New to tenor recorder

[Mat Southwell]

Hi all,

Happy to find this forum. I played flute in my teenage years, did lessons, and was in orchestras and wind bands.Got to 16 and gave up as youth culture became more compelling.Flute and piccolo both stolen. Decided to play tenor recorder given similar fingering. Then tried it out and realised that I would need to really start from scratch and lost interest. The beautiful pear wood recorder I brought continues to sit on the side highlighting the lost opportunity. I am now nearly 60. My granddaughter has just started recorder lessons and this has given me new impetus to take up this opportunity.

Any advice on music books, YouTube channels, or any other ways of learning would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Mat

[Paola Manzini]

So sorry Mat that it has been very long since you posted: the last time I visited the forum it was riddled with spam bot messages, glad to see it is back on!
So let me suggest Aldo Bova’s YouTube challenge, his handle is @unagondolaunremo. He is a wonderful teacher, has a ton of books for sale on Lulu, and is generous enough to read and, more importantly, play them all on video. He has a playlist for soprano/tenor with about 40 videos, which I strongly encourage you to take a look at. His is a complete method, so you’ll get the whole range of your recorder, and includes some 595 pieces, including exercises, and a ton of tunes. Once you get a few notes under your belt the tunes become challenging. He also covers ornamentation towards the end. It assumes no knowledge of music theory, though obviously you do have that already. I am a dye hard fan!

Another great source of information (and enthusiasm), though less systematic, is Sarah Jefferey “Team Recorder” YouTube channel. She also has a method, but it is not complete, and even in the parts where they overlap, less extensive than Aldo Bova’s.

If you are in a hurry and only need to brush up, the shortest adult method is Helmut Monkemeyer’s, with the Trapp Family method a happy medium between the brief Monkemeyer and the long Bova.

Enjoy!

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