What are recorders?

A recorder is like a tiny musical tube that you blow into to make sounds, just like when you blow on a straw to make it hiss.

Imagine you have a long, hollow straw, that’s kind of what a recorder looks like. You put your mouth on one end and blow in, while covering some holes with your fingers. The air moves through the holes, making different notes, just like when you whistle with your mouth closed or open.

When you cover some holes and leave others open, the air has to travel a certain path inside the recorder before it comes out, this changes how high or low the sound is. It’s like when you blow across the top of a bottle: if the bottle is full, the sound is low; if it's empty, the sound is high.

Recorders are fun to play because they’re simple, no complicated strings or keys, just holes you can press with your fingers. You can even play them in groups, and all of you make music together, like a little band!