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The recorder library

Short reads about the recorder: where it came from, the composers who loved it, where it's played today, and where to go next.

• Why a camera and a microphone are the best way to learn the recorderHow a microphone that hears every note and a camera that sees your hands give beginners instant feedback on the recorder, and why the recorder is a great first instrument.
• A short history of the recorderThe recorder's story in five minutes: medieval beginnings, Renaissance consorts, Baroque stardom, a long sleep, and its 20th-century revival as the instrument children learn first.
• Composers who loved the recorderFrom Bach's Brandenburg Concertos to Vivaldi's dazzling concertos and modern pieces by Hindemith and Britten: the great composers who wrote for the recorder.
• The recorder todayWhere the recorder is played today: the classroom, early-music ensembles, new music, famous pop and rock songs, and a big online community of players.
• What to learn after the recorderMastered the recorder? The instruments that are closest to it, from the alto recorder and tin whistle to the flute, saxophone and clarinet, and what changes with each.

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