Recorder

The recorder, an end-blown wooden flute, was a predecessor to the modern ("transverse," or cross-wise) flute; during seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when it flourished as a primary wind instrument in the musical world of Bach, Handel, and Telemann, it was often simply known as a flute. (The word "recorder" may derive from the Italian ricordo, or souvenir.) Its seven finger holes and underside thumb hole enable it to produce a fuller gamut of tones over a wider range than simpler whistle-type instruments. The recorder, made in alto, tenor, and bass varieties in addition to the common soprano, was displaced by the yet more agile flute as the modern orchestra took shape in the eighteenth century. But it rebounded in the twentieth century thanks to a revival of interest in Baroque music. The revival was aided by the recorder's comparative ease of playing; the early-music movement dovetailed with a more general rise in amateur music-making, and a great deal of music, especially in England and Germany, was arranged for household recorder duos, trios, and quartets. Even many American youngsters learned to play the recorder at one time or another, and a modest presence for this obscure classical instrument in pop music resulted.

Winds Instruments