Composer Sarah Watts has extended her repertoire of creative recorder tutors with her biggest tutor to date and to celebrate its Spring launch we thought we'd gather together some very good reasons to take up the recorder!
It's arguably the most affordable instrument to take up (though some are available for upwards of a thousand pounds!). It's good value for money too- lots of 'bang for the buck' as one music teacher put it.
Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen are just a few musicians who can play the recorder.
The descant recorder is a good stepping stone to playing other members of the recorder family (bass, tenor, treble (alto) and sopranino recorders) and it teaches skills that can be transferred to other wind instruments such as knowing how to cover holes and control your breathing.
It is small and light weight, which means it's also easy to transport. The recorder is an excellent starter instrument for all ages- very easy to make a sound on and a perfect instrument for teaching basic music theory.
The recorder's simplistic design and readily available instruction books make it a perfect instrument for the masses.
In a school environment it is perhaps the only introduction to playing a musical instrument for a large group of children who would never otherwise get the opportunity.
The recorder is the instrument where most people start to foster their love of playing music.
It teaches coordination skills: When you play the recorder you're breathing with your lungs, reading music with your eyes, playing notes and songs by moving your fingers all while sitting/standing up straight.
It improves social skills through group playing.
Lastly, it provides a source of joy, self-esteem and self-expression, to every single player...regardless of ability!
Ready, Steady Recorder! is available for pre-order from the Kevin Mayhew website