flute Archives - Hey Joe Guitar

Breathe New Life Into Your Recorder

Hey Joe Guitar — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 22:20:46 +0000

Here’s a question for you: When is a flute not a flute?

The answer: When it is a recorder!

True, to an untrained eye, the two instruments may look a lot alike and, in fact, they do have common roots – the recorder was a forerunner of the modern-day flute.

Although its heyday can be traced back to the late Renaissance and Baroque years (which is why Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and many other composers of that era featured the recorder in their music), it remains, to this day, a popular instrument with NYC Music School amateurs and professionals alike. Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Billy Joel are among the world-famous musicians who play the recorder.

Should you?

If you like soft and melodious sounds more suited to a chamber orchestra or a solo performance than to a rock band, and if you are looking for an instrument that is relatively inexpensive and easy to learn, then the recorder may very well be a great fit for you. (And yes, we can definitely teach you to play it in your New York City office or home – but more about that later).

Whistling in the wind

You guessed it – the recorder is a woodwind instrument that features a tin whistle. These days the recorders are most commonly made of wood or plastic, but four or five centuries ago, when preservation of wildlife was not yet a hot-button topic, they were often carved out of ivory.

Though there is some evidence that a primitive version of the recorder (made from a sheep’s bone) existed already in the Iron Age, this instrument evolved, and reached its peak, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

If you listen to the music of that era, such as cantatas, sonatas and operas, you will understand why the recorder (and woodwinds in general, along with the strings) was a popular instrument for the composers of that time.

As larger orchestras started to gain popularity, the recorder, which was not loud enough to play “bigger” and richer sounds like the percussion instruments, was slowly phased out and replaced by the flute and clarinet.

But as it sometimes happens with temporarily forgotten artifacts, the recorder got its second wind (no pun intended) at the beginning of the 20th century, and never fell into oblivion again.

Did you know…

… these interesting facts about the recorder?

Its name came from the old English word recorden, which meant to “sing,” “practice,” or “warble.”

In the Baroque era, when they were at the height of popularity, recorders were used to mark events such as “miracles,” funerals, marriages and love scenes.

William Shakespeare referred to music produced by recorders in two of his plays: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Hamlet,” where it was described this way:

“Govern these ventages with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth,  and it will discourse most eloquent music.”

After the recorder’s revival in the 20^th century, Led Zeppelin used it in their song “Stairway to Heaven;” Jefferson Airplane played the recorder on the albums “Surrealistic Pillow,” “After Bathing at Baxter’s” and “Volunteers;” and Rolling Stones used it in “Ruby Tuesday.”

Learn to play!

As we mentioned before, the recorder is an easy instrument to learn for children and adults alike. It might have become obsolete in the past, but one of the great things about living in the 21^st century is that you can find inexpensive recorders with no hassle, either in NYC music stores or online (if you are not sure where, just ask us!).

What about finding recorder lessons and music lessons in your neighborhood? We are glad you asked! We at Hey Joe Guitar will be happy come to your Manhattan home or office and teach you.

In no time at all, you will become a great whistleblower!

Photo Credit: John-Morgan

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Manhattan Music Lessons Bring Magic to the Flute

Hey Joe Guitar — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:59:45 +0000

Mozart was not the only one who knew the magic of the flute. With Manhattan music lessons, you can create some beautiful magic of your own!

“When you work, you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.”

We don’t know whether the late poet Khalil Gibran played the flute, but he probably listened to it and enjoyed it quite a bit to be able to speak about it so eloquently!

Fact is, the flute as such is not really magical. What makes it so is the combination of the flutist’s mastery and the sounds the instrument produces in his or her capable hands.

Unlike the bold and brash sounds of the drums, flute is, in the words of rock musician Ian Anderson, “a gentle and sensitive instrument.”

Mostly Wind

A reedless woodwind instrument, the flute has been around for a very long time. In 1994, European archeologists found a flute that was somewhere between 40,000 to 80,000 years old.

It was hollowed from the bone of a griffon, a large vulture that used to live in southern Europe and northern Africa.

Excavations of archeological sites in ancient China and Egypt also unearthed primitive flutes. These very early instruments were often carved from animal bones or mammoth’s ivory, a far cry from later models made from wood or silver-plated metal.

However, it wasn’t until the Baroque era, during which the flute evolved enough to be integrated into the orchestras, that instrumental ensembles, as well as solo flute concertos, had been written and performed.

Mozart, Vivaldi, Haydn, as well as scores of later composers wrote concertos for the flute.

The beginning of the 19th century marked an important period in the development of the flute as well – that’s when German flute designer Theobald Boehm improved the fingering and key system on this instrument, later also used for the clarinet, oboe and bassoon. This system is still in use today.

Know your ABCs (as well as Es and Gs)

You might think that a flute is a flute is a flute. In a way, that’s correct – a flute IS a flute (as opposed to it being, say, a piano!) However, there are actually several types of this instrument.

The early flutes were end-blown, held and played pretty much like the recorder. Similar models are still used today in certain cultures to play folk music. However, the majority of flutes these days are transverse or side-blown, held horizontally when played.

And though these flutes might look the same, there are differences in their pitches: Bass Flute in C, Alto Flute in G, Tenor Flute,

Concert Flute in C, Soprano Flute in E Flat, and Treble Flute in G all sound slightly different. If all this seems complicated to you, it really isn’t. It is certainly easier than quantum physics!

For one, the flute is easy to handle, which is an advantage to anyone who doesn’t fancy toting huge instruments around. Secondly, although it is most commonly associated with classical music, it can also be used in jazz or rock bands. Just ask many famous jazz flutists, or rockers like Ian Anderson, the flutist for the British rock band Jethro Tull or The Genesis’ Peter Gabriel.

What about you?

Whatever genre of music you want to produce on your flute – even if it’s only to charm a snake – our Manhattan music lessons will help you achieve that.

And even though a flute is light and transportable, you don’t have to do that: We will come to your Manhattan home or office and teach you. With practice, your flute too will have a touch of magic!

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Photo Credit: Simon Whitaker

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