how many of you jokers ever played descant?

[tjwmason]

As in recorder.

I did for a tiny bit when I was very young at prep-school, but only as part of an entire class playing on the wretched things.

More recently I played treble recorder - which is a tad deeper in pitch. I haven't played Gemima (that's the name of my recorder) for a while, perhaps I should get her out to have a quick blow on my stick.

[cleofus1]

1. sweety...

you named your recorder...

[tjwmason]

2. I'm horrendously sentimental like that.

My university gown is called Beatrice, and my home computer (now very much on her last legs) is Phillipa.

[cleofus1]

3. the drawbacks

of a classical education...:spank:

[billyskank]

4. Did every British child have to do that?

No wonder no-one thinks the recorder is a real instrument. 'Cause we were all forced to learn on the cheapest shit descant recorders the LEA could afford. x(

[cleofus1]

5. hell

i even had a plastic clarinet

[billyskank]

6. So did I

Lent to me by my school, when I first started playing. The school instruments all had one thing in common: they were all of the lowest possible quality! Not only were they not very good to begin with, but they had all suffered tortuous abuse at the hands of many kids who were being pushed into playing by their parents!

It was so much better when I finally got my own instrument. :)

[billyskank]

7. To be fair

A plastic clarinet is the only suitable instrument for a beginner. A proper wooden one is going to set you back 500 quid for a basic one; only a foolish parent would spend that much money before it was clear their kid was going to stick with it.

[cleofus1]

8. i never actually got a nice one...

played a plastic thru competition and did well...to this day i dream of buying a wooden buffet...but those damn things are pricey...if i had the money to buy a nice clarinet...i'd just buy a nice guitar...

[billyskank]

12. Clarinet's one of those instruments

you have to practice it for a real long time before you can actually make a nice sound with it. Like 10 years maybe. That's why so many who try it give up and take up the sax instead. With the sax you can get good enough to actually have some fun within a few years.

[tjwmason]

11. I think so.

But probably not even that these days (don't get me onto the state of music education in Britain - I might not get off it for a few days).

It took quite a bit for me to pick up a recorder in my late teens, it was only after I had heard a couple of recordings of recorder concerti (I was exclusively into baroque music at that point), and even then I wouldn't touch a descant with a barge-pole.

[FuzzySlippers]

9. We have different names for them here.

The highest pitched being the sopranino, then the soprano, then the alto and so on. I think the descant corresponds to the soprano and the treble to the alto. My favorite is the sopranino, which looks like a toy, but has a serious repertoire.

BTW, having a quick blow on your stick sounds like fun, but what does that have to do with recorders?:shrug:

[tjwmason]

10. It is great fun trust me.

It's also good to try different ones - so a quick blow on somebody else's can be even better. :evilgrin:

[cleofus1]

13. now here's a real popular guy,,,

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I learned to play the recorder (soprano) when I was ten, because

the director of my church's youth choir was an early/Baroque music buff before there were too many of those around (early 1960s).

He put a harpsichord in the church balcony, and we choir kids played different sizes of recorders in ensemble while he accompanied on the harpsichord.

In those days, you could buy a genuine wooden recorder imported from Germany for $3.00 (probably the equivalent of $15-$20 today).

[tonkatoy57]

17. I learned to play (at) the recorder in Music History class

In my junior year at conservatory.

When we studied pre Renaissance music we had to split up into small groups to perform some of the music of that era. All of us who didn't play keyboards or strings or trumpet or trombone had to learn an instrument that would fit into that era. So, being a clarinet player I had to learn the recorder. I recall it being lots of fun and not terribly difficult (no freaking reeds to worry about).

Our Ars Nova band rocked, by the way.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

15. I played it in 4th grade (age 9)

I enjoyed it! I looked at some at a music store last week and considered buying one! (But I stuck to buying cello supplies instead.)

[kwassa]

16. my wife sings lots of descants

[no name no slogan]

18. I played soprano recorder

in grade school. I also played sopranino recorder for a while, too, which is one step above the soprano.

Interestingly enough, the fingering on a descant is very similar to that of the saxophone, so in a way the recorder helped me out when I took up sax when I was older.

Of course, I don't play either one much these days, as sweet señorita guitar has stolen my heart... :D