Recorder Basics

Michelle Williams: Hi I am Michelle Williams and we are at Foxes Music Company today and I am going to teach you how to play the recorder and today we are going to start with the basics of the recorder. I am going to teach you about how to hold the recorder, how to play it and about breathing. So when you are pulling the recorder take your left hand and the thumb goes on this hole right underneath the recorder and your first finger goes on the first hole. So if you forget fingers, you are not going to count the thumb, they are one two three and four. So the thumb on the hole underneath, first finger, second on the second hole and third finger. The pinky on the left hand doesn't cover any holes. The right hand pinky goes on the last hole at the very bottom and then your fourth finger, the ring finger the next hole up and third finger next hole and then index finger on this next hole up. Now when you have all those holes covered, that we will see -- look at that at another time. As far as holding the recorder you are going to just put the tip of the recorder in between your lips. There is no need to bite it just put it in between your lips. Then you just take a nice deep breath and when you breath, breath from your diaphragm, so that you feel your stomach muscles pushing out and your lungs will fill with air just relax your shoulders because shoulders do not need to be going -- not like that but just nice deep breath coming from the diaphragm and I am just going to play an A, hold it. Your elbows are going to be relaxed and they don't need to plain out and then not too tight like that. But just nice and relaxed. You don't want it to be down like this or too far up but just hold the recorder just diagonal. Okay that is it for the recorder basics now we will go on to tonguing and playing notes on the recorder.