Recorder Tuition
When coming to me as a beginner, we have a few lessons to get to know each other and I also work to get an understanding of what you want to gain from your lessons.
The recorder is generally one of the first instruments that children learn at school and is a lovely instrument to play and there is some lovely music amongst its repertoire.
I teach both the descant and treble recorders. A number of these students also learn either the tenor or the bass recorder too. The descant and treble recorders are the main recorders used by the exam boards. Up to and including Grade 5, you can take either Descant or Treble recorder grades or you can play both, but from Grade 6 onwards, the syllabus is mainly based around the Treble recorder and you are expected to play at least one piece on the descant, tenor or bass recorder.
I teach mostly in the Norwich area but I also cover Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft and my lessons vary in length from 30 minutes to an hour. For more information or to book a lesson with with me call 07967 023 568 or email [email protected].
How I Teach The Recorder
I teach from a number of beginners books for recorder depending on the ability of the student. Once you have established a good sound on the recorder, we can explore the different styles of music written for your chosen instrument.
My personal favourite is baroque music but there is also some really exciting 20th Century music written for recorder, some of which is very jazzy and lighthearted and therefore makes the music good fun to learn. A lot of these pieces are ideal if you are doing a recital or playing in a festival or competition as they can be used as they are the perfect ending to a recital programme.
I also teach contemporary music on the recorder which sometimes involves making different sounds as opposed to just blowing normally. This music can sometimes be challenging but it is what makes the recorder different to learn.
Ensemble Playing
The recorder is a lovely instrument to learn and to play with others in an ensemble situation and I encourage ensemble playing as part of my lessons.
I have a lot of ensemble music and I will often finish the lesson playing duet music as this is good for my pupils sightreading skills. I incorporate sightreading skills into all of my lessons as this is a very important skill to learn as part of becoming an all round musician.