Customer Reviews

Basic Recorder Lessons: Omnibus Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am about to start teaching adult recorder classes and have looked through many instructions books. This is the best that I have found so far for the adult student. Actually, this omnibus edition is a compilation of the three books in the series (for C instruments), along with supplementary tunes--so it is especially useful for a teacher. (At least 2 levels of the student books can be purchased individually for less of an initial cost.)

Features that I especially appreciate are:
--the larger than typical music which makes for very easy reading (along with very clear and attractive layout)
--the duets for student and teacher at the beginning which allow the students to start right off making real music
--the very well-thought-out pedagogy that would be more attractive to adults than are many others
--the wide variety and high quality of the pieces selected.

I recommend this book highly and am only disappointed that there does not seem to be an equivalent book for the F instruments.

I'm teaching myself to play the recorder and this book has been extremely helpful! The lessons are easy to follow and hold my interest. It has fingering charts for each new note learned and teaches fundamentals of music, such as note-reading, measures, time signatures, note values, rhythm, etc. Each lesson uses short tunes to teach various concepts, so you're not just playing boring single notes and rhythms. The last chapter (Book 4) is packed with lots of great music! I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like to learn to play the recorder. It makes learning fun!

As an adult picking up the recorder again after 15 years, I found this one of the best soprano recorder guides I've found. A great compilation, and perfect for either teacher/student lessons, or self-teaching for adults. It's both very easy to follow and very thorough, but paced sufficiently to be easily absorbed. It's a 4-volume compilation, so you can progress quite far if you'd like.

Like the other reviewer, I also think there really needs to be a f Alto recorder version of this omnibus as well. This guide is excellent for soprano, and it would be great if one of similar format and structure were available for the Alto recorder.

For learning to play the recorder, no matter what your age, this is a wonderful resource. Reading music is taught along with playing the instrument in bite-size lessons that my daughter has had no trouble comprehending. Although it is written to be used along with a teacher's lessons, it is detailed and complete enough to teach yourself. Songs are taught along with the notes, helping the student gain confidence as they go along.
The style is more mature than most beginning recorder books, which are geared toward very young children, however, I don't feel that the book is lacking because it doesn't include cartoon characters.
I highly recommend it. I have also used this series for learning guitar, and would seek it out for any instrument.

I initially started learning the soprano recorder using this book, then drifted away for awhile due to lack of time. I have recently started practicing again, and this book is a GREAT book! The lessons move quickly enough to make fast progress (although you can, and should, only move on to the next lesson when you're ready), and they are in bite-sized chunks that are easily digested. Since the time I started playing again, I have added the tenor recorder (plays an octave lower for a much mellower tone, but uses the same fingering as the soprano). I have also started learning the alto recorder. This recorder is in the key of 'f' rather than the key of 'c' that the soprano/tenor uses, so it uses different fingering. While buying books to learn the alto, I picked up another excellent book... "The Recorder Guide" by Johanna E. Kulbach and Arthur Nitka. It is structured much the same as Zeitlin's book, but includes dexterity excercises and arpeggios to practice. For those that are disappointed in the lack of a Zeitlin book for the alto, this is it! It teaches BOTH soprano and alto together... when a note for the soprano is introduced, the same fingering (albeit different note) is introduced for the alto. The practice songs and exercises are presented for both the soprano and alto, and there are even duets for the soprano and alto playing together. These two books together should get you a long way in your soprano lessons, and when you're ready, teach you the alto recorder too! A double value for the money!

I can only confirm what others have already said about this Omnibus Edition: It is a great tool for adults, either beginners or "re-beginners" like myself (I used to play from age 6-18, then paused for 30 years and am now picking it up again).

This book will keep me happily occupied for months to come. I contains a great variety of tunes and melodies, and I love the way the material is presented. The only criticism I have is that it is, a) too heavy for my flimsy little fold-out music stand, and b) a paperback. It would be nice if it were spiralbound so that it would lie flat without having to be pushed into submission.

RECOMMENDED : SUITED FOR THOSE SELF STARTERS WHO ALREADY HAVE SOME MUSIC BACKGROUND. WRITTEN FOR THE C INSTRUMENTS - DESCANT (SOPRANO) OR TENOR RECORDERS

This Omnibus (3 Instruction Books plus 1 Songbook in ONE) is for the Adult Beginner who is Self-Taught and is happy to just learn the Basics and start playing & enjoying

interesting classical & folk tunes asap without worrying about the greater technical intricacies.

Professionally laid out - contemporary, credible - it contains good BASIC teaching instructions with a Good Repertoire to back it up.

Has CLEAR & bigger than usual text/ score so that even the visually challenged can read it easily. Great if you are a Senior starting up.

If you just own one book and are not overly ambitious - this would be the book (or a good start)

The only minus is - you will need a music stand with clips to keep the book open as it is paperback 15mm thick.

I bought this book along with my first recorder. I had no idea how to playbut had a decent understanding of how to read music. This book has taught me how to play the recorder to the point where I can pick up any sheet music in the recorder music range and play it on the recorder regardless of the key. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to play the recorder.

Great information taught at a pace that makes sense. It is designed to be used with a teacher but can be done by yourself. It would be better with a CD that had the teacher's accompaniment to play with as shown in the lessons. I like the variety of songs and there are a lot of them. Its a hearty instructional book.

I'm an adult, and I'm really enjoying this book. I'm only in about 35 pages, and I'm enjoying the melodies. They tend to be longer, and that's great. But I will say that I starting my DYI learning of recorder with the Do It! Play Recorder! book. The introduction there is slower, and I think the descriptions of concepts was a little clearer than here. So I recommend beginning with that. But I think this book will carry on from there and take me several levels further.