Woodwind Breeze – About woodwind instruments

If you've ever heard the recorder played it's very likely you've asked why it sounds so bad? I know I have many times. Usually while wincing and exiting the room to a less painful location with my hands over my ears. As it turns out there are quite a few reasons why the recorder sounds bad. And the good news is it doesn't have to! The recorder sounds bad because it is played badly held incorrectly or is a cheap instrument. It can also sound bad if it is damaged. Below I show some of the reasons that may affect the sound of the recorder and why it can sound so bad once you know that you are on the way to solving any recorder sound issues Why Does The Recorder Sound So Bad: 1. Recorders Are Often Made From Cheap Plastic The cheaper plastic recorders are not always made as well and they sound awful. Many of the reasons shown here for bad-sounding recorders can be attributed to cheaper plastic recorders. Not all cheap plastic recorders are bad. Some sound lovely if played properly and not as bad if played poorly. If you are having issues with your recorder take a look into which one you have. While the professional musicians on Youtube can correct the instrument to make it sound reasonable, those learning do not have this skill and are at an immediate disadvantage when playing the cheaper instruments. Fortunately you do not have to pay a fortune to get a higher quality recorder. Even slightly higher price brackets of the plastic soprano recorders can give you a much better sounding instrument. As a rough guide I’d avoid any recorder below £5/$7ish. The really cheap ones are little more than toys.Once you get into the £10/$13 range the sound starts to improve. If you can go for the top of the range plastic recorders These are between £17/$23 and £30/$40 for sopranos. 2. You Have a Soprano Recorder Soprano recorders can sound lovely but they often don’t. If you are new and have any recorder it will take a while and practice to make it sound any good. The soprano sounds worse in my view because it is more shrill than the lower sounding recorders like the alto or bass. 3. The Recorder Sounds Awful Because it is Played Badly If you are not playing your recorder well it will sound awful. Have a look at some of the playing issues I have mentioned here. If you are doing those this can be the reason your recorder is not sounding that great. If you can ask a recorder teacher they will easily pick up anything you are doing wrong. If you can’t get to a teacher you can record yourself playing and you will hear where you are going wrong. There is a young woman on Patreon that for as little as about a couple of $/£ per month will answer your questions. Her Group is Team Recorder 4. Blowing Too Hard or Too Soft When learning especially for children it is likely they are blowing far too hard. You can easily tell this by the awful sound screeching noise that comes from the recorder. Higher and lower notes on cheaper recorders sound bad. Either screechy or plastically or dull. A A bit too sharp Plastic recorders can sound tinny as they don’t resonate as well as wooden recorders. 5. Not Maintaining The Notes If you are not putting enough air into the recorder your notes will trail off before you have finished blowing. This causes fluctuations in sound. Make sure you have enough air and take breaths in the rights places and that you breathe properly. Improved air will also come with time 6. Your Recorder Could Be Wrongly Tuned Or Out of Tune If you have a cheaper recorder it is very likely that it is not properly tuned and will not sound very good. While there are some things you can do to correct tuning it is better to spend slightly more money and get a really good quality recorder. One advantage of a recorder instrument is that you do not have to spend a fortune to get a good one and there are plenty of student-quality plastic recorders on the market that will sound good and are in tune. 7. Condensation Build Up On The Instruments Inside Condensation tends to build up faster in plastic recorders than wooden ones and it builds up really fast in the really cheap recorders. Condensation causes interference in playing your recorder. It distorts and stops the sound sometimes completely. While it is not always the fault of the recorder it can be the player it is a reason for it to sound awful. Reasons for condensation: Cheap recorderPlastic recorderThe player has high spittalA player may have higher spittal when trying to reach the higher notes as you have to blow harderBlowing too hard A recorder with an extra small holeColder room 8. You Might Have Sensitive Ears If you have sensitive ears the recorder might sound bad to you particularly if it is a higher-pitched one. Typically most people are introduced to the soprano as children which sounds high-pitched. The sopranino and the garklein/sopranissimo recorder are even higher pitched. While not necessarily louder the higher-pitched feels louder and to some people this makes the instruments sound bad. It's not, it's just that not all ears can cope with it. Even an intune and fairly well-played instrument may sound bad to you. If this is the case you and you want to play you could look into getting a deeper pitched instrument like the alto (treble) or the tenor. If you are unsure if this is the reason note how you react to other sounds and pitches. If you are dyslexic you are 9. Damaged Recorder Instruments If your recorder is damaged in any way that can affect the sound because it's been dropped or chipped for instance it may throw off the sound depending on where the damage is. Also, if you have a warn-out recorder the holes can be worn down, making the finger positions difficult to cover. You can mend these holes if this is the case. An older wooden recorder may be warped or split if it hasn't been looked after. If it has any chips or dents this can affect the sound. If the recorder has not been cleaned and dried and has mold it can affect the sound (also mold is dangerous). 10. The Recorder Is Not Put together Correctly When you put your recorder together most recorders need to be slid together fully. If you do not slide the recorder parts together fully that can change the sound on your recorder and it will be out of tune in most cases. 11. Poor Teaching Many music teachers are not recorder specialists. They may not know that much about the recorder and how to play it other than the basics. Or if in schools they may just be harassed teachers with lots of children. My music teacher was a maths teacher that taught music because he had to, so he wasn’t that happy about it. The same can apply to local or online teachers. This of course affects your playing and can make your recorder sound bad. That's not to say all music teachers are bad of course that's not the case. There are many excellent music teachers in schools and locally. Like everything in this article, it's about knowing what can affect play so you can change it if that is the reason. This is just one possibility. It might not even be that a teacher is a bad teacher just that you are a bad teacher/student fit. 12. Lack Of Practice If you do not practice your recorder playing will not improve and will sound bad. It's best to practice regularly to improve. 13. Bad Posture or Breathing Affects Recorder Sound If you sit poorly and breathe incorrectly this will affect the sound of your recorder. This can lead to not having enough breath which creates sound fluctuations and sound drop-off when playing. Sit tall and do not breathe from the chest. Lower your shoulders and relax. 14.Holding the Recorder Incorrectly If you hold the recorder incorrectly it can affect the sound. You want to have a 45-degree angle approx between you and your recorder. If you drop it down from this you can become all crunched up and the angle of the recorder to your moth is wrong with all effects the sound. Hand placement etc is all important, if you don't put your fingers on the holes properly the recorder screeches.

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