Before I mention anything further about recorders, let me pacify militant anti-recorder whistlers with the fact that I greatly prefer the whistle to the recorder and consider it as much a legitimate instrument as any other.
I’m going to be playing the soprano recorder with a group of musicians at a renaissance fair, but I need a decent one to do it. I’m looking for something that is entirely made of wood, baroque fingering, preferably one piece, with a clean, pure upper register. Volume matters little to me, but intonation is very important. I’ve only got about ~$55 to spare on it, though. If it’s -really- nice I suppose I can splurge a bit.
I’m not very aware of the differences between baroque and rennaisance recorders. If anyone could enlighten me, I’d be appriciative.
The only brand I’ve come accross in person is the Adler “Scholar” recorder, apparantly meant for students who want an upgrade from plastic. The folks at the store wouldn’t let me try it for sanitary reasons, though.
I have a pair of wooden recorders, alto and soprano, both Boosey-Hawkes. Likely dating from the 50s.
I think my parents were part of a recorder group in Oxford at the time, where my dad took the best part of a decade writing his PhD thesis. These were a his & hers set they had as part of a recorder group.
I’d been thinking of posting something offering them as free or nearly free to a good home. Recorder fingering just enough like whistle & flute fingering that I either get lost or try to overblow the second octave (and then get lost) every time I’ve tried playing them. And there’s something sad about instruments that don’t get played.
I don’t think these are bad instruments, but they’re probably not pro-grade, either. If you can teach me to tell the difference betwixt baroque fingering and the other kind (whatever it might be), I’ll let you know what I’ve got.
How important is it that it be wood? There’s a method in the question. Hint: You can get an excellent recorder for that price if wood is not a requirement. That looks like wood, not plastic. A decent new wood recorder for that price? Meh, not so much.
Simon, your recorders are almost certainly Baroque fingering (or more accurately, modern fingering). A renaissance instrument has a wider cylindrical bore, and a usual range of 1 octave + 1 fifth (C to g). Baroque has a conical bore that narrows at the bottom, with a usual 2 octave+ range of C to d’. Transitional instruments like Ganassi are different yet again.
The Dream Flute is a hybrid. Wide cylindrical bore, but full 2 octaves with modern fingering. Big round sound, great for outdoor playing.
The other fingering is German fingering, and it’s very limited in what it can do. If your parents were playing these together, it’s almost certain that they are Baroque fingering.
You can tell by playing the first octave of the recorder as follows, with the thumb hole completely covered the entire time:
(X = closed hole, O = open hole)
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXO
XXXXXOO
XXXXOOO
XXXOOOO
XXOOOOO
XOOOOOO
OXOOOOO
If the first scale sounds right, it’s German fingering. If the second scale sounds right, it’s Baroque fingering. For the first octave of the recorder’s diatonic scale, the only difference in fingering is the fourth of that scale.
You may want to check to see if the two holes closest to the end of the instruments are “doubled” as opposed single. If they are, that’s also usualy indicative of a Baroque-fingered instrument. It also makes them eaisier to play.
That’s what I was worried about. Part of the dilemma is that I like the sound of a nice wooden recorder, but the rest of the group has wooden instruments. Call it peer pressure if you like, but I want to have at least that much conformity with the others.
In that case, I definately need a Baroque instrument.
First. Don’t go for single-piece recorders. They are a nightmare to play in tune with oter instruments. The original Renaissance ones could do it simply because they were always commissioned in consorts. That is, the maker made the whole consort together, and tuned them together. Even in that case, if one of them doesn’t get used for the first half hour of the rest plaing, by the time its time comes it will be out of tune. (changing pitch related to rising temperature/ moisture…)
Dream recorders are also made in wood, even if they cost more than your budget. But they still are on the cheap side in the quality recorder fiels.
Not all Renaissance recorders are limited to an octave+fifth. The Ganassi ones in fact have a larger range than the standard Baroque ones.
The difference in sound between Ren./Baroque is VERY big. About as big as between whistles/ recorders.They all share fipples and fingerholes, but that’s about it. However, this is going into the winetalk side of music, so I stop right there.
There are also the medieval ones. The very few original ones(to date 4 more-or-less complete ones, one 1/2 complete and 1 questionable) are, with the exception of the oldest-known one (the Dordrecht), more like the Baroque ones in respect of range. They all have a range of over 2 octaves. They also are quite small, around sopraniono ones today. And they tend to be louder than the Baroque ones. There are a few makers today making “medieval” recorders, some of these are even true reproductions of real instruments. (the others are more like some New Age-ey “replicas” of something that never existed) As far as I remember Blazey makes some quite good medieval ones, based on a real one, for not totally outrageous price.
Yes, I cut a few corners with a quick explanation.
I played a matched Moeck renaissance consort set for a while, and the compass was a 12th or 13th, but so was the repertoire.
Agreed, at ~$100 the all-maple soprano Dream Flute is still quite a bargain. In terms of volume and timbre, though, it might stick out if playing in a consort of other Baroque recorders.
If appearances are the concern … Honestly, except for the closest scrutiny in the hands, the Yamaha YRS-312B easily passes for a genuine rosewood instrument. Last year I used nothing but it for a concert performance of Britten’s Noyes Fludde, and in sound, intonation and appearance it passed with flying colors.
German fingering is fairly evil, I think, for some of the reasons stated. Would make a good Dorian whistle fingering, though, if there were such a thing.
Based on the comments in the thread, a Baroque recorder sounds like it would most fit my own musical tastes- I generally prefer gentle, mellow tones to birght, piercing ones.
When it comes to Baroque ones, I’d say Moeck’s learners’ models would be my first choice. If you can get a Tuju secondhand, go for it. They are cheap, but really well engineered. (the model is discontinued, that’s why secondhand) Today they do an equivalent, but I don’t remember the name offhand. The Tuju also looks like a slender Renaissance one, too, but the whole tonal characteristic is Baroque.
And I second the thing about German fingering _ avoid it at all cost. It was in fact evolved as a result of total misunderstanding on the part of the first manufacturer of modern recorders in Germany, and is irrepairably flawed.
Not trying to confuse you, but that’s backwards in a way. That is, it’s the Renaissance instrument that would generally be perceived as having a rounder, mellower tone than a Baroque instrument with its brighter, reedier, but thinner tone meant to compete / blend better with the growing string ensembles of that time. The hybrid Dream Flute is mellow but simply louder than its Baroque cousin.
So it’s really down to the rest of your group, and playing whatever they’re playing to fit in. I’d guess 90% of the recorders in the world are Baroque style, so that’s probably what you’ll find. One of those anachronisms that make me chuckle at Ren fairs.
But, yes, find a nice Baroque style instrument, and the entire recorder repertoire, from pre-Baroque to modern, is open to you. And it will sound exactly like what most people think of as a recorder.
And, as Yuri says, by all means get a tunable instrument.
Guess another one bites the dust and gave up the recorder after a few years?!
Adler recorders are no longer produced. They were competent and great student recorders.
Anyone starting off, is probably better off with a plastic Aulos, Suzuki or Yamaha, until they refine their playing, and
learn how to maintain a recorder!
Years later, I still practice on plastic, and save the wooden recorders for more special runs.
