Also, never spit into the recorder. Music from that time often featured recorders. To play a recorder, gently hold the mouthpiece between your lips without letting your teeth touch it, and balance the recorder with your fingers. Clean your recorder weekly or whenever it gets dirty. Breathe from the diaphragm and make sure you blow evenly. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Keep practicing B until you are comfortable with it. The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument that was popular as early as the 14th century. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The mouthpiece can be cleaned with an old toothbrush or pipe cleaner. % of people told us that this article helped them. To learn more, like how to clean and take care of your recorder, keep reading the article! If you blow too hard, you will produce a sharp, unpleasant sound. Use a finger vibrato. This article contains information about the Recorder [How to Play the Recorder:Recorder fingering] Corporate Site. The recorder lessons on this site outline these techniques in detail. The higher notes, C and above for the alto, G and above for the soprano won't sound properly if the breath pressure is too little. Then, practice blowing very gently into the recorder using your diaphragm and breathing through your belly, so you get pleasant, consistent sound. Why does it go out of tune when I'm playing it? Try to remember the first three notes spell the word BAG. If clogging persists, you can clean the windway by mixing one tablespoon of unperfumed dishwasher detergent with three tablespoons of water. What is the correct way to start and stop notes? Plastic recorders can be washed in the dishwasher or in a sink with warm soapy water. This is a way to clean the recorder - blow in it, but block the way out to collect saliva. This is the Yamaha Corporation [Musical Instrument Guide] website. You can buy recorders at a typical music store. Both wooden and plastic recorders can be found at good musical instrument stores, or online. When you click the notes on the musical score, the fingering will be displayed. If you don't get a good sound while blowing, it's probably really wet. For wooden recorders, disassemble the recorder and carefully wipe the moisture off the inside with a soft cloth. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/6a\/Play-the-Recorder-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Play-the-Recorder-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/6a\/Play-the-Recorder-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid179751-v4-728px-Play-the-Recorder-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":259,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"410","licensing":"