Well, what do you guys think? The title explains it all.
Today at dinner my grandparents asked (to cut a long story short) why some whistle people “look down” on the recorder. I told them that it’s WAY to hard for me to put in to words, so do you guys think that you can give me some suggestions on what to say to people who have no background on this stuff why some of us tend to “frown” upon them?
-Ross
PS-Phil Hardy- I love the LOw Whistle CD.
Hi,
Well, I’ve had to record a few tunes on c.d.s with a Recorder, so I can’t say I dislike it, but I only like it in music that sounds “English”.
When playing Irish and Scottish music, the Whistle sounds much much better. I think its
the tone, or the “chiff” or non-chiff of
it.
Lolly
I think if you look back you’ll find several previous threads on this subject.
However, in my opinion only, whistle is better suited for folk music and its rapid-fire rhythmic ornamentation where articulation is accomplished with “flicked” grace notes as well as by tonguing.
The recorder, being fully chromatic and with a different sound, its better suited for its own early classical music, mainly medieval, Rennaissance, and early Baroque. Some feel the recorder less suited to traditional and folk music both because of its sound and because of its more complex fingering system.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
I didnt know whistle players looked down on recorder players, and I don’t think I do, but maybe that perception exists because recorder is something one learns in fourth grade so it seems less a ‘real’ instrument to the uninformed.
I don’t look down on recorders at all. I thought most you were joking about recorders the way I [formerly] did about Canadians…not a serious dislike but a reaction to the lumping together of two different wind instruments. Sort of a way of distinguishing them by polemic.
Its another musical instrument that is beautifully played for Early music. Kind of tooty I guess but they make fancy-pants ebony and other exotic wood models (just like the whistles) that sound gorgeous too.
Some of the players, being Early music types, can be annoying but that’s got nothing to do with the instrument.
What kind of recorder did Capn Kirk play in that movie…??..
I can’t imagine why anyone would “look down on” any particular musical instrument. I play both whistle and recorder, and love them both.
Redwolf
one of our local folk groups has both whistles and recorders and they can sound lovely together
From reading this board for many months now, I surmise that it looks like whistle players look down on the recorder when they complain that the general public mistakes the sound and look of the whistle to be a recorder out of relative ignorance of the whistle as a legitimate instrument with its own heritage and now wide range of applications. Perhaps whistle players are annoyed that the general public does not appreciate the reason why whistle is better for some music than recorder is…?
Lisa
I just had another thought while cleaning the bathroom. I learned somewhere that the recorder was developed as a musician’s easy chromatic tool for committing a melody to memory rather than an instrument in its own right. Recorders seem to have the reputation for being tools to teach music rather than instruments to master and perform on. Perhaps it seems that whistle players look down on recorders because of the recorder’s reputation for not being a legitimate instrument like clarinet, etc. (Comparing the recorder to a clarinet to me is like comparing Esperanto to Spanish). I agree with others on this post that the recorder is an instrument in its own right and can sound quite beautiful. There is a recorder solo on Clips N Snips I believe that bears this out…
Lisa
—quote—
I learned somewhere that the recorder was developed as a musician’s easy chromatic tool for committing a melody to memory rather than an instrument in its own right.
—endquote—
I’ve not run across this particular perspective on the recorder’s history before.
For a good page briefly describing the history of the recorder, see
http://www.earlymusic.gil.com.au/history.htm
I do know from music history classes that until the late Baroque, if a composer wrote “flute” on a score, recorder is the instrument he wanted. If he wanted a side-blown flute, he would write “traverso.”
There’s no reason for either recorder players or whistle players to each “look down” at the other. They are quite different instruments, and they excel at quite different kinds of music.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Traumatic elementary school memories…
Thanks peeplj for the reference–after posting here I went surfing for recorder sites, but I like yours better than the ones I found. I still can’t remember where I heard what I said I heard, but it was probably a relative in the family … not nec. a reliable source, eh?
Cheers,
Lisa
I would say that it,s all tounge in cheek.I always took it as a friendly rivalry, and also because it’s fun to make fun of other people.I like to tell Polish jokes to the Pollock I work with. I don’t have anything against the Polish, it’s just nice working with an appreciative audience.Same with the drummer I used to work with, loads of good jokes there.Anyway I don’t think it’s serious, just some good natured fun.
Take care,
JohnZ
If you play the recorder, you
get hairy finger pads. Later you
turn into a wolf. This can really
screw up your social life and professional life, I promise you.
Thank heaven I had tenure! Jim
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2002-06-30 18:41 ]
I think much of the banter is good natured and simply seeks to put the whistle in proper perspective in legions of instruments. However, there are some that think this or that instrument needs defending from time to time, protecting its place in the realm. So …
With tongue firmly embedded in cheek, Lee repeats from an earlier post…
Now not all dem recorders be snobs, I mean dat fella Wisely, ya know da Undisputed King of Whistle Journalism, ‘e has some dat are well a’justed. O’course wit Dr Wisely bein’ a psycho-logistic type, he’d be hav’ng dem teraputic sessions wit dem if dey weren’t well a’justed. But…
A few of them thar recorders ‘ave ben known to look down der noses at whistles. Making snide commen’s ‘bout whistles not being holy enough and dat whistles’re made for dem players who don’t have opposable thumbs. Now don’t ya know, dem recorders have there innerds swabbed with sweet almonde oil and bore oil (sweet & boring), where as the common workin’ class irish whistle’s innerd’s are dealin’ with a mixture that be a good part Guinesss. (There’s some dat say d’best part’s d’Guiness).
Now Puttin’ the two (recorder’n’whistle) in close proxam’y isn’t usually a problem, I mean the Irish know how ta walk away from an insult when dey need ta. Ne’er-the-less, ever’ now and den, the Guiness gets the better of them, (don’t ya know its the same reason the irish don’t rule the world according to the authorities). And a fine working class irish whistle might be tempted beyond all normal restraint to rearrange dat uppity recorders fipple, if ya know what I mean. Dat’s why dem recorders need protecting.
Or at least dats how I heard it down-da-pub.
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-06-30 21:50 ]
On 2002-06-30 14:33, TelegramSam wrote:
Traumatic elementary school memories…
That’s pretty much it for me, too.
well, most people of my generation dislike recorders for a few reasons. One, we played it in school (part of syllabus). Two, everyone bought cheapo recorders. Three, they sounded bad. Four, when you encounter a bad experience when you’re young, you probably will stick by the principle that whatever is bad at that time will always be bad.