Intro to Medieval Double Recorders | Team Recorder

[@revylokesh1783]

As a fan of medieval music I think the world needs a lot more double-recorder music!

[@MrWholewheat]

As soon as you started playing two notes simultaneously, in perfect harmony, I was like, "Oh yeah. I get it now. This is an essential instrument."

[@thepossibles2149]

It’s so beautiful how much joy this double recorder brought you.

[@BriggsRonny]

I always wonder how many randos like me watch your videos that don’t have any real reason too. Thanks for being a corner of my fringe interests

[@Team_Recorder]

You’re welcome 😌

[@RexFouch]

I’ve watched a concert posted on KZbin (“Sacred Music of Medieval Spain”) over and over and it’s one of my go-to favorites. At the 55 minute mark there is a section played by ensemble’s woodwind wizard on what appears to be a double recorder, maybe smaller than the one Sarah is demonstrating here. I couldn’t figure out what it was! Very much enjoy the Team Recorder posts. I dabble with recorders and Irish whistles &flutes, Native American flutes… and this site is a great place to hang out and feel humbled.

[@marymoocow1276]

You might be interested in looking up harmony chamber ocarinas. Ocarina history can be difficult to follow because the instrument itself is kind of obscure in the Western music world, but harmony ocarinas (typically tuned in pentatonic scales) were probably invented in the last 200 years, some time after the ocarina was adapted for Western music. Some beautiful examples of this instrument are created by a studio called Kinfolks Ceramics [USA]. Other multi-chamber ocarinas are designed to extend the range of the ocarina, but they can also be used to harmonize in some limited ways [a good example is in the song Ocarina Wind by You XueZhi].

[@We-Wuz-Great-201]

It's a primary school nightmare...

[@marymoocow1276]

@@We-Wuz-Great-201 what is?

[@unmilledrice9605]

@@marymoocow1276 They're prolly talking abt the aforementioned ocarina due the fact (I'm pretty sure mostly in Europe??) they actually have elementary school kids play the ocarina, like how in the states we have them play recorders. Take this with a grain of salt though as I'm not European, and never played the ocarina in grade school. I just like heard it somewhere I think??

[@bukharagunboat8466]

@@unmilledrice9605 I think the history is something like this: British kids have always played the recorder in Primary School. In the 1980s a new type of ocarina (the Langley pendant) was developed in the UK. Two primary/music teachers (David and Christa Liggins) picked that up and founded a company (Ocarina Workshop) promoting and selling ocarinas, including to schools. They have had some significant success, especially once cheap plastic ocarinas were developed.

[@OTOss8]

This thing is sweet. It's like the medieval woodwind equivalent of that sick double guitar Jimmy Page used to play when Zep still toured.

[@SeattleScotty]

Use this for the little flute part at the beginning of Stairway!!

[@OTOss8]

@@SeattleScotty Nowwww we''re thinking! YEah, this is what the internet is for!

[@4rumani]

It's not like that at all, Jimmy Page didn't play both at once

[@OTOss8]

@@4rumani Well with this flute he could have. That's the point. Stop crushing people's dreams. This is a place for positivity and kindness. Now get you a double flute and learn to play the intro to Stairway.

[@TheSillyPiglet]

More like Michael Angelo Batio

[@megalopolis2015]

I don't know how KZbin did it, but it read my mind again. I thought of you yesterday, and this video popped into my feed today. I was not disappointed (as usual). This was awesome. I hope you and your family are doing well.

[@Team_Recorder]

Oh nice, hi! 😊

[@osmacar5331]

People woefully underestimate the power of a drone. They really fill out the sound.

[@jonathanrropa]

I know I'm a month behind here but there's an interesting (albeit much more modern) double instrument in the brass family too! There's a Euphonium that has 2 bells so that you have the sound of both a Euphonium and a Trombone!

[@philipperossignol6187]

Beautiful sounding instrument! I don't know of other double instruments, but I've always been impressed by the amazing Rahsaan Roland Kirk's multi-horn jazz, often playing three saxophones at the same time.

[@SO-ym3zs]

He played other woodwinds, too, including ones he invented. That, coupled with his circular breathing, made for some wild music!

[@giorgiolamborghini813]

How beautiful! I have some recorders built by the engineer Francesco Li Virghi, he is truly an excellent builder and restorer of recorders.

[@Team_Recorder]

He is ❤️

[@USEER-bxleo]

How much does it cost?

[@InstrumentManiac]

This is so cool! But geez that would be complicated to figure out 😵‍💫 you play it very well!

[@atomiccocoanut2596]

quite drunk, late on a saturday night (sunday morning) and had this recommended to me. watching and commenting to appease the almighty algorithm. Love seeing people share their love and passion for things.

[@Team_Recorder]

🥰

[@yeboscrebo4451]

Wow. I’ve never seen this thing before

[@Hydrargyre81]

As a proud 80's kid I can't help but mention the double ocarina played by Jen in the Dark Crystal movie

[@ARTANDMECHANICS]

Great, I saw your channel, I like creative works.

[@animatorgeek]

There's a long history of double bagpipes. One example is the Cornish bagpipe, which several instrument makers have made versions of. It works similarly to this recorder -- two chanters, both with the end note tuned to the same pitch, but with different holes so you can play a whole octave while maintaining a constant drone.

[@emanueleresini8853]

You should look up the Sardinian instrument called Launeddas. It's a reed instrument but I think you could be interested anyways. It's a triple pipe one.

[@lornakook4917]

How do you resist SQUEEZING the two pipes and shattering the thing?? I’m not sure it would be safe in my hands. 🤣🤣🤣

[@luckybarrel7829]

intrusive thoughts fight hard but don't let them win

[@Ike_AW]

You mean like a wish bone but pushing instead of pulling?

[@faramund9865]

Same.

[@silviaberchtold1613]

hey Sarah, thanks for sharing my video!!

[@Team_Recorder]

It’s SOOOO beautiful Silvia! Chapeau!

[@silviaberchtold1613]

@@Team_Recorder there are, by the way, some new compositions coming up for double recorder. For example this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqfRhauajsh9fdU

[@gabriellegeorge2648]

I like that you included pictures and names of similar instruments from around the world throughout history.

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

This is amazing! I just found you through answer in progress and now I want to re-learn recorder specifically so I can play the double recorder and do harmonies!

[@Team_Recorder]

Ah brilliant!

[@cibusvinum16]

I've been waiting (impatiently lol) for this video and you have delivered incredibly as always! Thank you for the amazing content and looking forward to more double recorders and other esoteric instruments in the future! 🎉❤

[@jguitar23]

Bravo for the plaaying & also for the medieval sympathetic blouse!

[@stellajacobson231]

Ad someone who's just absolutely love any kinde of medieval/renaissance/early music this is one of many occasions I regret not sticking to my burst of will of beginning to play the recorder in 5th grade. (Instead I stuck woth the viola and I'm now at music uni so can't complain.) But there's just something with the recorder for me. The beauty of a simple (not in a bad way) looking instrument that you can perform the most beautiful music on makes me envy recorder players so much. Thank you Sarah for bringing the double recorder to my attention. Now I'll have a new rabbit hole to dig myself into 😁

[@SilverHolland]

This video answers a lot of questions I never had.

[@CarlosAugustoScalassaraPrando]

Sarah, you need to look for Launeddas, I think is double flute with a drone (so, 3 sounds). Listen to Luigi Lai. AMAZING!

[@dorkomatic]

This was delightful. I don't know how I stumbled across it, but I'm glad I did.

[@Team_Recorder]

Hurrah 😄

[@WouterKoenders]

There are also several double piped bagpipes. Some I know from the top of my head: zaponja from Italy and a Cornish double bagpipe that are both traditional. Callum Armstrong plays a double and even a tripple chanter smallpipes which is more modern I think but sounds amazing. What is interesting about that instrument is that they are next to each other in the same wood , which allows to play both chanters with both hands at the same time, creating harmonies by covering holes from one or both chanters with one finger.

[@Team_Recorder]

Ah so cool!

[@adriagil5041]

the underneath holes are common in a catalan whistle called Flabiol, typically used in the catalan cobla to play sardnas or also used to follow "giants" and beasts in traditional parades

[@DeadKoby]

Very neat. Nice that lesser known instruments have an advocate.

[@Pocketfarmer1]

There is a tradition in Sardinia of a multi pipe called launeddas. Drones and chanters stuffed in your mouth. Add a little circular breathing and you are just about at the bagpipe.

[@apearson79]

I need one.

[@TheHarrip]

Well I never. This was fascinating. Wonderful stuff. Thanks.

[@ChunkyKong-47]

The second she played both together it brought back the soundtrack for age of empires 2 lol. Spent a lot of time playing that game and always wondered how they got that specific medieval sound with that type of dissonance

[@andersgranmo7650]

Sarah! You are amazing! A very good singing voice too! I love recordes of all types! Love from Sweden, way up by the polar bears!!! Hihihi.

[@EmsIsFab]

I LOVE that double recorder - I would love to play it sometime - creating harmonies by yourself :)

[@thtithilrunagate4577]

One of my favorite performance moments was playing two recorders at once (alto and sopranino) at a Mumia Abu-Jamal benefit concert at Portland State University. Not a double recorder, but the previous sentence is pleasing in it's improbability. Between myself and the other wind player we had 14 instruments and mid-set I convinced him to let me play his bass clarinet because I never got to play one before and knew he was too nervous being on stage to turn me down, so I just played his parts by ear and then soloed by playing just multiphonics by inferring what would be likely mouth positions and fingerings from a vague memory of the book 'New Sounds for Woodwind" by Bruno Bartolozzi I once saw in a library a week after I first figured out how to make them (without ever having heard of the term) on my sax and recorder the week before. I hope you enjoyed my wind-playing adventure story.

[@gillchatfield3231]

Sarah, you're just astonishing 😮❤

[@jhonwask]

This is quite interesting. I love the way you present it.

[@deanedge5988]

What an absolute delight. Thank you.

[@JothanGurr]

Your playing is so dope!

[@liamredmill9134]

I like the improvising part,thankyou

[@georginatoland]

Oooh! This was a fun video! Will you treat us to a full performance of music on this instrument? I’m all about the early music, but there are most definitely some jazz possibilities with those bendy notes…! ❤

[@AlexandreOliveira1974]

What an interesting instrument! We see it here and there in ancient illuminations or sculptures, but had no idea of its characteristics. And ah, Cantigas de Santa Maria... no matter where, no matter how, no matter when: just marvelous. Greetings from Brazil, Sarah!

[@matthewmatics6928]

I find it interesting you call the drone a bourdon. In organs (who's flue pipes are rather similar to recorders) bourdon refers to a wide pipe that is stopped on the end. Being stopped on the end makes it sound an octave lower than if the pipe were open, hence why they are usually low pitch and if you were to have a pedal point (the organ term for drone) you would frequently use them for that as a foundation along with other pipes. I wonder if there is a connection, many organ pipes are named after existing and now historic instruments.

[@werdelit99]

Thank you for this! Im starting play medieval double recorder and it is amazing to discover full potential of it! Thank you once more for all tips!

[@ozwzrd]

Brilliant presentation. Thank you.

[@Dlt814]

New favorite instrument!

[@nigelhaywood9753]

Great video! Thanks for that! I think the avant-garde will go crazy when they get a hold of your double-trouble, super fipple.

[@WWS322]

I am a guitar player but you always make me want to learn recorder!

[@Team_Recorder]

Dooooo ittyt

[@zarrir]

This girl is so lovely!!

[@Guuzaka]

0:39 If I were to buy something like this, I would tell my maker to make it tuned in 5ths. 🤓 3:00 That is what a clarinet/saxophone player would say. 🎷 4:23 LOL at 2013 Sarah. 😆 5:15 Arghul. 🏜 A wonderful, Ancient Egyptian instrument seen in the pyramids, and is still used today. ☀ 10:44 Just having fun I would say. 🎵

[@therealzilch]

Thanks, another typically informative video. I had no idea there was a double recorder scene nowadays. I started playing two recorders at once more than fifty years ago- it should be pointed out that some of your illustrations also show not double recorders, but two normal recorders played at the same time. A double recorder offers obvious advantages, especially as concerns holding the instrument, which is always a problem with two separate recorders. As you point out, lots of medieval music lends itself well to sharing the melody over two instruments and maintaining a drone, for instance with an alto and a tenor recorder/gemshorn. But some of the two part Ductias work as well. It's useful to have a German fingering recorder so that you have a useable pinky note, if you know what I mean. cheers from sunny Vienna, Scott

[@everestvirtue309]

Dear Sarah Thank you for making this excellent video And that is such a beautiful instrument Thank you for your sublime playing and talking Take care my friend What a beautiful instrument

[@ross6753]

There's the sheng, a Chinese double reed flute, it doesn't go down like the recorder but up, a mouthpiece at the bottom and two sets of several pipes going up. Looks pretty awesome, and is veeeeery old, like from 1100 BC...

[@Team_Recorder]

I LOVE the sheng!!!!!

[@ross6753]

@@Team_Recorder You know it? Can you play on one? I saw it on so many ancient Chinese paintings, you know, a beautiful Chinese garden with some graceful trees and a fake rock, and a company of gorgeous ladies playing those fascinating instruments... an erhu, a bamboo flute, and a sheng. The erhu is still played today, you can find enough videos and films where you can hear it play. Bamboo and other flutes as well. But I never heard anyone play that strange thing, that you always see on those paintings. Do you know how it sounds?

[@VholyIQ]

You may want to check the Alboka, an instrument played in Basque culture with circular breathing that has two pipes and uses a horn as an amplifier

[@johnbruce2868]

Blimey! The YT algorithm sent me here randomly (it seems). I had no idea such musical shenanigans were still going on in this world but your enthusiasm was both delightful and most engaging. I don't suppose you know anything more about Early Medieval Pictish linguistics than I do about music and double recorders. Whatever. Love the Medieval vibe and allusions to the Greek Aulos (I'm just so into Attic Red Figure Vases). I've subscribed.

[@Team_Recorder]

Lovely, welcome!

[@Silkari]

Beautiful. I couldnt'find the fingering chart you referred to, would love to take a look at the system he's created.

[@ChrisDragotta]

Tape two slide whistles together! I did it, works well.

[@bukharagunboat8466]

There have been double ocarinas around for years. The British ones are tuned in unison, others are in 5ths or octaves. One of my recorder party tricks is to play the carol Gaudete on descant and garklein. I play the chorus on descant, then both together in octaves, then put the descant down to play the verse. Picking up the descant again to restart the cycle is the hard part.

[@bukharagunboat8466]

Discussion should probably include the Tabor Pipe. These are whistles with 3 holes at the distal end designed to be played one-handed while playing a drum with the other hand. They are best known in English and Breton folk music. The English examples tend to be D-whistles. Because of the mechanics that gives a playing range of D' to D", which is very shrill. An example here kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJKqeIWHlsyifMk , a Morris tune called The Vandals of Hammerwich, which shows some contortions of the written tune (transposed from G into D, and opening with DF#F#F# instead of DGBG) to make it work).

[@terrenceseidel3054]

So Groovy!!!

[@carolynhall1302]

Fascinating!

[@luckybarrel7829]

Aww you finally featured the Aulos!

[@Onmymusicstand]

I need one of these!

[@etiennemalan8717]

I want !😊

[@allanjmcpherson]

The challenges of the double recorder seem like a mix between the challenges of recorder and of keyboard instruments. One of my piano students just started playing hands together, and it takes all his concentration to coordinate changing notes with one hand and not the other and then change notes with both hands, etc.

[@coone19]

I just bought my first recorder. Can you recommend web site where I can find pieces? Thanks, you are the best

[@stefaniedecoster2772]

Thanks for another fun and interesting video Sarah! And thanks to you I now know that the flute I thrifted in my local charity shop today is a Dvojnice. Hopefully I can find a fingering chart for it

[@Team_Recorder]

oh cool!!

[@suzanastojinovic9484]

there are some youtube videos that show you how to play it :D just google dvojnice, it should come up

[@HughCStevenson1]

Fantastic!

[@bacca71]

Sarah: "The tuning is a FUN challenge!" With enough trouble patting my head and rubbing my stomach, throwing in rolling my eyes in a circle to the beat is a stretch too far. Quite fascinating though! Early recorders (esp. 1300s) had to be very talented and creative (a given)!

[@ZoeR.]

How can you clean and maintain it? Are the blocks separate or conjoined? I hope recorder companies can produce these in plastic as practice instruments !

[@georginatoland]

Yes! Take my money!

[@ZoeR.]

The Dolce Duo does makes a really warm and breathy sound. You can also play two tabor pipes together :)

[@lizlanman47]

Wow! Would it be helpful to use something like harmonica players do that is a metal frame to hold the instrument in place?

[@maxbrumbergflutes]

Hi Sarah, great Video, perfect explanations!Thank you for the link to my Aulos Video. Have you seen the videos of Callum Armstrong playing the Aulos?

[@kinezmaterz2083]

Great instruction video i learned ao much thank you

[@rmmccarthy1240]

Delightful.👍

[@emelpuck5437]

One day, I'll have one just like this one !!

[@jhhl]

Well this is fun! Maybe a thumb rest or two can help those no-finger fingerings keep the recorder from falling down. My friends who play panpipes and guitar at the same time use harmonica holders, perhaps that can help here too!

[@jdhbeph]

I always wondered why you played other recorders a little bit out of the side of your mouth. Now I know why: tuning!

[@Team_Recorder]

hahaa! It’a mainly because I film videos sitting at a desk, so my arms have to go somewhere 😅

[@GracePagaduan-fw4cz]

Very very nice...i love it ma'am

[@brianedwards7142]

I am curious about double flutes and in a previous google search found a few videos here on KZbin of an instrument called an algoza or algoja from Rajasthan.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Very interesting! I've seen these in Ancient and Medieval paintings (and also a Matisse), but I've never seen someone play a real one.

[@Michajeru]

Astonishing!

[@Bunnyinthebasement]

It reminds me of Mr. Tumnus from Chronicles of Narnia. In both the BBC and Disney versions, he plays a double-piped instrument (although in the Disney, the pipe was just a prop that didn’t work, so they had to dub in the song).

[@stevenreckling203]

True though, at least in the disney version, only the flute in his right hand had holes. The left one just produced a constant note.

[@csblendo]

In other parts of southern Italy like Campania and Calabria you can find player of "doppio flauto" with different dialect names like 'Sischi" around Vesuvius.

[@boulylemoutonraye]

Great video !! Très intéressant !

[@Tvianne]

This is absolutely fascinating… am I the only one that ears a bit of pipes there?

[@CavyWheek]

That is an awesome instrument. I love it! Is there a release date yet for the Yamaha plastic version? 😏

[@Team_Recorder]

Oh if only!!

[@Zothaqqua]

5:35 This isn't very relevant but I noticed a strong resemblance between that picture of Guillaume de Machaut and Tōshūsai Sharaku's famous "Ōtani Oniji III in the Role of the Servant Edobei" (you can easily see it on Wikipedia).

[@PlanetImo]

Very interesting, thank you! :)

[@Hanna1968]

Incredible.

[@VitorEmanuelOliver]

I love how you pronounce Medieval as Mad-evil

[@cathy7382]

I've been a part of some recordef societies never saw this before

[@chrismills2012]

I was surprised to hear that these are actually quite common. I didn't think there were many of them. Had a look on the Internet the other day, it appears there's only one company making them. They're in the US

[@chrismills2012]

is this the instrument they called the Pentacorder? I fancy buying a few of these and learning it. Folk and mediaeval are really interesting areas of music for myself, I gather they do them in different sizes, does the early music shop in the UK sell these?

[@francescomanentihq]

This is so interesting!!! I was wondering if it would be possible to have different articulations for each pipe using tongue for just one side, having no (or almost no) effect on the other using a proper approach to the embouchure. Some extended techniques for brass (like split-tones, for example) let the player articulate the two sounds with some sort of different articulation, even if this is incredibly difficult. I hope my question could be of interest also to other users. Thank you so much for this content!

[@ezechielviolin6426]

Awesome 👏🏾

[@malahamavet]

in Romania we have the twin or "twined" whistle "Fluier îngemânat" sadly, as in other countries it fell out of fashion. I have the chance of buying one, but for now I can get by whith my other whistles and recorders, which I can also use for drones if I need to

[@AmazingMrMe123]

The way it's in fourths makes me think of string instruments generally being tuned in fourths or fifths. It's like having multiple strings for your wind instrument.