Recorder Instruments are generally the first musical instrument that children in first grade are introduced to. This is a great place to start as they are extremely cheap and are easy to use. Most of the time, the school will either provide them, or will have you kick in $5 or so to purchase one for your student.
There isn’t much to these units, but there are many different models. Most run inside of $10, but there are some more advanced models that sell for much more than that. Unless your child is an accomplished recorder player, the less expensive models will do just fine.
Here’s a selection of various recorders:
Yamaha 20-Series 3-Piece C-Soprano Recorder Instruments
Players of all levels will enjoy the precise, uniform intonation of the 20 series recorders. This recorder, made of ABS resin, combine outstanding Yamaha quality with durability for the ultimate in a lightweight recorder. Ease of play makes the 20 series the perfect place to start. The Baroque-English fingering uses the slightly harder “forked” fingering for F, but it leads to a wider choice of music since most recorder music is written for the Baroque-English fingering. A three-piece recorder has several advantages: some people find three-piece recorders easier to clean; small adjustments for ease of fingering or intonation can be made to the foot joint; and if you have a group of children who like to play their recorders when they should be listening, you can have them take off the head joint to practice fingerings without making any noise.
This recorder sells for around $5.
Yamaha YRS302B Recorder Instruments
For the price, I think this recorder is one of the best plastic models available. If you’ve got a child who you think has a natural talent for music and would like to give them an upgraded recorder, I would highly recommend this one over the cheaper ones. While it isn’t a big issue for beginners, the cheaper ones tend to sound shrill when you start playing the higher notes. Well, of course the shrill sounding recorders CAN be a big issue – especially for the adults who have to listen to them at home! If that’s a concern to you, the Yamaha 302 has a much warmer tone and the higher register isn’t as brutal on the ears. The 302 comes with a cleaning rod, cream for the joints and a pretty nice carrying case that most of the cheaper ones don’t have. It also comes with a fingering chart.
As with other recorders, this unit does tend to clog easily. In my opinion, the thinner mouthpiece is the cause. It makes it more comfortable to play, but the clogging is the price you pay.
Yamaha Simulated Rosewood 300-Series 3-Piece C-Soprano Recorder Instruments
Now here is a model that you’d purchase only for the accomplished recorder player. I’d not recommend this for children just starting out.
This is a really nice unit – not like the one you or your parents likely had back in the day. This recorder sounds just as good as one of the much more pricier units. It’s got an excellent dynamic range, with minimal fluctuation in pitch. You can push it to the max in all registers to produce an edgy sound, or you can produce a very pleasant piano sound with acceptable intonation.
If you want to spend a few more dollars once junior starts to get the hang of his cheap Recorder Instruments, you won’t go wrong with this unit.