Recorder: Aulos 211A - Ergonomic Keyless Tenor for Smaller Hands

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If you have small hands, there doesn't seem to be much choice in tenor recorders, which is true, but while many suggest adding keys or getting keyed tenors, the potentially best solution is often overlooked: getting an ergonomic keyless one, like the budget Aulos 211A or the significantly pricier Huber Model III.
#Recorder #Tenor #Aulos211A

[@evelynabston7137]

I have a Yamaha tenor. I started doing finger exercises and it helped me to easily play all the notes.

[@hakonsoreide]

That's great to hear. Exercises would make almost any tenor accessible to almost any player, but it varies how much exercise would be needed from one person to the next, and also how much time and effort people are willing or able to put into it just to be able to finger a recorder comfortably - especially when there are ergonomic options available too. I was considering exercises too at some point when I was in a phase of playing the recorder a lot, but since I only play purely for fun and a little on and off, it's not something I'd easily be able to commit to.

[@johnnycondor]

Thank you, Hakon, for for your excellent and informative video! I am already aware of the Aulos 211-A, which I have been using for some time now. I have found it to be the easiest tenor recorder to play. I like that very much, as I can play it as quickly as one would your average voice flute, for example, and perhaps even easier than many of those (which are, by the way, tuned higher -- to D instead). So I can have access to the middle C (of a piano) whilst playing this tenor recorder quite easily. Also, it's made from a durable ABS plastic instead of wood. This means that I can practice with it for as long as I wish every day without the worry that it will be damaged by moisture. I'm intrigued about this Swiss made Huber Model III. I would like to try one, and possibly purchase it for use in public performances, in future, with other musicians. Thanks again, and good luck to you in all you do!

[@hakonsoreide]

You're welcome, John, and thanks for watching. Indeed the fingering on the 211 is probably easier than on some smaller flutes, and plastic flutes are really great if you practice a lot or, like me, play a lot but very sporadically, making it harder to play wooden instruments as regularly as they should be. I am not sure if Huber themselves call their flutes Model III. I was looking for it, and only found some references to it in shops selling them. On their website, they do have a recorder listed as a compact tenor (kompakt-tenor) in their Konzert series, that I presume is their most ergonomic, only available in maple, but then they also have keyless tenors in their Master series. They describe the compact tenor as suitable for children aged 9-11, and the Master series as ergonomic, so think they're all great choices for small hands. www.huber-music.ch/cms/index.php?id=385

[@neilstafford7245]

Hi Hakon, I have a similar problem and started playing the Tenor using the Aulos 211. When I wanted to purchase a better instrument I found that the Kung Studio Tenor (model 1502 - maple)was very similar in hole positions. The stretch to the bottom double hole is noticeably less on the Kung than the Aulos. Currently the Kung 1502 Tenor is available at Thomann UK for around £340 considerably less than the Huber you mention.

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks for the comment. Yes, I'd not heard so much about the Küng ones when I made the video and was just basing some comments on old information from when I was shopping for recorders in the early 00's, but it seems Küng is king of the hill when it comes to quality ergonomic instruments, even offering standard models with additional keywork for both hands for the more manually diminutive or inflexible. In addition, the quality of their instruments is generally held in very high regard, and they would always be a safe choice.

[@hakonsoreide]

In the video I mention Huber Model III. I should of course have checked if the information was still current as it has been a while since I looked this up, but it seems Huber has changed their lineup. They now have something they call a compact tenor in pearwood that is "suitable for children aged 9-11" which will be the most ergonomic one, but it still looks like most of their professional models also have a very easy finger span for the lower hand.

[@JB-ti7bl]

Thanks for the review. I recently bought a YAMAHA tenor recorder w/key, and boy is it uncomfortable! I don't have small hands either, but that's not the issue. The finger holes, especially on the right hand, are spread so far apart it forces my wrist into an awkward position. After 5 minutes of playing, I have to stop and relax for a bit. Your Aulos looks much more comfortable. Finally, the key seemed like a cool thing to have, but it's not. It takes more pinky stretch and dexterity than just covering a hole.

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks for the comment. It's actually when I was considering the Yamaha tenor and found reviews about how it was a hard finger stretch that I first time started looking for information about this. I'd always thought a keyed tenor, almost by default, should be more comfortable - and certainly you can design a keyed instrument to have shorter finger stretches - but it turned out not to be the case.

[@matthanson920]

Thank you for making this video!

[@goedelite]

A feature of the tenor recorder to be additionally considered is its length, about 25 inches long. Playing a large woodwind, a recorder or other, means standing. Practicing means standing for long periods of time. Before buying a tenor recorder, one should be aware of this commitment. I play a soprano and an alto. I can play in a sitting posture with no problem. To play a tenor in a sitting position, one might require a bent-neck recorder. They are much more expensive, even in plastic. Usually, they are keyed. For my purposes, access to the music, I'll limit myself to sitting and playing my fine Aulos and Yamaha, soprano and alto recorders.

[@hakonsoreide]

Indeed that is a consideration when determining whether tenor is worth pursuing at all. I prefer playing sitting too, and I keep a tenor around only for the few occasions when I might need one. Same with my sopranino and garklein. Most of the time, I play alto, and to a somewhat lesser extent soprano, both sizes very comfortable to play sitting down.

[@corneliaippers603]

Why should I not be able to play a tenor recorder sitting? I do when I am tired of standing, dito with a bass recorder.

[@florrytsukino2014]

Omg I also have smaller little finger which I realised only after watching you video. This explains why the last hole on the recorder is always the hardest for me to cover. And why I need to turn the lowest part of recorder more to the right to play comfortably. I only play soprano and alto. Looking for some tenor I can manage to play. Thank you for your video, it was very helpful!

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks for your comment. I'm glad to hear you found it helpful. I'm sure the relatively short little finger also means you end up using it less in other manual tasks too, it carries less load, making it weaker, less flexible, and therefore further adding to the limitations of its reach; as well as making it harder to work the keys of a keyed tenor, of course. I had known about the Huber ergonomic tenors for almost 20 years, but since I am more keen on alto and soprano than tenor, I never felt I could merit the price, I had calculated that I would have strained to use the keys comfortably on a Yamaha plastic tenor, and so I had resigned myself to only playing the smaller sizes of recorder until I discovered the Aulos. I'm not too enamoured with the sound quality of it, but I am just so happy to be able to play a tenor comfortably when I want to or need to, I don't mind that so much.

[@brendakauffman2222]

I have the tenor keyed one.

[@steemdup]

Is there a smaller Alto recorder? I have a hard time fingering because my fingers are abnormally short.

[@hakonsoreide]

The fingering space on alto recorders is considered suitable for pretty much anyone but very young children, but of course there are people who are manually challenged in some way who might struggle, whether it's finger length, arthritis or other issues. If your problem is mainly with the finger reach for the little finger on the right hand, any alto that uses keys for the lowest notes _might_ be easier to play, such as the Mollenhauer Modern. There are also keyed versions of Moeck Rondo and Mollenhauer Canta altos. I believe I've seen some Küng recorders with extra keys at some point, but I couldn't find them looking for them now, so I'm not sure if I was thinking of another brand. A google search for "comfort" or "ergonomic" recorders may find you something I missed, though you will also find most hits would be tenors rather than altos. It might also be worth looking out for altos with offset holes rather than ones in a straight line. If you can't find anything suitable, there are recorder workshops that are able to add additional keywork to existing recorders, though it adds quite a bit of cost and weight to an instrument as well. Good luck finding something.

[@vinniejones8009]

Thanks for the video, it was very good. The Aulos tenor is one I was thinking of getting because of the finger stretch reason, but what is putting me off the tenor is I have heard the breath control is very difficult to get right and that it is so easy to overblow. Would you like to comment on that?

[@hakonsoreide]

You're welcome, and thanks for watching. The Aulos is fairly easy to overblow. While I wouldn't say the breath control isn't particularly harder than it generally is to get the correct intonation for any note on many recorders of varying sizes, the two tenors I have played both needed to be blown with a lot of care on the low C, particularly, to avoid overblowing it. That said, I have also experienced this on instruments like the Moeck Rottenburgh alto, for instance, as it is also a shortcoming of the Baroque bore design that is weighted towards expression and dynamics in the middle and high registers. Theoretically, it is harder to design a keyless tenor where this is not going to be the case as the lowest holes need to be smaller and higher up on the instrument, making them more sensitive to changes in breath pressure. Without having played one or heard anything about this, I can imagine that the Küng's keyless tenors are most likely to allow for wider dynamics in the lowest notes, since I believe they are a modern design, but you'd have to do some more research into that if you think it's important. Whatever you get, you would have to adapt your breathing to the instrument, and it is possible to quite quickly get used to always having to play the lowest notes piano or pianissimo with a soft attack. If you have music that needs stronger lower notes, your needs are quickly moving in the direction of the Helder Harmonic recorders.

[@victorhugo1819]

The portuguese translation to the title of this video is wrong, I don't know if it was automatic, but a better translation would be: "Aulos 211A - Flauta Doce Tenor ergonômica sem chaves"

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks for watching. For any video not in Portuguese, that would be an automatic translation, courtesy of Google Translate, presumably, and I don’t think there is anywhere in a video’s settings I can control how it displays in different languages. In fact, I didn’t realise KZbin did that for video titles. Automatic translations of automatically generated subtitles are usually hilariously wrong, and a form of entertainment in themselves. Google translate is good at getting something almost right, though, usually bringing the meaning across.

[@ThomasWyser]

I have a plastic tenor from Autos, not sure about the brand, and a wooden one from Küng for my right pinky. Although I have very long fingers, I have problems. The problem is not reaching the key or the holes with the pinky. The problem is that my hand changes slightly the position when using the key. When that happens, my middle and especially the ring finger does not cover the whole(s) accurate anymore. And that produces a bad sound. I just ordered a tenor with a bent headpiece and several keys and a thumb rest. Hope that helps. Hope that helps.

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks for watching and commenting. I know what you mean. I actually have a low whistle (Irish tin whistle), where all the holes are in line, and the only way for my little finger to reach the bottom hole is to change the angle of my whole hand, making it a lot harder to cover the next two holes consistently, and also it hurts my wrist, so I cannot play it for more than five minutes. When it comes to playing comfort, it's really a combination of finger length, relative finger length, finger sideways flexibility, and also angle of wrist. A bent neck instrument should allow for a better wrist position, making a wider finger reach possible without strain or other problems. If I had been playing recorder every day, I probably would also have been doing daily hand and finger exercises to improve my mobility, but since it's a minor hobby of mine, it's never been a priority. Anyway, I hope your new instrument will be comfortable for you to play, allowing you to create the music you want.

[@mreza84]

I play classical guitar but a year ago I started to play the recorder (Soprano and Tenor) as well, with the Soprano I have no problem but Tenor is another story, as I have skinny hands I have some problem with the Tenors holes as my fingers can not cover the holes very well, just a few millimeters left or right over the holes than... yes, you know that, the sounds are not what you want them to be... That is so annoying to me as I love to play Tenor, I enjoy the sounds of the Tenor recorder, it is so heavenly beautiful. I am not going to give up, I know that much, I am not the type to give up easily every time I hit the walls, anyway I hope that I could find a Tenor recorder that is much more suited to my skinny hands. Thank you for your video, I am looking at the all videos about the Tenor recorder.

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks for watching, and you're welcome. My first tenor, a wooden Moeck I had many years ago, I was really struggling with too. I basically just had to avoid notes using the little finger on my right hand, which was a bit annoying. While I would have loved to have a high quality wooden one, the ergonomical keyless ones are quite expensive, so it's quite a jump from the Aulos to the Hubers and Küngs which seem to have the most comfortable finger spacings without keys. I don't know if you saw this link I posted in another comment, but this is an old chart I found that made me decide to go for the Aulos: www.orpheusmusic.com.au/img/cms/Tenor%20Spacing1.jpg It's not by any means comprehensive, but it lists some of the more commonly available tenor recorders in a comparative way that allows you to more accurately predict which will be comfortable for you if you have experience trying at least one of them, or if you find a stick to measure your finger spacing on, trying out how it feels not just to hold something with that spacing but actually to do fingering as well.

[@mreza84]

@@hakonsoreide Thank you so much, that is a very good chart of different Tenor recorders, I will use it to find my next Tenor recorder.

[@woollyprimate]

I saw a video where a recorder maker said that the placement of the holes doesn't matter. Each hole is actually a different size, and THAT'S the part that matters. Just ordered this one, b/c I can stretch an alto, but years ago I bought a tenor that I had to take back. I'm hoping this will work for me.

[@hakonsoreide]

Placement of holes can matter to some degree, I think, when it comes to response and intonation, especially in the higher registers, but generally speaking, you have a lot of leeway to move a hole up by making it smaller or down by making it bigger to adjust finger stretch. I hope this one works for you. If you can play an alto comfortably, you should most likely be fine with this, though of course the weight also takes a little getting used to.

[@felderup]

my hands, not small, flexibility is a problem for me, i'd been wanting to take something up, that i'm familiar with, everything else i have is electric. i hadn't thought about hole spacing when i started looking into tenor recorders, been a long time since i played one, and it was smaller, the cheap junk elementary schools supplied in the early 80's. when i have accidents on a tenor it should sound less like alley cats fighting.

[@hakonsoreide]

Flexibility is actually a bigger issue than size when it comes to hands, and not everyone can dedicate the time needed to increase their flexibility to the extent that it's even physiologically possible for them to do so. School recorders, in the 80's being pretty much the cheapest available in bulk, neither in tune with themselves or each other at the best of times, and then played by 30 kids, of which at least 20% would ocnstantly be playing the wrong note, blow too hard to produce wolf notes, or not cover the holes properly, is why so many people - even in the music industry who should know better - think recorder isn't an instrument to be taken seriously.

[@felderup]

@@hakonsoreide uhuh. my bro got lucky, actual band instruments, he chose coronet.

[@ErnestoValt]

Thanks. Good video. I'd like to see a video comparing the two sizes of Aulos tenor recorders.

[@hakonsoreide]

Thanks. I am sure there is someone who has both, and hopefully they will make a video about it. My recorder budget is too limited for me to do many comparisons, unfortunately.

[@ErnestoValt]

@@hakonsoreide thank you friend. I have the Yamaha but even though it has the keys, I feel it's not comfortable to me. My right hand gets tension very soon. I think I will try the Robin, like yours, smaller and without any keys. How good is the low register?

[@hakonsoreide]

No problem. By the way, before I found the Aulos, I found this chart which helped me make the decision. I just found it again now. www.orpheusmusic.com.au/img/cms/Tenor%20Spacing1.jpg After looking at the chart, I measured out different finger spacings and tried them to see how they felt, and found that the Yamaha keyed tenor would be uncomfortable for me too. That was the one I was thinking of getting. I'm not sure how the low register on the Aulos is compared to other tenors. As I'd expect, it requires a little bit of care not to blow too hard on the low C. Indeed, on a keyless tenor, with smaller holes higher up, you would expect more care needed than on a keyed tenor with bigger holes.

[@ErnestoValt]

@@hakonsoreide Wow! I really appreciate your good advice and time to share this with me. The chart is great and also the website, which I didn't know, it is fantastic! Thank you very very much, Hakon.

[@estergaleotenadal5870]

Thanks! This video helped me a lot in my search for a cheap tenor that my poor wrist can play

[@hakonsoreide]

You're welcome, and thanks for your comment. Yes, it may not be the best sounding tenor, but it's nice that there is one that is both reasonably priced and easy to play for someone with small hands and short little fingers. I simply don't play often enough that I ever manage to get into a habit of doing finger stretches, and even if I did, it would probably take me years to be able to play most tenor recorders comfortably.

[@estergaleotenadal5870]

@@hakonsoreide thanks again. I bought it and I'm very happy I did. I agree that the sound is not great but it finally allows me to learn to play the tenor. If I learn to play it properly then I will consider buying a better one with similar "ergonomics".

[@stefanogori366]

can you advice some clean methods? where i should put the grease? thanks...

[@hakonsoreide]

I presume you mean for cleaning plastic recorders, since that is what this video is about, in which case you can do a proper clean by just soaking it in a bath of lukewarm water and a little dishsoap or bleach, then rinsing well afterwards. Letting some dish-soap water just dry out on its own in the windway will actually reduce the possibility of clogging for a while. For plastic recorders, you put joint grease (you can basically use petroleum jelly) on the outside part of a joint, that is the thinner part that is inserted into the next piece. You can of course put it on the inside of the joint too. It doesn't really matter as long as you don't put so much it goes into the windway and affects the sound, in which case the excess simply needs to be wiped off. Maintenance of plastic instruments is fairly easy. The main thing, really, is to keep them away from direct sunlight or other strong sources of heat.

[@stefanogori366]

@@hakonsoreide thank you so much for you time :)

[@luckybarrel7829]

How is it's tuning in all the three registers? How does it compare with the keyed Yamaha plastic tenor or the Aulos Symphony tenor in terms of polishedness of sound and tuning?

[@hakonsoreide]

I'm not able to compare it soundwise to those other tenors because this is the only one that would be comfortable for my hands, and therefore the only one of them I have played. When it comes to tuning, I would presume it has many of the same shortcomings one would expect from any cast ABS instrument that hasn't been hand finished. My intonation as a player is not good enough that I can tell you exactly what those shortcomings are, of course, as I play for fun and it doesn't really matter to me. As for sound, I do mention this in the video. It's not a great sounding instrument to my ears. The only reason I have this one is I hardly ever play tenor, but when I do, I don't want to strain my hands.

[@luckybarrel7829]

@@hakonsoreide Ok, thank you!

[@hakonsoreide]

@@luckybarrel7829 No problem. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[@brendakauffman2222]

I'm told regardless of the size of your hands everyone should be able to play the soprano to the bass with stretching exercises etc.

[@hakonsoreide]

That is true, of course, yet only in the same way that you could categorically say anyone can learn to do the splits. For some, it would literally take years of regular stretching.

[@aumelb]

Not without lots of pain, especially with age. It's easier to do when you're young. Not so much when you are 40+ and older. Also, people have naturally different levels of flexibility, e.g women are generally more flexible than men (but of course, men generally have larger hands and longer fingers). The question is, is it worth all the effort and pain, or you can just find an instrument that better suits your needs - easier hole placement, keys etc.