the.com/recorder
the gateway instrument that taught millions of children to play one terrible song
means A simple woodwind flute played by blowing into one end and covering finger holes, or alternatively any device that captures and stores sound, images, or data for later playback.
from From the Latin 'recordari,' to remember or call to mind — literally 'to bring back to the heart,' since the Romans located memory in the cor, the heart. The instrument earned the name because to 'record' once meant to practice a tune quietly, the way birds were said to 'record' their songs; an early player was simply rehearsing, committing the melody to memory. The recording machine inherits the same root from a different angle — a device that does the remembering for you.
- medieval origins
- Dates to the 14th century, predating the piano
- baroque star
- Bach and Vivaldi wrote serious works for it
- plastic revolution
- Cheap molded plastic made it the classroom default
- name origin
- Recorder means to practice birdsong, not audio
- family tree
- Comes in sopranino, alto, tenor, and bass sizes
yamaha yrc-312ii — professional plastic recorder used by orchestras and conservatories worldwide
mollenhauer 2751 — german wooden soprano recorder preferred by early music specialists
aulos recorder — ancient egyptian reed instrument from 3000 bce, precursor to modern recorders