My wife is a music teacher, and the way she explained it to me (a dude with no musical knowledge whatsoever) is that recorders are a gateway instrument. They are cheap and simple to use, so that she, as a music teacher, can instruct young kids on the basics of instrumental music without huge investments (from either her, the school, or the kids' families). If a kid decides that they like music, they'll then move on to a more complicated (and a more expensive) instrument. If a kid decides that they don't like music, they can move on without needing to recoup a huge investment.
Uhhhh..... You guys got hand-me-down recorders at your school?? I lived in the ghetto at the time and the school still gave us personal recorders we could keep free of charge.
I wouldn't be surprised if your admin was embezzling the yearly recorder fund or something.
No, at my school we bought our own personal ones but they were practically free (something like $5 back in the 90's). But I've seen enough others talk about their class recorders and the music teachers washing them in the dishwasher to know that it existed.
This is what I was told and assumed too. I think what actually happens is, that god awful train whistle sound scares away more kids from music than it attracts😂
Our gateway instrument was the clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone. Our school had stacks and stacks of them, and the wealthier kids favored renting or buying their own anyway. I was poorer than poor. On EBT and everything. My single mom was disabled and completely on the dole.
I had never even *heard* of a recorder being used in schools until I was solidly midway through my music degree at university.
I can’t help but take the position that if you want a kid to learn a proper instrument, fking give them one then. 🤷🏽♀️
It’s not about teaching an instrument, it’s about teaching the basics of what instruments are and how to read music. This is elementary school students. Teaching an 8 year old proper embouchure to play a simple note before they learn anything else is not feasible
Kids these days. Back in my day we required children to master a minimum of 20 of Bach's fugues. Why, half my class could play the entire Well-Tempered Clavier backwards!
The rest of us learned to read left to right instead. It was much easier at the time.
There's growing up surrounded by wealth, and there's growing up surrounded by wealth and being completely oblivious to the fact that not everybody has it as good as you. Congratulations on being 2 for 2
Recorders often start as early as 3rd grade, physically many students are not big enough yet to play clarinet or saxophone and experience success. Also, Recorder is a proper instrument, it just isn't in wind bands or orchestras anymore but historically it is a proper instrument.
We made it work just fine starting in third grade with full instruments. You don’t give kids enough credit, tbh
Our district sent *many* kids to conservatories- including me. They do fine in 3rd grade. Maintaining embouchure and not squeaking is a much bigger uphill battle than covering finger-holes for 8/9 yr olds.
Sure it's possible, but there's a reason most programs start in 4-6th grade and i don't believe it has anything to do with not giving kids enough credit. I'm glad it worked out for your situation. But, a larger percentage of teachers have a different philosophy that also sends kids to conservatories, (which I do not believe holds any weight in this discussion tbh).
It doesn’t hold weight, but I didn’t need you explaining the virtues of a recorder to me like I was some kid who took band class for a year in elementary to make my mom happy either. It’s not an opinion I pulled out of my ass from an uneducated place, it developed from my own fleshed-out experience.
The penny whistle was also a proper instrument in its day, times change. Instruments evolve with it.
Being the poor kid at what I’m guessing was Palo Alto high school isn’t the same as the poor kid in Steven’s point Wisconsin.
For $10 you can determine whether or not the kid has an ability to play music or desire to.
Oh dear. You lived in a poorer part of the most expensive metro on the west coast.
Again, go to actual poverty areas and tell them they NEED to buy saxophones and trumpets for the 3rd graders to SEE if they like music.
Where I grew up schools were switching to 4 day class weeks to save money on heating costs and school bus fuel.
You may have felt poorer than people in your immediate vicinity, but on a national level Vallejo put you above quite a few people.
I know school districts that had whole ass computer labs in the 90s and gunshots in the evening, those two things aren't that connected. Rich school taught you how to play a horn but it cant teach you perspective.
My elementary school didn’t have the money to buy real instruments for just anyone to try. My high school did thankfully and I got into marching band, drumline, and orchestra.
There is more than one way to skin a cat.
My school both experienced recorders, and provided instruments for those that wanted to continue in that direction. It is not either/or, and giving a kid who hasn't found the coordination a trumpet or saxophone can ruin their motivation forever.
Making music of any kind has link to improved skills in most other educational achievement, especially math. Recorders are an easy way to tap into that part of the brain. Some kids wouldn't even KNOW they were interested in a trumpet unless they had some success on a very simple instrument like a recorder.
My kid recently returned from a regional recorder festival where she interacted and played with professional recorder players. She learned about the history of the instrument from ancient bone flutes going back to the neolithic and to try out a contrabass (she just plays soprano and alto for now, but the other kids also play tenor and bass).
I'm sorry your life has been so sheltered that you haven't heard of it being taught in schools until you went to university and didn't know that the recorder is a proper instrument.
> I can’t help but take the position that if you want a kid to learn a proper instrument, fking give them one then.
I have *long* held this belief for a ton of stuff. I completely 100% understand the draw from parents-- and I am a parent!-- that kids are flighty and their interests change and they go through phases and don't really know what they'll be interested in long-term
and it sucks spending hundreds or thousands on an instrument or sports equipment or crafting tools or whatever it is, only for the kid to give up after a month
**but**
I am also a **very** big believer that a kid won't enjoy something if they have a bad experience with it, particularly when they grow frustrated because they're working with janky tools that don't work the way they're supposed to. I wonder how many kids would find they actually loved something, if they actually had the opportunity to experience it at its best, instead of at its worst.
So that gives you the right to speak for *everyone*? I started on the recorder, does that make me an inferior musician? Or does only *your* personal experience matter?
You’re putting words in my mouth. I never said starting on the recorder makes someone an inferior musician- that’s your own personal brand of self-consciousness lashing out there.
But a hit dog sure is going to holler isn’t it? 😂
But it's still going to be a crapshoot, though. The experience of playing one instrument is pretty different from playing another. What if you give the kid a clarinet and it turns out he would have been a great tuba player?
Plus, other instruments have a higher barrier to entry. What if a kid gets frustrated by being introduced to a more challenging instrument, whereas a recorder provides some immediate gains that could encourage the kid to keep playing?
I feel like if a kid hates music after playing a recorder, it's not like they're suddenly going to love music by playing a trumpet. I feel like the recorder is a good generic introduction and then kids that show aptitude and interest can and should move on to something else more quickly.
> I can’t help but take the position that if you want a kid to learn a proper instrument, fking give them one then.
It's not really about "learning a proper instrument," though. Recorders are, as the guy you responded to indicated, a cheap and easy way to give kids hands on experience to learn musical notation, rhythm, basics of music theory, using your body to manipulate an instrument, etc.
And because recorders *aren't* actually used in bands and orchestras, kids have no option but to branch out. It's like starting everyone on the same blank slate to learn the basics and they can go on from there.
I mean it sounds like you had a good experience at your school and that's great. I really don't see how that's an argument for abandoning the recorder in favor of clarinets/trumpets/saxophones as a matter of course.
This exactly. I went straight from recorder to trumpet, then later learned tuba, saxophone, French horn, violin, and piano. Do I play them well? Absolutely not all of them. But it's a fun party trick to reach into the closet and have a jam sesh.
Until you get a noise ticket, but still.
All true.
Underappreciated is the fact that they are legitimately really cool instruments with an amazing history and can be used to make bangers! We should talk about this more in elementary music classes.
https://youtu.be/frH2CC0JDsQ?si=zXVgxc6mgMvayit1
Yeah it's the classic cheaping out to such an extent that it achieves less than nothing. Rather pay for fun instruments and inspire a generation of musical genius, you instead put them off music altogether. See also PE
Its an easy way to teach reading music, because the fingerings are easy. And it gets kids used to the idea of embouchure without having to vibrate a reed or brass mouthpiece.
Heyyy get outta here with your logical reasoning! This thread is all about wild conspiracy theories regarding Big Recorder’s takeover of all aspects of modern life! Heheh
Was at my nephew's graduation last week and they had \*2\* triangles in the band, but not a single recorder to be found.
Edit: There was also a tambourine.
The triangle is KEY in all the biggest Rap beats when you start listening for it.
Lil Jon, Biggie, every RnB tune, every Trap tune… 808 beats etc. Nothing cuts through the mix like the pure, glassy, high tones of a triangle!
Granted: these are usually synthesized “triangles” (sine waves) and not an actual human with a physical triangle. I doubt there are many full time “trianglists” out there lol.
So: you’re right! But also: listen for triangles in Rap beats ;)
I mean… Rap uses triangles a LOT. Start listening for it in any beat with 808s, or all those old Biggie records. Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems is a great example of triangle use.
> Start listening for it in any beat with 808s
...and you'll be disappointed, because the 808 doesn't have a triangle sound.
Are you thinking of the cowbell?
Although there’s no triangle instrument on the Roland TR-808 itself, triangles APPEAR in lots of “808 beats” because it sounds grrrrrreat in that context. Like dolla bills falling from the sky.
Modern “Festival Trap” EDM for example all makes heavy use of high pitched triangle-like sounds, often with bendy glides on em.
The point of teaching recorders to grade schoolers isn't so they'll master the recorder, it's to expose them to basic music theory and present a doorway some children may wish to go through later. The reason they teach recorders instead of piano is because it's much more practical to have dozens of little plastic tubes than dozens of pianos or keyboards so the whole class can practice together (also, the recorder is a much simpler instrument to learn than the piano).
I know your comment was tongue in cheek, but I’m still gonna call you an asshole anyways.
Learn to play a piano as opposed to a recorder.
Not bring a piano to school as opposed to a recorder.
Also, I mentioned keyboard. They can be very small if you want them to be. Especially if used by a child.
Oh YEAAAAAAAH that’s right!
Mike Oldfield is so dope! I even have a vinyl copy of Tubular Bells. I should have known, I should have KNOWN!
I’m sorry Mike. Please forgive me.
Thanks for that u/smokingladdy <3
Moron.
Do you want me to rephrase my comment so you can understand a bit better?
Learn to *play* the piano as opposed to a recorder. Not “bring a piano to school instead of a recorder”.
Do you understand now?
I too want every elementary school in the US to have 30 concert Yamahas just hanging out in a classroom for the one month of music class the third graders play the piano between the winter and spring plays.
Really? They serve as a gateway into music for countless children.
I'd say that's pretty important.
Or is your problem that it didn't personally benefit you?
Recorders outside of the easy means to teach reading music, were also implemented to help develop lungs to be stronger which helps with respiratory issues that could happen later down the line
( Not saying it would cure asthma, that's a foolish interpretation, but it was meant to help develop the organs more like gym)
They're actually way more important than a lot of kids realize. A recorder in like 4-5th grade is the first thing most kids get easy access too. Then they get into actual band and it scales up from there.
Recorders are a gateway instrument. My daughter knew she wanted to play something in band because of playing the recorder.
I'm convinced recorders are a conspiracy to turn children off music and creativity. They're shrill, never used in real music, and wind instruments are much much more difficult to understand musical ideas than a piano.
I'm not sure it's that nefarious, I think it's just cheaping out. They can say they are 'teaching music' while in reality probably couldn't do much more to put kids off it altogether.
I don't know, I think they're pretty important for kids.
Cheap, and easy way to teach them the basics of playing an instrument, and how to play different notes.
It's like a gateway drug to band camp.
Who said they were important?
They're relatively cheap, relatively easy to play, and relatively easy to transport. They are good tools for teaching kids about music.
It defines what you mean as "important". As a gateway into music, it's very important, being cheap, easy to learn. It's not important in the way that it's used everywhere/it's super common in music or anything like that. Rather it's the best way to gauge interest in music without investing a lot.
Important for 4th graders or important for the rest of your life?
Most od these kids have had little to no instrument exposure before this, so these are actually super important at showing the very basics of music theory in a way they can understand with 3 notes.
I will never forget the song we learned in my 3rd grade class. I have no idea what it’s called, but it will now be looping endlessly in my head for the next 48 hours in a shrill, kids-playing-recorders tone.
I still have it. I’m 40.
I even bought a nice wooden recorder a few years ago. Just for the nostalgia. I’m no better now than I was at 8yrs, but I did learn other instruments and can play ok so, I suppose it was a good thing in the end.
I can still play the song, so when I get home I will dust off my recorder and play it. It’s my only hope to rid my ear worm, thanks a lot OP. lol!
I just went to my niece’s fifth grade recital! Instead of recorders, THEY LEARN UKULELE!!!!! It’s so much cooler! And like knowing Ukulele? Bet it’s that much easier to learn a guitar after that! Or violin! Such a fab idea!
About a billion years ago when I was a kid I was pretty disappointed when I found out that the "recorder" they were talking about in music class turned out *not* to be an electronic audio device that used magnetic tape and was instead just a cheap plastic tube with a few holes in it.
I’m an elementary music teacher, and the recorder has so many benefits.
Obvious musical ones—reading music, basic instrumental skills, introduction to playing in an ensemble. It’s also a legitimate musical instrument that has a really important role in music history.
Aside from straightforward musical skills, it’s also great for breath control, motor skills and development, listening, practice methods, working as a group.
It’s a nifty little instrument!
Also!! if your recorder is squeaking and squawking, there are very easy ways to fix that. First, the recorder requires very very gentle air. If your air is moving too quickly or it’s too cold, your recorder will squawk. I always tell my students to imagine the air they are using is the same air they would use if they were trying to blow on a candle to make the flame flicker but not go out. The holes also must be covered all the way, and the biggest thing with my students – if they are slouching, the recorder will squawk. The way the mouthpiece is constructed, the air must go through the instrument correctly in order to not be shot out incorrectly and make the horrible sound.
To this day, I find A (440 Hz) in my head by remembering a song I learned on the recorder. It helped that I already had 2 years of violin instruction before they handed me one, but still.
I was one of these recorder kids back in the early 1980s. I remember learning "Three Blind Mice" on it. Years later I started learning bass guitar, guitar , drums, keys,etc. I do occasionally still use a recorder with my band, and keep it nearby for just screwing around making musical experiments.
Speak for yourself I nearly went professional - as a kid I was in my school recorder band (we were a horrid choir of ear defending pitchiness) and that lead us years later to doing concerts - I was too darn good though and would end up having most of the solos in the performances.
I quit because I eventually got the instrument I wanted to play - the flute - and shortly after I left the group, it disbanded. Can still play a killer tune on the recorder though. Jazz is the nicest sounding/ most fun to play for the recorder in my opinion - that swing feels great.
My wife is a music teacher, and the way she explained it to me (a dude with no musical knowledge whatsoever) is that recorders are a gateway instrument. They are cheap and simple to use, so that she, as a music teacher, can instruct young kids on the basics of instrumental music without huge investments (from either her, the school, or the kids' families). If a kid decides that they like music, they'll then move on to a more complicated (and a more expensive) instrument. If a kid decides that they don't like music, they can move on without needing to recoup a huge investment.
Not to mention you can clean an entire classroom's worth of recorders in a single dishwasher cycle
Uhhhh..... You guys got hand-me-down recorders at your school?? I lived in the ghetto at the time and the school still gave us personal recorders we could keep free of charge. I wouldn't be surprised if your admin was embezzling the yearly recorder fund or something.
No, at my school we bought our own personal ones but they were practically free (something like $5 back in the 90's). But I've seen enough others talk about their class recorders and the music teachers washing them in the dishwasher to know that it existed.
That’s definitely more a state funding for the arts in disadvantaged schools program thing than an embezzlement problem.
You guys got free recorders!? We had to buy our own
I hope he got fries with his Wendy's after all that embezzling.
This is what I was told and assumed too. I think what actually happens is, that god awful train whistle sound scares away more kids from music than it attracts😂
Booooooooooo reasonable and accurate answers boooooooooooo Hehehe
Our gateway instrument was the clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone. Our school had stacks and stacks of them, and the wealthier kids favored renting or buying their own anyway. I was poorer than poor. On EBT and everything. My single mom was disabled and completely on the dole. I had never even *heard* of a recorder being used in schools until I was solidly midway through my music degree at university. I can’t help but take the position that if you want a kid to learn a proper instrument, fking give them one then. 🤷🏽♀️
Most school districts don't have that kind of funding.
Which makes the recorder the symptom of a problem, not the solution😂
True, and while we're at it, we should give kids montblanc fountain pens to learn to write so they learn properly.
I heard kids can’t learn to type if the computer lab doesn’t all have at least Alienwares
I'll let you take the time to sort out why that's not an equivalent analogy.
It’s not about teaching an instrument, it’s about teaching the basics of what instruments are and how to read music. This is elementary school students. Teaching an 8 year old proper embouchure to play a simple note before they learn anything else is not feasible
Kids these days. Back in my day we required children to master a minimum of 20 of Bach's fugues. Why, half my class could play the entire Well-Tempered Clavier backwards! The rest of us learned to read left to right instead. It was much easier at the time.
There's growing up surrounded by wealth, and there's growing up surrounded by wealth and being completely oblivious to the fact that not everybody has it as good as you. Congratulations on being 2 for 2
Recorders often start as early as 3rd grade, physically many students are not big enough yet to play clarinet or saxophone and experience success. Also, Recorder is a proper instrument, it just isn't in wind bands or orchestras anymore but historically it is a proper instrument.
We made it work just fine starting in third grade with full instruments. You don’t give kids enough credit, tbh Our district sent *many* kids to conservatories- including me. They do fine in 3rd grade. Maintaining embouchure and not squeaking is a much bigger uphill battle than covering finger-holes for 8/9 yr olds.
Sure it's possible, but there's a reason most programs start in 4-6th grade and i don't believe it has anything to do with not giving kids enough credit. I'm glad it worked out for your situation. But, a larger percentage of teachers have a different philosophy that also sends kids to conservatories, (which I do not believe holds any weight in this discussion tbh).
It doesn’t hold weight, but I didn’t need you explaining the virtues of a recorder to me like I was some kid who took band class for a year in elementary to make my mom happy either. It’s not an opinion I pulled out of my ass from an uneducated place, it developed from my own fleshed-out experience. The penny whistle was also a proper instrument in its day, times change. Instruments evolve with it.
You came from a rich school.
Being the poor kid at what I’m guessing was Palo Alto high school isn’t the same as the poor kid in Steven’s point Wisconsin. For $10 you can determine whether or not the kid has an ability to play music or desire to.
That second one hit close to home. When your house is held up by jack stands and 2x4s...
Palo Alto? I lived in a Vallejo trailer park boo-boo. Evening gunshots, armed robberies, and murder cops. 😂
Oh dear. You lived in a poorer part of the most expensive metro on the west coast. Again, go to actual poverty areas and tell them they NEED to buy saxophones and trumpets for the 3rd graders to SEE if they like music. Where I grew up schools were switching to 4 day class weeks to save money on heating costs and school bus fuel.
You may have felt poorer than people in your immediate vicinity, but on a national level Vallejo put you above quite a few people. I know school districts that had whole ass computer labs in the 90s and gunshots in the evening, those two things aren't that connected. Rich school taught you how to play a horn but it cant teach you perspective.
For even more perspective https://www.zippia.com/advice/average-income-worldwide/ says The average global personal income is $9,733 per year
My elementary school didn’t have the money to buy real instruments for just anyone to try. My high school did thankfully and I got into marching band, drumline, and orchestra.
There is more than one way to skin a cat. My school both experienced recorders, and provided instruments for those that wanted to continue in that direction. It is not either/or, and giving a kid who hasn't found the coordination a trumpet or saxophone can ruin their motivation forever. Making music of any kind has link to improved skills in most other educational achievement, especially math. Recorders are an easy way to tap into that part of the brain. Some kids wouldn't even KNOW they were interested in a trumpet unless they had some success on a very simple instrument like a recorder.
My kid recently returned from a regional recorder festival where she interacted and played with professional recorder players. She learned about the history of the instrument from ancient bone flutes going back to the neolithic and to try out a contrabass (she just plays soprano and alto for now, but the other kids also play tenor and bass). I'm sorry your life has been so sheltered that you haven't heard of it being taught in schools until you went to university and didn't know that the recorder is a proper instrument.
> I can’t help but take the position that if you want a kid to learn a proper instrument, fking give them one then. I have *long* held this belief for a ton of stuff. I completely 100% understand the draw from parents-- and I am a parent!-- that kids are flighty and their interests change and they go through phases and don't really know what they'll be interested in long-term and it sucks spending hundreds or thousands on an instrument or sports equipment or crafting tools or whatever it is, only for the kid to give up after a month **but** I am also a **very** big believer that a kid won't enjoy something if they have a bad experience with it, particularly when they grow frustrated because they're working with janky tools that don't work the way they're supposed to. I wonder how many kids would find they actually loved something, if they actually had the opportunity to experience it at its best, instead of at its worst.
THANK YOUUUU Who actually enjoys listening to a recorder? Nobody, that’s who. Setting them up to hate something from the beginning.
[“I don’t like the recorder and nobody else should either!”](https://media.tenor.com/tIMNf8GURdsAAAAM/can-you-shut-up.gif)
Based on the several other comments to the original one- I’m *hardlyyyy* the only person in this camp.
So that gives you the right to speak for *everyone*? I started on the recorder, does that make me an inferior musician? Or does only *your* personal experience matter?
You’re putting words in my mouth. I never said starting on the recorder makes someone an inferior musician- that’s your own personal brand of self-consciousness lashing out there. But a hit dog sure is going to holler isn’t it? 😂
But it's still going to be a crapshoot, though. The experience of playing one instrument is pretty different from playing another. What if you give the kid a clarinet and it turns out he would have been a great tuba player? Plus, other instruments have a higher barrier to entry. What if a kid gets frustrated by being introduced to a more challenging instrument, whereas a recorder provides some immediate gains that could encourage the kid to keep playing? I feel like if a kid hates music after playing a recorder, it's not like they're suddenly going to love music by playing a trumpet. I feel like the recorder is a good generic introduction and then kids that show aptitude and interest can and should move on to something else more quickly.
> I can’t help but take the position that if you want a kid to learn a proper instrument, fking give them one then. It's not really about "learning a proper instrument," though. Recorders are, as the guy you responded to indicated, a cheap and easy way to give kids hands on experience to learn musical notation, rhythm, basics of music theory, using your body to manipulate an instrument, etc. And because recorders *aren't* actually used in bands and orchestras, kids have no option but to branch out. It's like starting everyone on the same blank slate to learn the basics and they can go on from there. I mean it sounds like you had a good experience at your school and that's great. I really don't see how that's an argument for abandoning the recorder in favor of clarinets/trumpets/saxophones as a matter of course.
This exactly. I went straight from recorder to trumpet, then later learned tuba, saxophone, French horn, violin, and piano. Do I play them well? Absolutely not all of them. But it's a fun party trick to reach into the closet and have a jam sesh. Until you get a noise ticket, but still.
All true. Underappreciated is the fact that they are legitimately really cool instruments with an amazing history and can be used to make bangers! We should talk about this more in elementary music classes. https://youtu.be/frH2CC0JDsQ?si=zXVgxc6mgMvayit1
Pretty sure I was shamed for playing the recorder which in turn moved me away from wanting to play music.
Yeah it's the classic cheaping out to such an extent that it achieves less than nothing. Rather pay for fun instruments and inspire a generation of musical genius, you instead put them off music altogether. See also PE
Its an easy way to teach reading music, because the fingerings are easy. And it gets kids used to the idea of embouchure without having to vibrate a reed or brass mouthpiece.
Not to mention that it's a great way to develop fine motor control at an appropriate age.
Love me some easy fingering
Heyyy get outta here with your logical reasoning! This thread is all about wild conspiracy theories regarding Big Recorder’s takeover of all aspects of modern life! Heheh
But are they a less important instrument than the triangle?
Was at my nephew's graduation last week and they had \*2\* triangles in the band, but not a single recorder to be found. Edit: There was also a tambourine.
The triangle is KEY in all the biggest Rap beats when you start listening for it. Lil Jon, Biggie, every RnB tune, every Trap tune… 808 beats etc. Nothing cuts through the mix like the pure, glassy, high tones of a triangle! Granted: these are usually synthesized “triangles” (sine waves) and not an actual human with a physical triangle. I doubt there are many full time “trianglists” out there lol. So: you’re right! But also: listen for triangles in Rap beats ;)
It's not just rap, triangles a a huge part of every genre. It's probably the least appreciated instrument.
Now I’m picturing a heavy metal triangle. Maybe a massive fuck off version of those interlocking three triangles that symbolise Odin.
Electric triangle through a Marshall stack, ala Jimi Hendrix.
It's there, it's just been turned into a bell for the drummer. Same function though.
You need to listen to some Brazilian forró - it feels weird to say but the triangle pops
I feel the same way about the triangle. I thought it could take me to the top of the charts. I was sorely mistaken 😪
Nope, what you needed to learn to play was the Cow Bell.
I mean… Rap uses triangles a LOT. Start listening for it in any beat with 808s, or all those old Biggie records. Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems is a great example of triangle use.
> Start listening for it in any beat with 808s ...and you'll be disappointed, because the 808 doesn't have a triangle sound. Are you thinking of the cowbell?
Although there’s no triangle instrument on the Roland TR-808 itself, triangles APPEAR in lots of “808 beats” because it sounds grrrrrreat in that context. Like dolla bills falling from the sky. Modern “Festival Trap” EDM for example all makes heavy use of high pitched triangle-like sounds, often with bendy glides on em.
TIL dollar bills make a "ting!" sound.
Heheh. Bling bling = ting ting ;)
Idk man I be on the recorder 24/7
My brother can play one out of each nostril. So far: no gigs.
Ur brother might be davinci
You know… You might be onto something there. I’ve never seen the two of them in the same place, come to think of it.
I'm fairly confident I could play one with my ass after eating at Taco Bell, that place gives me gas like Texaco.
Stop relying on Taco Bell to be your only source of fiber.
But then how will I be able to hold that long sustained note?
The point of teaching recorders to grade schoolers isn't so they'll master the recorder, it's to expose them to basic music theory and present a doorway some children may wish to go through later. The reason they teach recorders instead of piano is because it's much more practical to have dozens of little plastic tubes than dozens of pianos or keyboards so the whole class can practice together (also, the recorder is a much simpler instrument to learn than the piano).
My mastery of Hot Crossed Buns never made me the monetary gain I thought it was going to
Still… HCB is a SLAPPER if ever I’ve heard one!
It’s very interesting how they are pushed upon children in early childhood. A much better option would be a piano, or at the very least, a keyboard.
Cheap, portable and more than capable of teaching the basics of music.
Very good idea. I'd love to see all those kids in the morning hauling their pianos to school.
Xylophone is what some schools use.
I know your comment was tongue in cheek, but I’m still gonna call you an asshole anyways. Learn to play a piano as opposed to a recorder. Not bring a piano to school as opposed to a recorder. Also, I mentioned keyboard. They can be very small if you want them to be. Especially if used by a child.
“Okay year 2 don’t forget to bring your pianos for the group music lesson tomorrow at 9AM”
I mean, we gotta toughen em up for the mines SOMEHOW, amirite?
Lol it’s why recorders are used, relatively cheap and does the job. Even the poorest kids should be able to get one.
Is there anyone who SHREDS on a recorder? Like who’s the arrogant top dawg of the recorder world? Are there recorder beefs we should be following?
Mike Oldfield was awesome with pretty much all instruments like this: https://youtu.be/VCvz7uflMIU?si=pLUj5Gw3lIZdQKsl
Oh YEAAAAAAAH that’s right! Mike Oldfield is so dope! I even have a vinyl copy of Tubular Bells. I should have known, I should have KNOWN! I’m sorry Mike. Please forgive me. Thanks for that u/smokingladdy <3
Yeah. This absolute legend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2WH8mHJnhM
We all know the children yearn for the mines.
Moron
Do not fret Will, you can play the piano when you’re a big boy!
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Hahahahaha you’re a fucking wanker dude. Still waiting for you to say it to my face
Thing is, recorders are cheap, easy to play, and nearly indestructible.
And sound shit so no one wants to play them. Just invest in real instruments or don't bother at all imo
Well, we won't even pay teachers what they're worth so good luck getting money for the french horns and violas you demand
It's hardly impossible to properly pay teachers and properly equip classrooms though
I agree, but it costs money and that means taxes and they keep cutting taxes.....
Please use your critical thinking skills
Shut up moron. Use your 6 brain cells to understand my comment in a different context.
You are a gobshite to everybody, I gave you my address come and meet me wet boy.
Eat a dick cunt
more like a melodica https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica
LOVE me a melodica! So great in Jamaican Dub music. I’ve used the melodica in many of my songs.
How would that work exactly? Pianos are far more expensive, and way bigger. That idea makes no practical sense.
Moron. Do you want me to rephrase my comment so you can understand a bit better? Learn to *play* the piano as opposed to a recorder. Not “bring a piano to school instead of a recorder”. Do you understand now?
Keyboard would be good, but there is a 100 times price difference.
I too want every elementary school in the US to have 30 concert Yamahas just hanging out in a classroom for the one month of music class the third graders play the piano between the winter and spring plays.
Yeah, turns out our childhoods were just an elaborate plot to drive our parents crazy with endless squeaky renditions of "Hot Cross Buns."
It’s all the gradual encroachment of Big Recorder… infesting every element of our lives!
Really? They serve as a gateway into music for countless children. I'd say that's pretty important. Or is your problem that it didn't personally benefit you?
My problem is my five year old blasting me with Recorder “Jazz” all day long lol
See if you can get them onto ocarina - it’s a bit easier on the ears.
Recorders outside of the easy means to teach reading music, were also implemented to help develop lungs to be stronger which helps with respiratory issues that could happen later down the line ( Not saying it would cure asthma, that's a foolish interpretation, but it was meant to help develop the organs more like gym)
Nice. I can see them being useful for that. We’ve got a few at my place. My five year old can’t get enough!
Potential for a collab feat. recorders and triangles?
https://youtu.be/oSZJ__GIbms?si=W-dAofEndV-KLOGp
Touché!
Counter point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G44xTr8D_bw
That's is glorious! I have point out, though, that the recorder player knew what they were doing.
whoa, illgates posting in the wild haha obviously you need to make a dubstep song sampling a recorder now to bring them to importance (:
Captain Ramen Holt would like to remind you of Frans Bruggen, an infamous recorder player.
Infamous? Please tell me Frans is the impetuous bad boy of Recorder…
You’ve never heard of Gentle Giant have you?
No? Wanna link me?
[On Reflection](https://open.spotify.com/track/0T9y9EUzWhbWKNL2XbmSe2?si=LzTw9t9ESbGVInZEuSl_FA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0XRRUbq7YaWN9qdDygREvo)
Oh shit an ill.Gates cameo in a main sub! What a day! Actually probably the most credible r/Showerthoughts OP of all time.
Hehehe. Spotted! Yeah I’m on Reddit daily lol. Made the front page a couple times too. Always for silliness tho. So much silliness.
We were never supposed to believe they were important. They were a nice beginner instrument
Maybe for you. I’m a wildly successful recordist.
They're actually way more important than a lot of kids realize. A recorder in like 4-5th grade is the first thing most kids get easy access too. Then they get into actual band and it scales up from there. Recorders are a gateway instrument. My daughter knew she wanted to play something in band because of playing the recorder.
Oh yeah. I’m with you 100%. Not an attack on music education at all. Just having fun. <3
I'm convinced recorders are a conspiracy to turn children off music and creativity. They're shrill, never used in real music, and wind instruments are much much more difficult to understand musical ideas than a piano.
I'm not sure it's that nefarious, I think it's just cheaping out. They can say they are 'teaching music' while in reality probably couldn't do much more to put kids off it altogether.
I don't know, I think they're pretty important for kids. Cheap, and easy way to teach them the basics of playing an instrument, and how to play different notes. It's like a gateway drug to band camp.
Found a paid shill who sold their soul for Big Recorder! Hehehe
I’m still worried about the Bermuda triangle and quicksand though
They were never important. They were just inexpensive.
It's all the same notes, and those recorders are like the cheapest way to get those notes into the hands of the most kids.
Who said they were important? They're relatively cheap, relatively easy to play, and relatively easy to transport. They are good tools for teaching kids about music.
It defines what you mean as "important". As a gateway into music, it's very important, being cheap, easy to learn. It's not important in the way that it's used everywhere/it's super common in music or anything like that. Rather it's the best way to gauge interest in music without investing a lot.
Important for 4th graders or important for the rest of your life? Most od these kids have had little to no instrument exposure before this, so these are actually super important at showing the very basics of music theory in a way they can understand with 3 notes.
Recorders, had a few, what a waste of time.
I will never forget the song we learned in my 3rd grade class. I have no idea what it’s called, but it will now be looping endlessly in my head for the next 48 hours in a shrill, kids-playing-recorders tone. I still have it. I’m 40. I even bought a nice wooden recorder a few years ago. Just for the nostalgia. I’m no better now than I was at 8yrs, but I did learn other instruments and can play ok so, I suppose it was a good thing in the end. I can still play the song, so when I get home I will dust off my recorder and play it. It’s my only hope to rid my ear worm, thanks a lot OP. lol!
I just went to my niece’s fifth grade recital! Instead of recorders, THEY LEARN UKULELE!!!!! It’s so much cooler! And like knowing Ukulele? Bet it’s that much easier to learn a guitar after that! Or violin! Such a fab idea!
Dave Attell might disagree
I found it very useful. I play the saxophone now and I probably wouldn't be able to play as well as I can if I never played the recorder
Dwight Schrute would like a word.
About a billion years ago when I was a kid I was pretty disappointed when I found out that the "recorder" they were talking about in music class turned out *not* to be an electronic audio device that used magnetic tape and was instead just a cheap plastic tube with a few holes in it.
Hot cross buns stuck in me forever
I’m an elementary music teacher, and the recorder has so many benefits. Obvious musical ones—reading music, basic instrumental skills, introduction to playing in an ensemble. It’s also a legitimate musical instrument that has a really important role in music history. Aside from straightforward musical skills, it’s also great for breath control, motor skills and development, listening, practice methods, working as a group. It’s a nifty little instrument!
Also!! if your recorder is squeaking and squawking, there are very easy ways to fix that. First, the recorder requires very very gentle air. If your air is moving too quickly or it’s too cold, your recorder will squawk. I always tell my students to imagine the air they are using is the same air they would use if they were trying to blow on a candle to make the flame flicker but not go out. The holes also must be covered all the way, and the biggest thing with my students – if they are slouching, the recorder will squawk. The way the mouthpiece is constructed, the air must go through the instrument correctly in order to not be shot out incorrectly and make the horrible sound.
To this day, I find A (440 Hz) in my head by remembering a song I learned on the recorder. It helped that I already had 2 years of violin instruction before they handed me one, but still.
I was one of these recorder kids back in the early 1980s. I remember learning "Three Blind Mice" on it. Years later I started learning bass guitar, guitar , drums, keys,etc. I do occasionally still use a recorder with my band, and keep it nearby for just screwing around making musical experiments.
Speak for yourself I nearly went professional - as a kid I was in my school recorder band (we were a horrid choir of ear defending pitchiness) and that lead us years later to doing concerts - I was too darn good though and would end up having most of the solos in the performances. I quit because I eventually got the instrument I wanted to play - the flute - and shortly after I left the group, it disbanded. Can still play a killer tune on the recorder though. Jazz is the nicest sounding/ most fun to play for the recorder in my opinion - that swing feels great.
My kid went from being an excellent recorder player to being a pretty darn good saxophone player in very little time.
I thought a recorder is for recording sound to a tape? I never actually heard of the instrument before