Recorders of various sizes, from bass to soprano, illustrating the full family of the instrument. The recorder is one of the most widespread and accessible wind instruments in the European musical tradition. It belongs to the broader family of fipple flutes, a group of instruments found across many musical cultures. Most people have encountered the recorder at some point—either in school or through related instruments such as the metal whistle. Its simple initial technique, requiring only a few basic notes, makes it an ideal educational instrument, while at the same time it possesses a history spanning several centuries and a rich repertoire. The recorder is a wind instrument of the fipple flute type, in which sound is produced by a stream of air directed against a sharp edge known as the labium. Despite its widespread use in education today, the recorder is far from a rudimentary musical tool. It belongs to a large family of duct flutes found throughout Europe and Asia. The simplicity...
A curated collection of writings on music, its creators, and the ideas behind it.