More than you ever wanted to know about the recorder

Wow–Day 2 as an “official blogger.” I never thought I’d make it this far! No, seriously, I didn’t really think past Day 1, which is why I have been frantically searching the Interweb for something to write about. I can’t bear the thought of letting down my 5 readers! I’ve come across blogs, some interesting, some inane, which I will save for another day. (I’ve really got you hooked now, huh?) Tonight, however, I will subject you to some disorganized thoughts sparked by everyone’s favorite $3 instrument.

This evening I had the pleasure of attending a music concert. What concert, you might ask? Billy Joel? Bon Jovi? Better. I had 4th row seats to watch my son and his fourth grade colleagues rock the house via …the plastic recorder. It was actually a really good concert, and I have to think that God created very special people to be elementary music teachers. The thought of being shut up in a classroom with 27 ten-year-olds armed with recorders makes me want to jump out of a window! Anyway, the concert got me to thinking, is there a future in recorder-playing? I mean, kids spend a year of their lives with these instruments and then just toss them aside the following year when the “real” instruments come into the picture. It’s like, “Hey, Recorder, thanks for breaking Joey in. I couldn’t take all that squeaking and squawking like you can, man. But now that he’s gotten it out of his system, I’ll take it from here.” And Joey lets his three-year-old brother slobber all over the poor selfless recorder as he gets lured away by a trampy trombone with a guilty smile. Where was I going with this?? Oh, right. So anyway, I got to thinking about the recorder and if anyone actually plays this instrument past the age of 10, and I have to say that I was blown away! (Pun intended.) Apparently there are organizations (such as the American Recorder Society) all over the WORLD devoted to people who enjoy playing the recorder for fun! And there are actually professional “recorderists” who, I guess, get paid to play the recorder?! Who knew? Apparently Pete Rose did, as this must have been his back-up career after getting kicked out of baseball. Obviously, parents aren’t buying this $106 recorder so their kids can run around the house with it playing “Hot Cross Buns” either. I just wonder, though, what makes people rediscover the recorder after it’s been lost in the bottom of the toybox for all those years…No matter. After discovering 61 regional organizations on Google Directory dedicated to the recorder and only 7 dedicated to the trombone, I’d say that the recorder has the last laugh.

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