Hi everyone. I would really love to get my two daughters started with playing the recorder. Can anyone recommend a really good program/method that assumes one has had no previous musical instruction, maybe one that has video instruction or at least a book and/or charts. Thanks!
Absolutely. Penny Gardner’s Nine Note Recorder Method. I recommend it wholeheartedly. Our whole family has used it. We’ve played music from it when we ring bells for the Salvation Army, it’s a big hit because we are playing real music, in three or four parts–sounds great!
We aren’t really musical at all, I’m afraid, so if WE can play Christmas carols in three part harmony and sound like we know what we’re doing, then the program has to be good. 🙂
Bookworm, I was inspired by your post and am going to order the Penny Gardner lessons for our family. I have a question for you though. Did you all use soprano recorders or did you combine alto recorders with them?
We stuck with the soprano recorders, although I’ve toyed with the thought of getting alto recorders for more complex pieces, like the von Trapp family used to do. We haven’t done it yet though. The Gardner books have two and three parts written into them for use with sopranos, so that’s where we started. The duets and trios sound very cool. I’m really the only person in the family gungho enough to really want to play the more complex music, and the whole family just thinks it’s part of my Sound of Music obsession. 🙂 So unless I can make a convert or two we’ll just stick with sopranos.
Thank you so much for the advice, Bookworm! And since you’re such a Sound of Music fan…I thought you might enjoy this funny little video clip I rec’d yesterday. It was made in the Antwerp Belgium Train station on March 23, 2009 with no warning to the passengers passing through the station. At 8:00 a.m. a recording of Julie Andrews singing ‘Do, Re, Mi’ begins to play on the public address system. As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances. They created this amazing stunt with only two rehearsals! Enjoy!
Regarding this recorder method. I have no musical cells in my body. Can I still use the Nine Note Method? If so, can I use one course book for all my students?
This is a great, easy-to-use method, agree with all the above!
Pam, I do have a bit of music background, but I think you would be fine. It outlines step-by-step the note fingerings, what a quarter note, half note, etc. are, how to blow. We have just one course book for my two kids and it’s fine. I think the only problem would be if you had multiple kids trying to fit around a book to play a trio or something—hopefully Bookworm will pipe in! :)Gina
Thanks so much for the video! I am a huge (HUGE) fan of SoM. I walked down the isle to the same song as Maria got married to (before it turns into How do You Solve a Problem…b/c that is just wierd!) Anyway, I sent it to all my friends who would also appreciate it!
That is so funny! I hosted a scm dvd night with about ten girlfriends last year and they all kept saying that you and I may have been separated at birth so this will make them laugh for sure!