Music
Beginner Recorder (Soprano Recorder Only)
This is a rotating 4-week course where beginner level students learn to play the soprano recorder with a new song each week.
8-12
year old learners
Beginner
Level
4-6
learners per class
$40
Charged upfront
$10 per class
Meets 1x per week
Over 4 weeks
25 minutes per class
Available times
Pacific
Description
Class Experience
This is a rotating course for students in the beginning stages of learning to play recorder. In each class, we will practice playing, learn a song, and review an important aspect of learning music and instrument care. Every four weeks, this course restarts with new songs. Students may retake this course with new material until they or their parents feel they are ready for the next level class. Class size is small to ensure that all students have ample opportunities to participate actively...
Students will learn/practice a minimum of four songs over four weeks that use three to five notes on the soprano recorder. Students will also learn basic rhythmic and pitch notation.
Mrs. Girouard has played in recorder ensembles in both college and community groups and has taught recorder to students for many years, both individually and in ensembles. She loves playing all types of recorders, although she mostly plays soprano and alto recorder.
Students should practice each class's songs for a few minutes daily in class to prepare for the next week's class.
The student will need a soprano recorder with Baroque fingering. Many soprano recorders are available very inexpensively. However, there are also some very poor quality recorders available in discount stores. Recorders traditionally have three pieces. They are designed to come apart for several reasons, including tuning, cleaning, and most importantly, adapting to the student's finger length. It is BEST for the student to have a 3-piece recorder. One-piece recorders are NOT recommended under any circumstances. The recommended recorders below all feature Baroque fingering and 3-piece construction. Recommended instruments: Yamaha YRS-302B Soprano Recorder, Baroque fingering, Key of C: https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YRS-302B-Soprano-Recorder-Baroque/dp/B0002MS7NS Aulos Soprano Recorder (A303ADB) Baroque fingering https://www.amazon.com/Aulos-Classroom-Recorder-Soprano-English/dp/B001LG7TUG Music (songs) will be provided by the teacher.
Because this is a music class, students will be expected to play so that the teacher can hear and adapt the class activities to support continued progress.
25 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.
Your child should practice each song a few times each day to build comfort with both how to blow through the recorder (not too hard, not too soft - we cover this in class), and finger placement. This can be as little as five to ten minutes per day. While it doesn't need to be a lot of time, this is important.