know anything about recorders? (the musical instrument)

[beerman]

I would like to buy a simple recorder to play little fun songs on. I won't be dedicating hours to this, it would just be for fun. I can already read simple music so I should be able to entertain myself fairly quickly.

I've done a bit of searching and I am aware that in the ultra low price range I won't be getting a serious instrument. That said I see 3 that look attractive on ebay and are all roughly $20-$25 delivered:

student english soprano recorder

Frederick sopranino recorder

Yamaha soprano recorder yrs-302b

If there are any musicians in this group I'd welcome any opinion on which one might be better than the other. thanks

[freeradical]

Do you need to buy one for every key that you want to play in?

[Rolando]

Careful with the "brown note"!

[Paul F.]

I know nothing about using them... at all.

But I saw a "How it's Made" on how they make nice wooden ones... it made me want to go out to my shop and make one. No single step if making 'em is anything I haven't done before (drilling, reaming, sanding, finishing, buffing, glueing, etc). But not knowing anything about the noises they're supposed to make kinda put a damper on the idea :-)

[blooz]

If you're doing this for fun, those should be adequate.
Yamaha makes good pianos, maybe that carries over to other instuments.

I have a wooden alto (I prefer the lower tone) that I paid around $30 for maybe 30 yrs ago, and it has held up well, considering i hardly play it anymore. Wood requires a little more care.

[beerman]

I don't know if it makes any difference, but my experience in music is with the trumpet. I played from 5th grade thru 9th and occasionally pick it up for fun. So I'm not particularly good but I can get the notes out.

[comaplate]

a little Yamaha soprano recorder will get the job done without a big outlay of cash.

[Rick-o]

Rolando wrote:
Careful with the "brown note"!

Heh! :agree:

[Don C]

Avoid the sopranino for a solo instrument. Its high pitch will wear on you quickly. It is meant to be part of a group, filling in a specific role.

The soprano and the alto will both serve you well as a solo, playing for fun instrument. They are keyed differently, the soprano being a C instrument and the alto an F (but I might be remembering that backwards). Get a music book for which ever instrument you get and you'll be fine.

The alto is a more mello tone, being lower and being larger requires more breath. It's not a huge difference, and nothing like moving up to a tenor or bass recorder! I find the soprano a little bit easier to play if just because its smaller size makes fingering easier (smaller distance between holes). If you've played a wind instrument before, the difference will be negligible.

It is fun to pick one of these up and start playing. Easy learning curve.

Once you've got it down and have some tunes under your belt (or fingers), find yourself a group to play with. Gives you a real purpose to keep practicing and improving.

[DaviDC.]

Get an alto if you can afford it.

I learned to play a black plastic Tonette in grammar school & bought myself a rosewood alto recorder in high school. I still have it & my repertoire of songs has grown over the years. I never have learned the notes; I just play by ear. I've read that you're supposed to be able to get 2 octaves out of one but I only manage one.