You should be able to produce a steady note lasting about half a minute. Practise a rapid 'too too too' and long notes 'toooooooooooooooo'. It provides a clean sharp start to the note. It's very important that you always start each note by whispering 'too'. Don't bite it! It shouldn't touch your teeth. Hold the recorder any old way and don't worry about the finger holes for the moment. It's now time to make your first noise with the recorder. Suitable oil and grease is available in music shops. If the joints are cork, then you should apply a little cork grease to keep them supple. You should occasionally oil the inside of wooden recorders (but not the labium or the windway) with linseed oil. Doing this is good practice for plastic recorders and essential for wooden ones. When you are playing, moisture usually condenses inside the recorder. This prevents the joints from being damaged. When putting your recorder together or taking it apart, use a gentle twisting action. This will not damage the labium if it touches it accidentally. If even this doesn't work, poke a feather into the windway. If the windway is seriously blocked, take off the head joint, put your hand over the end where it joins onto the body of the recorder, put your mouth over the window and blow. Cover the window without touching the labium and blow hard.

If the windway gets blocked with moisture, don't poke anything into it. If it is damaged, the whole instrument is useless. This is the sharp edge that produces the sound. The first and foremost rule in looking after your recorder is never to touch the labium. The opening from the end of the windway to the other end of the labium is known as the window. The air coming out of the windway strikes a sharp edge called the labium. There is a narrow tube called the windway into which you blow. The narrow part of the head joint, which you put between your lips, is called the beak. Sometimes the body and foot are joined together as one piece. It must be turned so that the hole is slightly to one side, not lined up with the other holes. The bottom bit is called the foot joint.The main body of the recorder with most of the finger holes is called the body joint.

The recorder comes in a number of parts known as joints. It usually sounds better and is easier to play, but requires a little bit more looking after. When you improve, you should buy a wooden recorder. It is best to start with a plastic recorder. Plastic recorders are much cheaper than wooden ones. Recorders can be made out of plastic or wood. There are larger and smaller recorders, but this entry mainly deals with the playing of the soprano recorder. The recorder normally used to learn on is called the soprano recorder 1. Recorders come in a number of different sizes. The recorder is an instrument that is quite easy to play although, like any other instrument, it takes practice to play it well.

F note recorder