Loved it. Necessary to discover and nourish diversity within music. I wish it was more easily available in Brazil. I'd definitely buy it. Thank you for sharing music in such dark moments for human history. It helps to survive and find beauty. Thank you.
My first impression is that there's a really large jump between grade 1 and grade 2. Artemis dancers, wow that one sounds amazing! I love the ones with lots of chromatics, the recorder can really shine in that regard.
I actually prefer my tenor over my soprano for most of the songs I play. While it is debatable if they are supposed to play the same parts, the lower timbre gives it a bit more body. I switch between those, since I don't practice enough on my alto to be really fluent on it :P
I play tenor a lot, more than I play alto, and I hardly play soprano at all these days. That's partly because I prefer the tenor's tone, but also because I play a lot of flute music on it and the tenor has a similar, if narrower, range.
Enjoyed watching this, I must admit I didn’t care to much for the grade 8 piece but that’s just me I guess. Your point about greater diversity with composers is fair but to be honest there isn’t any information other than a name on the sheet music. Perhaps there’s a case for encouraging research on composers, maybe including a question during the exam…? “What can you tell me about the composer of that piece you have just played?” It would only have to be one of the pieces chosen at random. At least that way it would raise awareness of who is out there composing, past and present.. Just a thought.
Love the improved options! Thanks for the video. Totally off topic, I just saw a video on the Chalumeau. Do you know anything about it? Would be lovely to see a video on what you think of it. Have you ever played one? Thanks for all the great content!
It's more a clarinet than a recorder, so you'd be better off asking clarinet players. (Was it the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment video you saw?)
I managed to get one for a decent price, and found it really challenging. The fingering is simple, but learning the embouchure was tough for me. I didn't do well with it, so I gave it to my clarinet-playing kid, who uses it as a curiosity demo object. Oddly enough, my kid has a hard time controlling their air for recorders and whistles because they are so used to clarinet.
@@RikardPeterson Hi, Rikard. Actually, a video on an introduction of the instrument showed up in my recommended playlist. I like that it's small with a low register. I'll check out the video you mentioned.
@@mynvision How interesting! I think I'll see if I can pick one up just to try it out. Since I'm used to the recorder, I wonder if making the sound will be difficult going from recorder to the chalumeau.
The notation of the 8th grade infuriates me. Like.. no problem with meter less but. Him writing a bflat or #a every now and then (same going for a lot of other notes) just makes it so much more annoying to read! Why must you do this?!
There is a logic - at least I'm pretty sure there is - and it's not mad, it makes perfect sense. It's a bit like the logic that dictates that the key E flat exists, but the key D sharp does not. What the notation tries to avoid is having two different notes in the same passage/phrase on the same line of the stave and having to be frequently marked with accidentals so that you know which note to play. Apart from the fact that it looks messy, it also makes the music difficult to sight read, especially on faster passages.
I liked all of the choices, but I think Korimako might have been my favorite. For that piece, it really drives home for me that sheet music is just a way of conveying sound/music in the absence of learning a piece directly from a living teacher. I was really amused by the 32nd notes collapsing into the 8th notes, too. The diversity of music choices is refreshing but it's still nice to see familiar works, too. Thank you for bringing the new syllabus to my attention; I'll check it out. =)
Yes, glad to have discovered this piece! I like Sarah's selections. (And I have to remind myself that she passed grade 8, then went to conservatory, then went to get an advanced degree, then became a seasoned professional. So if I play grades 7/8 (or any other) pieces and don't sound like her that's ok, dammit.)
I can play "Sakura Sakura", so I know I could pass at least grade 1. 😂 I don't know any of the other pieces, so I don't know where I would stand. Maybe I will try to play them.
Thanks for this. I've always wondered what grade I might be if I went for it. Based on this, grade 5 basically, although I can play the grade 6 piece apart from the high D#, for which I don't know the fingering - and even if I did know it, I'm not sure my fairly cheap Aulos plastic recorder would let me play it with any certainty of hitting it. Funnily enough, I can and often do play the Handel sonata that was the grade 7 piece, but not with all the nice ornamentation, I just play it as written, with a few trills. But I think I can safely say grade 5, maybe 5 and a half 😄
There is also a diploma syllabus with 3 levels, for after grade 8! I did my DipABRSM diploma during my second year of conservatoire, that was about an equivalent level.
This may sound bizarre but I'm teaching myself Tin Whistle at the moment but I can't get enough of your videos. I love the energy and passion you have for your instrument and music in general. I find your explanations straight forward and engaging, thank you so much for all the work it must take to make/edit/post these videos. Who knows, after I've got a foothold on my Tin Whistle playing I may branch out to Recorder... mind you, the notes seem to get a bit mad at the bottom of the instrument... what happened to good old B.A.G.F.E.D. ... ;) Greetings from the UK and Thank You once again :)
Good morning .. if it is possible I would like to have some advice on buying ethnic flutes of any kind. Could you prepare some material on this subject? A thousand thanks
This new syllabus is definitely not supercilious. BTW: That traditional Japanese tune called "Sakura Sakura" is as easy as playing "Hot Cross Buns" when played in the key of C major. 👍 ♫ 😊
I wish nobody will force me playing the piece shown at grade 5,6 and 8 (well, I could play the series of notes without turning them into music). I love the Handel one, I'm also able to play it by heart.
That grade 3 piece is also used in one of Blackmore’s Night’s numbers - it’s glorious! Go Ritchie! Listen to ‘Renaiassance Faire’ - grade 3 students will know that they can play along with the gods!
Good question! Usually people start with either soprano or alto, and pick up the other when the first is solid. In terms of grades, I think you have to play both after grade 5.
Finished grade 8 a couple years ago but I remember playing the same grade 3 piece so that piece must be in the syllabus for a while as I must of done grade 3 6 yrs ago or so
I really don't care about the colour or gender of the person who wrote the music. That is why a score is so brilliant, especially if you don't recognise the composer's name (I thought Joan Mirò was a female fine artist until I was put right by someone in the know!). A score forces you to focus on what is in the music, before you make any judgements about the composer. You are then looking at the composer from the point of view of being interested on their work first, rather than thinking, 'Ooh, a POC/female: I must get acquainted with their work!' After all, how demeaning is it for someone to realise that they only got their work published because of their physical characteristics? The only valid criterion for me is, 'How good is the music?' it really is the only way to afford the composer the dignity they deserve. As for including some folk and jazz: very good idea, so long as it doesn't eclipse the stuff that has stood the test of time.
I agree with you here. I think everyone is welcome in the recorder community and nobody is excluded. So for me, I can't see it as an issue really. I found the recorder community to consist of very friendly people who don't put up any barriers to entry for anyone. Nor am I aware of any traditions that would exclude anyone. In every community, there will be groups of people underrepresented (so to speak) and the reasons for this underrepresentation may be quite innocent and harmless. Although I do like the idea of broadly promoting the recorder in a light-hearted manner that is not driven by an assumption that there is some kind of discrimination within the community that needs to be addressed. I guess videos like this help make the recorder accessible to most people!
Regarding the E-F trill at the end of the level 2 piece: Since the preceding note is F, I thought the rule is that the trill should start on E instead of F.
I *was* going to ask whether you played any of them as sight-reading, but now I’m asking how long you trained for each piece. Well, except forthe seventh. It’s obvious you know it. You went like, oh, lets triple, no quadruple the amount of trills played vs. trills notated ☺ Piece 8 is, ugh. Like someone let a bird walk over notation paper. I really love baroque and think music went downhill from there, starting with Beethoven and Mozart. Your recommendation of Primephonic (which sadly no longer exists) gave me the “Ludwig” course, so I now finally know what labels to add to my music taste ☻
I didn't sight read anything, I wanted to make sure they were good for the video ;) But grades 1-6 I played through a couple of times and got familiar. Grade 8 I had to work on, to get the tricky passages under my fingers, make sure the rhythms were all correct, and figure out what I wanted to do with it musically. Primephonic apparently does still exist, just as part of Apple music..!
@@Team_Recorder oh wow. But then, you’re a pro ☺ Primephonic no longer exists, they saved some of their programme, but it’s really just Apple Music now, and ¾ of my favourites didn’t translate (even though the same songs, sometimes the same recordings, were available). Ludwig is gone, as is much of the curated music selection, and the search function in Apple music is precisely as bad (for classical music) as they wrote in where they stated their reason to start this, not being able to distinguish composers, performers, collections, etc. Most album information is gone, as is (unsurprisingly) Maestro. And it’s more expensive. On the plus side, I got some more melodic metal and other modern music I listen to into the mix, and my gf shares in the family programme. But I really liked Primephonic (except the web player’s bugs) and miss its unique features.
No, it's a graded system for learning music in the UK where they test you at each " grade." You might start learning recorder in second or third grade of school, but you might not start on the "ABRSM testing" (associated board of the royal schools of Music ?) for a few years. So the grades are roughly equivalent to the year you are in the testing. Any UK people, please clarify if I misspoke.
@@bettymeisterprescod7104 Good summary. I would only add that one doesn't need to be tested (formally) at each grade - you can skip, though further grades will build on techniques and theory that you "would have learned" had you followed the grade-by-grade syllabus.
@@dlevi67 I‘d really like to understand what this system is for. I‘m not from the UK and I question what you need the grades for. I understand that you know what your level is when you pass but what for? I play 7 instruments and never needed an exam. To play in an orchestra you have to undergo an audition and that decides whether you are allowed to play with or not. I don‘t find an explanation to this question. Maybe you or somebody else can help?
@@paganina2330 You don't 'need' them for anything. They are a commonly used (internationally, BTW, even though the main examination bodies are British) way of identifying roughly the technical competence level in playing a particular instrument from absolute beginner to 'pre-professional'. In the UK the higher grades (6, 7, 8) are also recognised as high-school academic qualifications, so they may help you get into a university/college. Plus, some people quite like the idea of testing themselves against a standard - be it a particular piece or a syllabus including pieces, elements of theory and general musical skills. As to "I play 7 instruments and never needed an exam" - that is given the lie by your next paragraph: "To play in an orchestra you have to undergo an audition" - and you believe _that_ is not an exam? Don't get me wrong - nobody has ever got to play into any (serious) orchestra on the basis of their ABRSM or Trinity grades, but they are useful to train you e.g. precisely for the sort of professional audition that an orchestra would require.
@@dlevi67 Thanks for your reply. That makes sense to use it as part of testing for getting into a college. It’s a good point I’ve never thought of. In Germany you know you’re good enough for studying music when you pass the audition. That’s very late. And you are right, auditions are kind of exams but I mean you in the UK have to get the grades and still need the auditions on top. That’s what I didn‘t understand. So I didn‘t get what for this extra stress and money? I think I just dislike the taste of comparison/competition. That‘s a personal thing. For me music is a matter of taste and not the Olympics.
People Of Colour writing for the recorder music? If you mean anyone of African descent, that is nothing short of Cultural Appropriation. (Not unlike a man in unconvincing drag.) Such composers- and any of their promoters- shpould be rounded up and jailed for Racist Arrogation and Neocolonialism. The recorder belongs in the Eurasian cultural heritage and shall not be pilfered! You, youmg lady, need to sort your thinking out pdq.
Nope, nope, and lots of nope. People of colour (or as you specifically jump to, people of African descent') writing for the recorder is not cultural appropriation. In the words of educator Blair Imani: C.A. is "when someone of relative power takes cultural expression from a historically marginalised group, without acknowledgement, consent, and often for profit... it is NOT C.A. when a member of a marginalised group adopts an element of the dominant culture." The dominant culture being Western classical art music, and the composer in this example (Joseph Bologne) a member of a marginalised group. Your comment about men in drag smacks of transphobia, which I also do not tolerate here. The comment "Such composers- and any of their promoters- shpould be rounded up and jailed for Racist Arrogation and Neocolonialism." relies on the assumption of reverse racism which... is not a thing. Why? Again Blair Imani explains it brilliantly, watch here: instagram.com/reel/CasMyxEJ8fY/? Next up, "The recorder belongs in the Eurasian cultural heritage and shall not be pilfered!" 1. No. End blown flutes exist all over the world, wherever there are people and music. The oldest recorder-like instrument found is some 40,000 years old. So Europe can't solely lay claim to composing music for this instrument or similar. 2. Pilfering? From a musical standpoint, you know who pilfers? THE RECORDER. Pretty much all our early music is stolen from the flute, the oboe, the violin, the cornetto, the keyboard, the organ, the viol, singers. There's relatively little music specifically written for recorder until the 20th century. 3. Ohh, you're talking about the recorder specifically in say the Baroque era. Hmmm, who could have been out and about 'pilfering' then... that's right, WESTERN EUROPE, '''pilfering'''' the shit out of entire continents and perpetrating vast systems of oppression that still persist to this day. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones Lastly, whenever someone throws in a 'young woman' my brain simultaneously shuts off and lights on fire. In conclusion, do not come here and be a racist butthole. Kindly F the F off.
@@Team_Recorder I disagree with the notion that members of a non-dominant culture can’t be racist. I suppose it depends on your definition of racism. All of your other points are bang on though. Imagine regarding the recorder as a uniquely Eurasian innovation! Furthermore, Boulogne composed and performed music in Europe for Europeans with access to, of all things, European instruments and musicians. When CA occurs, the perpetrators have to go out of their way to find a specific culture to appropriate within the general society. The original disgusting comment smacks of deliberate trolling to me though. I question whether the commenter is in earnest.
