Recorder from the Beginning

My granddaughter has started to learn the clarinet and to encourage her I decided to go back to playing the recorder after a fifty year break! I was also inspired to start again by watching a performance by the English Baroque Soloists of the Bach Easter Oratorio at the BBC proms last year (2013) where there is a beautiful part for two recorders) I have all three of the "Recorder from the Beginning" books for descant recorder. They were written for children which is great because when it comes to music I'm a 65 year old child. Make sure you get the versions with the cd. The cd is most helpful especially if like me you have trouble figuring out the rhythm and beat. On the cd each tune is played first by a solo recorder and then twice with a backing track - really instructive, entertaining and encouraging. And now I can read a bit of music, which is very satisfying. I highly recommend these books. After a couple of months of regular practice I've improved from gruesome to awful, but that is not the fault of these excellent books. At least the dog has stopped howling so I must be doing something right.

This book brought a big smile to my daughter's face, and although as a starter she dived into it with great gusto, and a lot of questions. The general layout of this book is excellent, and the use of graphics, fonts, and colors make learning fun and easy to follow. Including a CD is the intelligent touch, because there are songs that children do not know, and yes they could go to YouTube, but it’s not as personalized as having your CD. I would recommend this book for any beginner, as it’s designed to get your child up and running in a very short time while having fun learning music.

No CD included, audio download. Good beginner book.

My daughter has just started recorder practise at school and this book was recommended as a 'must' from her music teacher. Firstly I would say that this is a very reasonable price, compared to the additional £3 they were charging in the local music shop. I like that the songs actually has words also, so she is able to get used to the tempo as well as learning the notes. Some of the children have older versions of this books and they are not in colour. This is bright and cheerful, with colours throughout, and from the noise coming from her bedroom in the evenings, I would say that it is very easy to follow. Recommended.

Recommended by teacher in school, clear layouts.

My daughter wanted a recorder for her birthday and Its been so long since I last used a recorder that there was no way I could offer any help to my daughter - This is really good and a great price. My daughter is 8 and after a bit of a read through together she was able to hold the recorder properly, and learn some notes. She learnt really quickly with this - No complaints from either of us!

Good book, did have writing from someone else in it which i was expecting even though second hand. Woudl be better if it taught the notes too, as my children as beginners they cant read notes yet

This book is really good for children learning to play the recorder. It has clear illustrations and goes through the sections steadily but with good progression, The CD is especially useful as an accompaniment for the children, and can be used for performance work as well. The songs are relevant, and their is a wide range for children to play. I have several children in my recorder group at school, who have now been coming for three years, and recently gave a concert to the parents and children in school.