The recorder, also known as the fipple flute, is a woodwind instrument family. The recorders are non-reed woodwind instruments that are not commonly used in orchestras. They do, however, occasionally appear in chamber and orchestral music. They’re also commonly used in classroom music.
End-blown flutes are recorders. The soprano or descant is the most common recorder, but there are seven standard sizes: the soprano/descant, one higher-pitched recorder, and five lower-pitched recorders. Each recorder is pitched in either F or C, and they alternate. They all sound the same or an octave higher than they are written. The seven types are listed below, from highest to lowest:
The highest recorder, sopranino, is in the key of F and is written on the treble clef, but it sounds an octave higher than it is written.
The second highest recorder, and the one most people think of when they say “recorder,” is in C and written on the treble clef, but it sounds an octave higher than it is written.
The next recorder, alto/treble, is in F and written in the same range as the sopranino, but it sounds exactly as written.
The next recorder, tenor, is written in C and has the same range as the soprano/descant, but it sounds the same.
The next recorder is bass, which is written in F and sounds an octave higher than the bass clef.
The next recorder, Great Bass, is written in C and is written on the bass clef, but it sounds an octave higher.
Contra Bass, the lowest recorder, is in F and written on the bass clef in the same range as the bass recorder, but it sounds exactly like the bass recorder.
Other end-blown flutes, such as the Native American flute, the flageolet, and the tin whistle or pennywhistle, are related instruments. The ocarina is also related, as are the transverse flutes, such as the concert flute and fife, which are typically used in marching or military bands in conjunction with drums; and various pan flutes, which are typically made of multiple pipes that are used to change pitch rather than holes or keys.
The head joint, which holds the beak or mouthpiece, the body joint or middle section, which is the largest piece, and the foot joint, which is the recorder’s end, are the three parts of a soprano/descant recorder. A four-piece bass recorder with a bocal, a thin metal pipe through which the player blows, or a direct blow mouthpiece cap are common. Sopranos can be constructed in two parts.
Famous recorder parts can be found in Johan Sebastian Bach’s works, such as the Brandenburg Concertos. They’re also in Georg Handel’s, Henry Purcell’s, Georg Telemann’s, and Antonio Vivaldi’s works. Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim are among the most recent composers to use the recorder.