Four Reasons Playing the Recorder is Awesome!

Alright, it’s true that sometimes playing the recorder gets a bad rap.

There are the vaguely scornful looks and raised eyebrows. The endless memes (yes, I HAVE seen that one before; please do not send it to me). Plus that one South Park episode that shall live in infamy.

But the truth is that there are some pretty terrific things about playing recorder. And as 2023 –another year in which I’ve made my living as a recorder professional– draws to a close, I want to enumerate a few of them!

1) The inexpensive versions are good.

Just try finding and playing a $35 violin. And then you need a bow.

Whereas I can purchase a plastic Yamaha alto for $35, have it overnighted to me, and have a pretty solid instrument in my hands for less than the cost of airport parking.

2) It’s accessible.

Not only are recorders easy to procure, but unlike, say, a violin or trumpet, the recorder allows you to produce a sound fairly intuitively, meaning you can learn to play recognizable tunes much more rapidly than on many other instruments.

After that, the learning curve gets rapidly steeper…which is why I would never call the recorder easy. But if you’re someone who wants to take joy in music without having years to spend learning to produce a sound, the recorder is a fabulous option.

3) It fits under the seat in front of you!

Many of my colleagues have horror stories about boarding planes (or failing to board planes) with sackbuts or violas or, God Forbid, cellos. Whereas, unless I’ve got a bass recorder or bigger, I simply waltz aboard and stow my recorders safely under the seat in front of me.

4) You can be anything!

If you play the flute, you’ll be playing melody most of the time. If you play the cello, you’re going to play a lot of bass lines. If you play the viola there are a whole lot of inner parts in your future.

With the recorder, you get to choose your role!

Want to play an inner part? You can. Want to hold down the bass line? You can. Want to take the melody part and swan around? Totally doable! And you’re free to swap to a different role the next time. The flexibility is refreshing and empowering.

Speaking of which….want to play every part in Handel’s Messiah? Sign up for Recorder Messiah and join me in making Handel’s masterwork our own!