by Dani Heller
Many schools around the country, including IHS, teach their students how to play the recorder during elementary school. Thinking back on it, there’s one lingering question: why do schools take class time to teach students an instrument which is not widely used across the music industry? Well, there seems to be many benefits to introducing students to this type of music at a young age.
Elementary schools have gym classes to teach students sports and art classes to teach students art, so it only makes sense that there is time allotted in school to expose students to the world of music. The recorder just so happens to be a great instrument for this task. First of all, the recorder is fairly simple to learn. With the ability to make different notes by simply covering holes on the instrument with your fingers, students are able to learn and get acquainted with making music often with little difficulty. The low cost and small nature of the instrument also makes it suitable for younger elementary school students.
Although the recorder is not an instrument that the many, if any, students decide to continue with after Dows Lane, it can act as a great building block to learn more advanced instruments in the future. Afterall, reading music and getting a grip on the hand eye coordination that instruments encompass must start somewhere, and Dows Lane curriculum does a great job at the initial exposure to these musical techniques. The band and orchestra programs at Irvington High School are an important part of the school community, and I’m sure that students’ earlier experience with the recorder has contributed to the success of the music program here at IHS.
