of these actions, the air will be directed into the sound channel of the mouthpiece and then into the cavity of the tube with holes. Some sound should appear, but from the first time it is unlikely to please a potential musician with its timbre and purity.

But do not be discouraged - everything will work out, perhaps, on the tenth or one hundred and tenth attempt.... Everyone has it differently. Those who have learned to whistle with their fingers should understand the difficulties of setting the position of the tongue, lips and fingers in a single mechanism capable of issuing a loud and shrill whistle at the air outlet through it.

In addition to the syllable "tu", there are other options for controlling the air stream, for example, to pronounce "ti" or "tu". You need to try all the means, and then choose the best one. Under no circumstances should you pronounce the syllable "fu" - this is a bad way of trying to get the right sound.

If you cover all 8 holes of the recorder, you get the lowest sound of the instrument's range, depending on the tuning. And when the sound holes are fully open, on the contrary, the flute emits the highest sound it is capable of. The instrument in the "C" tuning with the valves closed sounds the note "C" of the first octave, and when closed - the note "C" of the third octave.

Thus, you can start your further lessons on the C scale recorder by learning the C major scale. For those who know at least the basics of musical notation, you should study the fingering (finger) of the received notes on the recorder, and then proceed to sequential sound production of this simple scale in the first octave: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do ... The last sound "C" already refers to the second octave, but when playing a scale, it is necessary to end with a tonic sound, albeit another octave (in our case, the note "C" of the second octave):

For both an adult learner and a child who do not yet know musical notation, it will be a great advantage to study it in parallel with familiarization with fingering schemes and training to extract good sounds on the instrument.

And if you have a great desire to learn on your own, you will have to be patient, scrupulously master the musical notation, consistently move step by step according to the self-instruction manual, without running ahead prematurely. And in all this - attention, repetition and control. Otherwise, problems will arise that are sometimes very difficult to solve.

Let's list the main difficulties in the process of learning to play the recorder.

1. Breathing is very difficult to put even under the supervision of a teacher, not to mention independent studies. It is better to find a mentor at first.
2. The actions of the tongue, fingers and breath to produce sound must be coordinated. There are several ways to get sounds, depending on the nature of the piece of music, but the main ones are legato and staccato, which must be worked out with special exercises.
3. Independence of the fingers of both hands is also achieved with everyday activities: playing scales at different tempos and time signatures (4/4, 3/4, 6/8, 2/4).
4. For those who study on their own, it is very difficult to properly organize your training. You can get the curriculum accepted in music schools, or purchase a quality "School of Recorder". From these sources and learn without missing anything.