Choosing a recorder

The recorder you can afford is better than the one you can’t. A good plastic instrument has nothing to apologise for.

If you are beginning, get a soprano recorder with Baroque fingering, in plastic, for less than fifteen dollars. The whole question can end there.

Soprano or alto

The soprano recorder is smaller, higher-pitched, and the standard starting instrument; it plays in C. The alto is larger, with a richer, lower sound, and is the preferred instrument for serious study and most Baroque repertoire; it plays in F.

The two instruments share a fingering shape but at different pitches. Once you can play one, transferring to the other is a matter of weeks, not months.

Plastic or wood

Plastic recorders — ten to forty dollars — are durable, in tune, and require nothing beyond a swab. The Yamaha YRS-23 is a standard. So is the Aulos 303A. Either is enough to learn the entire absolute beginner curriculum.

Wooden recorders — one hundred dollars and up — offer a richer tone, but they need careful playing-in over weeks and ongoing care. Consider a wooden instrument after six to twelve months of consistent practice, when you know you will keep at it.

Baroque or German fingering

Choose Baroque (modern) fingering. It is the system used by every serious method, every piece of advanced repertoire, and every recorder you will ever play in an ensemble.

German fingering is slightly easier on the early F natural, but it makes F♯ awkward and locks you out of most music written for the instrument. The short-term saving is not worth the long-term cost.

Recommended starter recorders

• Yamaha YRS-23 · soprano, Baroque fingering · $8–12.
• Aulos 303A · soprano, Baroque fingering · $10–15.
• Yamaha YRA-28B · alto, Baroque fingering · $15–20.

Next: How to hold the recorder.