Maren Krüger
Maren Krüger teaches oboe and recorder and is glad to give an early years music class for four- and five-year-olds.
View Maren Krüger’s profile →Woodwind instrument
Recorder Lessons in Cuxhaven
In recorder lessons children and adults learn breathing, finger technique and their first tunes – a good foundation for any instrument that may follow. Cuxhaven Music School is a public, non-profit music school in Cuxhaven-Ritzebüttel, run by FeMiC e.V. Lessons are open to children, teenagers and adults – whether you are starting out or coming back to music.
Your recorder teachers
Beate Steffens
Beate Steffens studied flute with piano as a subsidiary subject in Hamburg and teaches with attentiveness, creativity and a great deal of experience. She offers flute from around age 8, recorder and project work, and piano from around age 4 – individually and in groups.
View Beate Steffens’s profile →How lessons work
The recorder is an excellent first instrument – from around five or six years old. It is light, inexpensive and brings quick success without demanding much physical strength. For many children it is the gateway to other wind instruments and beyond.
- Individual lessons: 30 or 45 minutes, weekly – or as a block of 5 lessons that you arrange with your teacher.
- Group lessons with Beate Steffens: groups of three (45 minutes) or four (60 minutes).
Whether recorder lessons are also possible in pairs is something we are happy to discuss when you get in touch.
Fees
Individual lessons cost from 69 € a month (children and teenagers) or from 83 € (adults). You will find all fees – including 45-minute lessons and lesson blocks – on our fees page.
Trial lesson and registration
The easiest way to request a free trial lesson is our contact form – choose “Recorder” as the subject. You can reach the office by phone on 04721 666868 on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon; the office is closed during the school holidays. You can also contact the teachers directly – their details are in the profiles on our teachers page.
You will find us in the historic Ritzebüttler Schule building:
Cuxhaven Music School · FeMiC e.V., Grodener Chaussee 11, 27472 Cuxhaven
The recorder in brief
The recorder is an ideal first route into music – and at the same time a serious instrument of early music, with a whole family of sizes.
At a glance
The recorder is an end-blown flute with a windway that channels the air. It is regarded as the classic beginner’s instrument, yet it is equally a serious concert instrument of early music. It comes in a whole family of sizes – from the small sopranino through soprano, alto and tenor to the bass.
History & origins
In the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the baroque the recorder was held in high regard; composers such as Telemann, Vivaldi and Bach wrote for it. During the nineteenth century it receded in favour of the flute, and in the twentieth it was revived along with the rediscovery of early music. At the same time it became a widespread instrument in schools and for beginners.
Construction & how it works
When you blow, the air travels through a narrow channel (the windway) and strikes a sharp edge called the labium – and there the tone is formed. Pitch is determined by the finger holes you cover; a thumb hole at the back helps with overblowing into the upper register. Recorders are made of wood or of easy-to-maintain plastic.
Sound & tuning
The sound is soft and sweet. Pitch comes from the holes covered and from overblowing; fine tuning is done by easing the head joint out a little. Because the recorder needs only very gentle breath pressure, it is well suited to training the breath and a feeling for tone.
Playing & technique
Both hands cover the finger holes, the upper hand taking the upper holes and the thumb used for overblowing. An even, calm breath and clean articulation with the tongue are the most important foundations. From here, much can be carried over to other wind instruments.
Role & repertoire
The recorder shines in early music and in ensembles, where several sizes together produce a full, well-balanced sound. It is excellent as a first instrument and for group teaching, but it also has its place in contemporary music.
The recorder family
Recorders are made in many sizes – from the small sopranino through soprano, alto and tenor to the large bass recorder. Together they form a harmonically complete ensemble. One further point is the fingering system: alongside baroque (English) fingering there is German fingering; for continued study, baroque fingering is the more widely used choice.
Care & practicalities
After playing, the recorder is swabbed out and dried so that no moisture builds up. A new wooden instrument should at first be played only briefly and broken in gradually; the joint corks are greased lightly now and then so that the parts fit together smoothly. Plastic recorders need very little care and are therefore popular as a first instrument.
For beginners: what makes the recorder special?
The recorder is light, inexpensive and needs hardly any strength – so the first note comes almost at once, which is especially motivating for younger children. It trains the breath, finger control and music reading, and so lays a good foundation for many other instruments. In an ensemble of different sizes children experience playing together and the full sound of the recorder family early on. Short, regular practice sessions are quite enough to hear progress week by week.