I'm a professional musician and I play all sorts of wind instruments from saxophone to bagpipes. I really enjoy improvising on my recorder along with the choir for mass and have been doing it for many years, and thus thought I knew everything I needed to know. Your channel is quite informative and showed me many things I did NOT know. Thank you! Worth mentioning is that #9 is prevalent among clarinet and sax players who pick up a recorder since biting is part of their normal embouchure. I'm guilty of this one!

Another good reason to use a sock is that you always have lots of single socks after the other was eaten by the tumble dryer.

My fix for leaky fingers: I get them to press their fingers into the holes for a moment and then inspect them to see which one doesn't have the imprint of a complete circle on it.

Watching your videos I realize that I never learned to play the recorder properly as a child. That is probably why I decided to quit. Frustrated about it, always out of breath it was always a struggle and I did not want to struggle any more. Right now I have decided to buy a recorder and start again! (At age 62!!) thank you so much for your lovely, fun and informative videos!! 😘

Take care, Sarah. Here in Japan, Facebook for the recorder players(I think it's for Japanese player or the ones who speaks Japanese) has opened, and you and your You Tube is introduced. Many fans of yours are here in Japan!

Can I just say that these videos are helping me stay mentally afloat in this quarantine season? Thank you Sarah, for your great teaching method, your quirky humor, and just a great channel. My commitment for these next two weeks is to work on my instrument for at least 10 minutes a day following your videos and some music theory (with kids around it's a whole different ball game... or orchestra? :D). Let's see how far I get!!!

As I've only had my recorder since yesterday, I'm hoping to avoid bad habits by watching these videos. I practiced for an hour this morning to your beginner tutorial. First goal, develop a constant good tone. Possibly, I'll be able to move to the next step in a month or so. Wish me luck on my attempts to play "Skye Boat Song".

Tip I give all wind instrument players: don't blow INTO your instrument- blow THROUGH it. So simple, so much difference!

I just took my recorder apart because she mentioned cleaning it... I will never take so long to clean it ever again. It was disgusting.

Also maybe don't eat while playing. I was at a class by a national level trumpet player, who thought he was finished as a player, until he washed out all that chocolate bar residue out of his trumpet.

Wow, your tips on a "steady stream of air" reminds me of what I learned in voice class as a teenager! My first teacher was very classically-oriented so this was a big deal for her. Thank you! I'm loving this rediscovery of music on the recorder---and, as a Soprano II/Alto singer, it's great to have access to range that isn't so easily accessible via my vocal register!!

This was really useful!!! I always thought that the recorder was a dumb instrument when I was young, since in music class no one (not even the teacher really) could play it well, and it was super high pitched. I had NO idea until I watched your videos that it was actually a soprano recorder we were using, and that even then it could sound good if you knew what you were doing. So for the last few weeks I've been practicing the recorder and it's coming along pretty well!! Annoyingly I can't yet not bite with my teeth on it though, because I'm a tenor saxophone player and have braces. But I've been playing on this recorder for YEARS biting down on it and there's not even a scratch. This is one resilient little bugger :O Also this entire time I've been half-covering holes to play flats and sharps i DiDN'T KNOW THERE WERE OTHER WAYS TO PLAY THEM AAH ;_;

Wow, this lesson solved all of my problems with the tenor recorder. Thanks Sarah.

Thank you so much. Your videos are a fabulous tool. I share them with my recorder classes. The students love learning from you!

Very useful, thank you for these tips. I retired my trumpet after high school and decided six years later to fill the musical hole in my heart. Hoping recorder is what I need! Recorders seem like a beautiful and somewhat misunderstood family of instruments. Your videos have been helpful in getting started, like having a personal online tutor!

They showed us this in music class

I know this is such an old video but I have to tell you, I am enchanted by your personality. I have randomly stumbled upon this video and it made me realize how much I loved playing a recorder as a kid, I could play things by ear and more than anything, it was bringing me SO MUCH JOY. Pure joy. It felt so good. But I was a goth kid so I settled on an electric guitar and ended up hating it which made me give up on playing music. I just thought I'm bad at music and should give up. You made me realize my mind was in the wrong place. I chose something 'cool' and 'show offish' instead of choosing something that brought me joy. To some extent I didn't even know that a recorder was a legit instrument... I wish someone like you were around back then. Also, I am awkward and queer(bisexual man) and weird like you (please don't take this the wrong way, I mean that as a compliment, haha.), also from a small village near a small town in Poland so I just vibe with your videos so much, you feel like such a similar soul. I am trying to learn how to play a bass guitar currently but after watching your videos I decided to also purchase a recorder (maybe a bass! I just love bass sounds... bass makes me so happy) and start learning how to play. I want to thank you for inspiring me. You are so amazing, I truly am enchanted by your energy, it made me realize so much and inspire me to change my life for the better... I know, super cheesy. But it's true.

Thank you Sarah. I took up the recorder again in April 2020, after decades gap and only very little learning as a child, thanks to recorders my mum bought back then that I retrieved from her house after she died. I have been accumulating tunes I already know and love figuring out the notes. I can give pleasure to friends on the doorstep or down the telephone, sometimes with amazing reactions from listeners. I found your fab instructive videos via something else and I have learnt so much, especially how to articulate with the tongue rather than separating notes by stopping the breath. Along with the well paced and informative instruction, you have a delightful manner that really engaged me. It's very gracious of you to put these videos out free. I can see your passion for this amazing instrument, cutting through the prejudices about it being a 'toy'. It's a great thing to do during this pandemic, for so many reason. We need more home-made music, now we can't go to concerts! Thank you thank you.

This video brings my memory back when I played recorders in my teenage.

Great video! I've shared with my students in my Music for Children Class.

Hi Sarah, thank you very much for a very enjoyable and informative series! Could you please do video guiding us on difficult trill fingurings? Thank you again!

I'm a celtic harp player and new to recorders (felt in love with the alto and tenor ones). Thanks for the tips, it's very helpful! :)

Thank you! This video was super helpful! My recording playing improved massively after watching this!

Very useful! Thank you so much for posting.

Great video, hilarious and really helpful! I just discovered this week that I breathe out through my nose while playing haha. And yes I do feel like I'm drowning so I'm heading straight over to your Breathing warm up video lol.

you are so awesome! we bought the recorder you've recommended for the beginner kids, and these lessons made things so much easier!!!!

Thank you so much for your tips, I have an Grade 1 exam coming up and your tips will come in handy!

You are such a wonderful teacher! So glad I found your channel! ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️🤩🤩🤩🤩

i love to play the recorder since i was in the school and i keep playing with no much develop of my technic but with you im going ahead. now i refall inlove with this instrument and im falling in love of you !!!!!!!!

I learn a lot from you. Your videos are great. Thank you very much indeed!

Beauty and talent - pure pleasure! Thank you for your vids!

I had my mom buy a plastic recorder (despite me being a pianist) so when I got it I was wondering what a certain little stick was for. No. 10 really helped me realise the obvious ^_^

Great and entertaining video, thanks ! I had to replay the "breazing in and out" illustration, was so funny :) My little girl is interested in learning so these pieces of advise are quite useful. Greetings from France

OMG! I am a self-taught recorder player and have been trying to find a teacher near me in the USA. I have had no luck, so have just soldier on the best I can with a few tips from other self-taught (but more musically proficient) players. This have been SOOOO helpful! I just discovered you (Nov. 26, 2017). I can't WAIT to see how many of these I can fix. I am guilty of most of them, I think. I do clean my recorders (plastic and wood) as best I can, but not well enough, I am sure. I no longer bite my recorder (as I got better, I stopped biting). Leaking fingers, unsteady airflow, I know are problems. I will be more aware of my posture from now on, so some of those problems will go away. I am really looking forward to watching more of your videos and I am now subscribed!

Wow! For a beginner, like me, this video was filled with loads of tips and encouragement to learn to play the recorder in the right manner.

great video! i love your personality!

So helpful, thank you !!!!!

Hoi! Het is erg leuk, om naar jou videos te kijken! Ik oefen nu meer met de Block Fluit en jou Videos zijn een grote Hulp! Jij bent echt een sympathiek mens!

I'm a new music teacher who actually never learned recorder in my education (but I was a clarinet player, so that goes a long way!) who has been using your videos this week to start practicing now before I have to teach the instrument next year. Thank you for putting these together for your viewers! So much help! (also as a clarinet player I'm so glad you mentioned not biting the mouthpiece--that's what you're SUPPOSED to do on a clarinet lol. It didn't feel right on a recorder so I was only using my lips...but it still felt Wrong. Thanks for confirming!)

very interesting thanks for the great points! I enjoy your fun delivery, got me laughing all the way!

Thank you for videos, I adore watching them ) You are the best )

I learned the soprano and alto recorders (and most of these 10 pointers) from my parents; they were into Renaissance/Baroque music (not Renaissance Fairs, lol) and, simultaneously with piano and music theory, it was part of my earliest musical education... I'm so glad I had the exposure, because all of that made learning the transverse flute (and later, the bagpipe) A LOT easier.... I have recently returned to the recorder, and it's like riding a bike, except for the bad (recorder) habit that I acquired from years of practice-chanter, ie "resting the end of the instrument on the table".

Thank you so much. I needed those tips.

I’m watching loads of your videos since I have a band concert approaching where my director gave me a recorder solo unexpectedly. The part is pretty simple and straight to the point, but I know something is gonna go bad, maybe I’d lose my recorder, forget it. Or maybe even just play a Bb instead of B#

This was very helpful to me. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your videos. For contributing a little, as a thank you, I add a link to the errors ... 0:58 - 1. Wonky recorder 1:49 - 2. Leaky fingers 2:47 - 3. Bad posture 3:56 - 4. New note, new breath? 5:36 - 5. Not blowing enough 6:34 - 6. Leaky nose 7:32 - 7. Banana notes 8:34 - 8. Tongue twisters 9:46 - 9. Biting! 10:29 - 10. Sloppy wet recorders

Thanks for making the video in spite of your cold! I've added Italian subtitles, hope they will be useful! P.S. what did you say at 5:17? That was the only spot I couldn' get right.

Very clear and useful explanations! Contrats!

Thank you for the upload. Get well soon. Xx

I play the recorder and this channel really has helped me a lot especially this video

new subscriber 😘 love your videos.. it really helps.. A LOT!😘

Hope your cold will go away soon, and thanks for all this good advice!

I love your videos, Sarah. I recently de-dusted my recorder and gave it a go and your videos are helping me a ton. I bought the daily lesson and the first of the modern recorder technique book of van Hauwe and work my way through them. So I have a question concerning a problem I always have: how to avoid that the recorder gets wet during playing…. What am I doing wrong here? Love from Belgium

very helpful tips! thank you so much :)

This is new to me. Thank you so much for this video!!

Thanks! i was doing the throat articulation thing. i was aware it was happening (it hurts a bit), but wasn't sure (until now) how to fix it. The posture, i can't do that much about (bedridden), but I'm doing my best.

It is good to point out the difference between a new breath every note and the tonguing for the staccato, some people may mix that information when learning.

thank you for your tips. want to hear more from you soon.

Absolutamente, nada se compara aos timbres das recorders: sopranino, soprano, alto e tenor fabricadas em madeira. O brilho e intensidade sonora é perfeito!

Thank you! I teach recorder to little kids, before they are old enough to start on the flute, but it is not my main instrument, so this is very very helpful! ☺️☺️☺️

Hey Sarah. I am a beginner recorder player. Thank you for the tips. I wanted to ask a question concerning cleaning a plastic recorder. Is it advisable for someone to remove the small part of the mouth piece as you are wiping the head of the recorder?

And... you do it again. Great video, awesome channel. Cheers!

Thank you for the tips, very supporting. ;)

Thank you sooooo much! Love how you play also.

Question from a beginner -- if you are supposed to maintain a constant amount of air throughout the note, then how do you make it grow softer (diminuendo)? Thanks for the videos; I love them.

Beautiful new alto, Sarah!

I can't tell you how much I love your station! I'm passing this along to all my general music students.

love your lessons and your English :) I am still learing but I am "old".... it takes some time to get it

Me: watches the entire video Also me: quickly grabs my recorder to clean it because i haven't touched it in months

this video brought back some memories of school I remember always getting into massive trouble, just because I didn't put the instrument together straight, it didn't help not being able to see either

I am so guilty of most of the problems mentioned :D. The curse of the beginner musician, LOL!

her:moves the pieces in the recorder me: *grunts* trying to move the pieces in my recorder.

My teacher told me to watch this video and it helps me a lot 💕❤️

You rock, as usual, Sarah! ❤️💕🎶🥳🎉

Thanks for telling me about the top 10 mistakes.I do omost all of those

MHHH WOW.. YOUR REALLY GOOD IN THIS🌼WELL THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR PLAYING AN ANGEL RECORDER...SO I WOULD LYK TO THANK YOU FOR TEACHING ME ALL THESE THINGS ... ITS REALLY HELPED ME .... AND MY 2021 WISH IS TO MEET YOU SO THAT YOU CAN TEACH ME HOW TO PLAY THIS INSTRUMENT,CAUSE I REALLY WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL LIKE YOU ONE DAY ,ACTUALLY YOU ARE MY ROLE MODEL🌜🌸🌛

Hello! Congratulations for these amusing, informative and helpful videos. Could you please point me to a video where you address proper half hole technique? I've already watched the video where you talk about recorder registers and respective thumb positions. However, I could not find a video addressing half holes with other fingers (especially those other than the pinky and ring fingers of the right hand). Thank you in advance.

Thank you so much sarah , you are really awesome Teacher , Have a good time 💮✌

As duas qualidades de recorders são incríveis, tanto as de madeira quanto as de ABS. Há uma harmonização nas duas qualidades de instrumento de sopro, eu tenho praticado muito nas recorders ABS, mas as de madeira é um verdadeiro sonho!

I just bought a recorder. I'll be followin these tips.

I've got a new recorder and lm an absolute beginer . But the recorder l bought has a bumpy voice. Anyway l love the way to teach. I think you'll be a really good music teacher.😊👍👍

Great lesson!

Sarah, I have a question. I like the sound of the Renaissance recorder. I’m looking for an instrument that would be best for sending a message over the hills! Lol. As a nurse I know that the higher pitches are the ones that we lose first with our hearing! I’m afraid that sound will be lost. I’m thinking an alto might be okay, but I would like to try a tenor. Which would you recommend?

Esatto!!! Brava, complimenti per questi utili suggerimenti

You're just wonderful! Amazing!

When you say the recorder should be pushed together in mistake 1, I have read that pulling it apart is so you can tune it accurately when playing with other instruments. Using a chromatic tuner, you can pitch the recorder perfectly by adjusting the gap.

Just got my Alto today. Now the practice.

Definitely guilty of biting my recorder. I guess I'm lucky I only ever had the $5 recorder I got from the school when I was in 4th grade; it's not like I'm ruining a _good_ instrument. Now that I'm looking into getting decent recorders (and a range, I'd like more than just the soprano), I have been trying to unlearn my biting habit over the last few weeks. On that note, thank you so much for making this channel! It is so nice having a _solid_ resource for an instrument that I loved as a kid but everyone around me wanted me to move on to "real" instruments!

Nice tips to keep your recorder working. I have a question, when cleaning it with soap and considering a plastic recorder, do you recommend just to clean with a wet cloth (inside and outside) or do I literally leave it inside water for some minutes and then dry it?. Thanks in advanced!.

Thanks i learned a lot🤗🤗

Hello Sarah, that was another lovely and useful video for absolute beginners such as myself. Personally I'm very guilty of "leaky fingers" despite having very BIG hands and LOOONG fingers. I'm getting better, but the problem is still there. Another problem is that I tend not to use the tongue at all. Luckily I don't use my throat, I simply forget to articulate. Ooops. P.S. get well soon!

Love the video was worth it just for tip #9 ... hahaha the "Don't do it ..." was so heartfelt

I’m in a recorder ensemble and I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve had to tilt my head weirdly the whole time because I was late for rehearsal and didn’t have the time to put my recorder together properly lol

I’ll be sharing this with my kids and their parents...I suspect that the increased amount of home practice due to school cancellation means families will be very appreciative!

Great video. Banana note made me laugh 😂 😹 🤣

thank you. it is a really usefully video!

"If you're recorder is like a car, then your breath is like the petrol or the gas" Air Filter/Intake, Carburetor: Aight I'mma head out

5 and 7 are some mistakes I make. I'm working on it, I have nearly 1 year playing the recorder! And I Iove it!

thanks, this really a big help to me, ;)

Thank you for all of those. I can relate. My WORST mistake was leaving my wooden recorders on the ledge behind the back seat of my car for several days in August (1972), It cooked the oils out of the wood and damaged the corks so badly they had to be replaced. Never again! Most of my recorders are plastic Aulos now, but I still have a wooden bass, an alto and a couple of sopranos. My favorites are my two Aulos tenors, which play close to my vocal range. My least favorite is my sopranino, which makes my ears flutter.