Recorder : Not Just A Third-Grade Instrument
D.S. Musiks is the home of modern recorder music. We understand and appreciate the role that the recorder plays in the instrumental music landscape. Part of our mission is to educate, expand, and support the importance of this wonderful instrument family in the United States and abroad.
50 New Works for Recorder (Yes, you read that right!)
We just released one of the largest works for recorder in recent memory. Tone Concepts, by D.S. Musiks co-owner Owen G. Davitt, is a set of 50 pieces for mixed recorder ensemble. A book containing over 300 pages of new recorder music, ranging from three to nine players, targeting a range of abilities and tonal possibilities is an exciting step for us.
How Tone Concepts Came To Be
Tone Concepts is a flexible set of mixed recorder pieces that allows for ensemble playing using two methods of performance. During the pandemic in 2020, I experienced a revitalization in my love of the recorder. I took my small collection of plastic recorders and began writing. What started as a short, one-movement quartet (the first movement) trickled into weeks and months of writing, culminating in all 50 movements. Emphasized by the isolation of the pandemic, I wrote Tone Concepts with the intention of playing and recording them all by myself, which I did. Each movement can be performed by a single musician who wishes to create a multi-track recording. Musicians who wish to perform Tone Concepts with other players can pursue the piece as any other. Get Tone Concepts here https://www.dsmusiks.com/product-page/tone-concepts-full-set-1-50
Curious about the Recorder?
If you are a woodwind player, you should play recorder. That might sound like a rather forceful statement, but it comes from the heart. The recorder is an instrument that intertwines so many unique aspects of the woodwind family. It has a sensitivity and an ease like the transverse flute; reedy and complex timbral qualities that must be approached like a double reed instrument; and a family so vast that each instrument must be approached with a specific knowledge set on how to appropriately find the sweet spot within each. All of this is combined with open tone holes, amazing potential for contemporary music, and a strong, indestructible historical foundation that has over 900 years of repertoire. I am a better woodwind player because I play recorder. Recorders, as expensive as handmade instruments can be, are among some of the most accessible instruments around. Grab yourself a set of recorders (Yamaha and Aulos have wonderful plastic instruments) and start playing with friends. Take a lesson from a recorder player and explore the amazing abilities of these instruments.
The Recorder in America
The recorder is deserving of its place in the United States. Those of us who are dedicated recorder players are also dedicated to sharing the joy. We want more of us. We want to share the marketplace with you. The home of the recorder, Europe, is of course the home base of all things recorder. We are a little bit behind. The good news is that there is no better time to enhance the role of the recorder in the U.S. than now! We have never seen more collaboration between recorder players from all over the world like this before. It is a digital age—one that allows us to play with one another from afar, share resources and technique virtually, and, last but not least, access new music digitally.
What You Can Do
The American Recorder Society has chapters throughout the United States. You might be surprised to find recorder players near you! As recorder players, we are welcoming and are always excited to bring new members, of all abilities, into our community. I encourage you to find yourself a home within our global family, and if you are American, help expand one of the most important woodwind instruments in the United States.
Now get out there and make some music!
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