A recorder is one of the most essential wind instruments that every child should learn. It is one of the best skills that can be bestowed on a child. If you learnt how to play it while you were a child, never mind how long ago that was, you probably understand why we are stressing the importance of learning to play it at an early age.
Being a cheap instrument, its importance is downplayed and seen as a cheap alternative to ‘real’ instruments, as some may put it. This is probably the reason why a recorder is mostly taught in large groups, like in schools, and not enough attention is given to the musicality of the lesson.
Significance to flute skills
Even if you learnt how to play the recorder more than fifteen years ago, those skills undoubtedly come in handy when learning the flute. Starting with how fast you can pick up flute concepts, there’s no limit to how learning the recorder as a child benefits you several years later when you are learning how to play the flute.
Having learnt the recorder earlier in life, learning to play the flute will seem all too natural. This is because the skills learnt when playing the recorder can be applied to the flute. One of these includes regulation of breathing, which is very essential when it comes to mastering the art of playing flutes.
Just because you have forgotten to read music does not mean that this basic skill won’t be unleashed by your brain once you start playing again. At some level in your subconscious, you are able to do some if not all of the following:
• Control breathing as needed when playing
• Coordinate finger movement, breathing as well as tongue movements
• How to be musical and connect emotionally to whatever you are playing
• How to read music
• Stay relaxed when playing, which of the vital importance of playing good music
As you can see, everything that’s learnt when playing a recorder applies to fluting. In fact, they are pretty much everything that one needs to know to play a flute expertly.
Other benefits of learning to play a recorder as a child
Learning to play the recorder is not just beneficial to those who want to learn how to flute later in life. It also instills important skills that apply in other spheres of life. For instance, children are able to develop their motor and coordination skills. Moreover, it helps to develop cognitive skills. These are important for good mental health. Communication skills are also acquired.
Knowing how learning how to play the recorder at an early age can benefit you, the question of the best at which children should learn how to play arises. Usually, the age of five is recommended. At that age, they can learn how to produce basic sounds, and how they can integrate those sounds to make their tunes. In addition, they also learn how music can be made by covering the holes. The sooner your child can start learning how to play musical instruments in Perth, the better!