On another forum there was a large disagrement with the concept of recorder and jazz, and weather it was to quiet to be played with other instruments. I know where I stand in the argument, I`d like your opinions, before I bias you`re thoughts with mine.

(I forgot)
~TheBard

heres the answer - the recorder is nto an instrument! fourth graders get hot pink ones for the birthday from the toy store - thats not an instrument.

well, mabe the hot pink ones arnt paticualy musical, an instrument of torture more than of music!! But the recorder is highly suitable for renaisance and medievsal chamber music, the popular style at the time of its invention. the recorder is a type of crude flute, and should be thought of as such, so jazz is probably not an ideal genra, though i would be very interested to here of any experiments.

philostines check this out......: http://www.hants.gov.uk/hrs/range/audio.html

Peace, that was a great link. I enjoyed it.

MY NAME, the recorder is too an instrument!

There are recorders made now that certainly have the dynamics to play jazz very nicely. One is the Mollenhauer Modern Alto, the other is the Adler Heinrich Bell Recorder. Players such as Nadja Schubert, Eddie Marshall and Evelyn Nallen (of the "Respectable Groove") can really play the music. The RECORDER in Jazz is here!!!

I think recorder is a good instrument to play jazz on, but not maybe with louder instruments like clarinets and saxamophones. I am much insulted by my_name saying that a recorder isnt an instrument. It most definatley iz!!!! I love playing jazz on my recorder!

go to my website http://benwillmott.com and go to the audio gallery page and have a listen to Where Does It Come From...

This is the recorder as it should be played more often - sorry it`s only a short clip.

The point is that the recorder is a wonderful instrument, and although some have a slightly shrill tone up the top end the plastic ones do have a fair amount of whack - nothing compared with something like a sax of course(!) but used with a microphone balancing is no problem.

It does have it`s limitations though - not quite my instrument of choice for jazz (i`m a pianist and singer chiefly) as chromaticism proves such a challenge. Also the dynamic discrepancy between the low and high range is hard to manage, and you will struggle to hear low notes in a louder situation.

Don`t knock the recorder though ...sure you get one at primary school, but if you keep practicing...

Ben Willmott BA Hons


p.s. you may be amused to know that I still use the same one I was given 16 years ago and it still has a plastic sticker that says "Ben" on it