A friend originally pitched me this question, and, rather than guess, I thought I’d ask those here who may know.
Her daughter needs a soprano recorder for school; I’m assuming it’s for group exercises in music class. My own intuition tells me that a plastic model would be just fine, but naturally I’m concerned about the quality of such an instrument, such as its ability to play in tune, a pitch that doesn’t resemble a cat in heat, etc. Those wood models seem to be a bit pricey.
Is it advisable to purchase one of the many cheaper plastic recorders for this purpose, or must one look a little more closely? In other words—what constitutes a basic soprano recorder that would be acceptable for elementary school music class?
When I was in elementary school, we all bought the same plastic recorders. They were cheap, and fine for the circumstances. You could invest in a wooden one, but then worry about her losing it, or maybe being singled out by mean kids for having a different recorder than everyone else. (You can bet the others will all have cheap plastic ones, most likely even the same model.)
In any case, I still have my cheap plastic recorder at age 25, and the fingering is the same as the saxophone, which I eventually got into playing. It was a good way to get an early start on music.
When I was in elementary school, I used the basic cheapy plastic one that the school advised the parents to buy. It cost like $3, and your friend’s daughter’s will probably sound horrible no matter what. But the recorder unit only lasted a month or so, then I never used it again.
I have never forgetten the arrangement of “Let There Be Peace On Earth (And Let It Begin With Me)” we played in the 3rd or 4th grade. The lowest pitch of the recorder was the first note of the tune, so we had to modify the melody. Unable to play C-C-B-C at the beginning, we played a monotonous C-C-C-C. They say it left me scarred for life!
Another vote for the plastic one. I have three wooden ones (two soprano and one alto) and after a while moisture builds up and they sound reedy. I’m in the market for a new non-wood one.
I have a Yamaha soprano recorder that I was required to purchase for music class in elementary school. I used it up all the way through high school, where I got to use it as a pitch-pipe for our Madrigal group. I still have it!
Don’t buy a plastic recorder. I’ve played the recorder upto a semi-professional standard, and in my experience, the plastic recorders are awful - the sound is nasty nasty nasty. Buy a resin one - the Yamaha or Domelsch ones are very good, or a decent wooden one.
Mine (a decent wooden one) set me back about £20, but it was the best £20 I’ve spent for a while. They do take a heck of a lot of looking after, but they’re well worth it - the sound of a decent recorder, well played, is truly wonderful.
For an eight year old, I’d recommend a decent plastic one, until the child exhibits stronger long term interest. I learned on a Yamaha plastic recorder, and now I play a beautiful recorder handcarved of Norwegian wood. It was brought from Norway by my grandfather when I was in highschool, by which time it was clear that I was serious about playing the recorder. There’s time; start out without a big burden of expectations on the poor kid’s shoulder.
Well there are two styles of recorders. There are German fingered and Renaissance fingered. The German ones have a simplified fingering but it takes the tuning moderately out. The music teacher should specify what they want beforehand (probably the renaissance one). I played in many renaissance ensembles and have to say that you should go with a plastic one, most likely Yamaha or Hohner. The wood ones will sound better but in all reality your 8 year old won’t be able to tell the difference. Plus, a decent wood one will run about 50 bucks on the low end. If you get one much cheaper than that it will likely sound worse than any of the plastic ones.
Oh, I left off something. There are three other things that you can do with a soprano recorder. Assuming your 8 year old has small hands, you should get a three part recorder. This will have a removable head, body, and foot. They are all adjustable but the adjustable foot makes it much easier for small hands to get the low C and F on the instrument. THe other two are one part recorders (the cheapest and nastiest as they are also hard to clean) and two part recorders (head removes from body… These are pretty good but the lack of foot adjustments makes it harder on the smaller hands).
Yeah - seconded. A three part recorder is a better option than a one or two part one. Avoid the one part ones like the plague.
Seeing as good recorders in the States tend to be very expensive ($50??! for a decent wooden recorder), I would go for a good plastic one, contrary to my earlier advice of a wooden one.
I know what you mean Angua. I found a three part wooden recorder in Colonial Williamsburg (a historic area that focuses on the American Revolution) for 10 bucks. I thought I had a great find. It didn’t look like it had anything wrong with the wood or anything that I could see on the quick inspection. People weren’t allowed to play on them (understandably so… germs and such) so I didn’t reallize that they didn’t bore anything inside properly. There were splinters in the fipple window that were too far down to see on the casual inspection that kept it from actually making a solid whistle. Most of the time it just hissed. 10 bucks down the tube.
I splashed out about £20 ($30 ish?) for mine a year or so ago. I bought it new, and the music shop I bought it from specifically allowed you to try them out before making a purchase. The sound is so rich and smooth, but then, I think that’s probably experience as well…
I almost took it to the BritDope with me at the weekend, until I realised that it would get broken/get wet/generally be damaged.