1. Recorder Method Books
Recorder Method Books
Soprano Reorder in the Music Classroom: A Comparative Analysis of Recorder Method Books for the Beginning Recorder Student
Danielle C. Economy
Soprano Reorder in the Music Classroom: A Comparative Analysis of Recorder Method Books for the Beginning Recorder Student
Danielle C. Economy

2. Introduction
INTRODUCTION

3. The Soprano Recorder The soprano recorder is great to use because…
generally inexpensive
easily transportable
“easy” to play (sort of…)
traditional
Elementary general music memories – people often think of the RECORDER! First thing that people say when recalling their memories of class. Then they ask me how I do my job every day.
The soprano recorder is great to use because…
generally inexpensive - $4-6 dollars
easily transportable – easy to take home, hard to remember to bring to school every day
“easy” to play (sort of…) – lots of squeaks and squawks….hard to cover holes…. But…
Traditional! This has been a long standing tradition in american general music for a while. Recorder is popular in music history, but disappeared for quite some time and is now back.

4. Why RECORDER?
Students may use Orff, Boomwhackers, and other UPP in the classroom – why recorder?
Absolute note names
Play an instrument (students don’t consider Orff instrumentarium to be instruments)
Practice reading standard notation
Introduction of unknown rhythms
Preparation for band…?
Students may use Orff, Boomwhackers, and other UPP in the classroom – why recorder?
Practice using absolute note names – a reason to. Especially in kodaly classrooms, you might not get to note names in class if you do not teach recorder!
Play an instrument (students don’t consider Orff instrumentarium to be instruments).
Practice reading standard notation (hard to do on Orff instruments)
Introduction of unknown rhythms (esp. longer note values…)
Preparation for instrument study (i.e. band)? General music teachers do not always think this, but sometimes Band teachers teach it as an introduction to band

5. How recorder is taught in a general music setting
3-5th grades
rote, improvisation?
method book?
Combination?
Typically started and used in the 3-5th grades
Sometimes taught through rote with improvisation first, then branches into note reading, especially if younger grades starting…
Some teachers start with a method book right away
How else can teachers start the recorder?

6. Recorder Method Books Variety of recorder method books available
Some are modeled after the beginning recorder books or a methodology
Options?
Personal experience
Variety of recorder method books available
Some are modeled after the band/orchestra method books, some are modeled after a Kodaly or Orff approach, or a fusion?
Are teachers truly using a book that meets their students’ needs, or is there a better OPTIONS?
Personal experience - I have found that books move too quickly, or there is a need for supplemental materials, or concepts are not introduced in a way that align with my pedagogy ideas. IS THERE A BETTER BOOK OUT THERE? I have looked, but it requires buying a book, not enough time to really analyze each aspect of the book until you use it. Looking to provide a resource for teachers to help them in this process.

7. Purpose of study Need of study
The purpose of this study is to provide a content analysis of beginning recorder books. Need for study: resource for teachers
The purpose of this study is to provide a content analysis of beginning recorder books.
The variety of material available may be overwhelming for teachers. Teachers will benefit from having a compiled list of features of each book to determine what book best fits their students’ needs as well as their chosen teaching sequence. Therefore, a detailed analysis will be provided to aid teachers in making a decision. There were not a lot of resources available for recorder method book research.

8. Questions explored…
Do beginning recorder books introduce rhythms and notes in the same sequence?
Do all beginning recorder books use the same range and variety of literature?
What types of notation do beginning recorder books use?
Questions explored…
Do beginning recorder books introduce rhythms and notes in the same sequence?
Do all beginning recorder books use the same range and variety of literature?
What types of notation do beginning recorder books use?

9. Limitations
Though there are many beginning recorder books, this analysis focuses on just these recorder books. Any conclusions drawn from this study (e.g. rhythm sequences used) only refers to the books analyzed for this study.
LIMITATIONS
Though there are many beginning recorder books, this analysis focuses on just these recorder books. Any conclusions drawn from this study (e.g. rhythm sequences used) only refers to the books analyzed for this study.

10. Related Literature

11. Related Literature Hash (2011) Byo (1980) Hawkins (2007)
Sheldon, Reese, and Grashel (1999)
Here are 4 examples of related literature …
Hash (2011) writes a historical study of the method book titled Universal Teacher for band and orchestra which we heard about yesterday. It was very influencia in our history. acknowledges the general music training that most students have before entering the instrumental music programs, which is lacking in current method books. Important! It would be counterproductive to choose a method book that would require students to “start over” or employ a different counting system while using the method book.
Byo (1980) writes, “Having may texts to choose from is beneficial only when one has a functional knowledge of each which from a practical standpoint may seem impossible” (p. 19). To assist teachers in choosing the correct method book for their band, Byo analyzed nine beginning band method books published from 1974 to 1988 to determine the tonal content, rhythmic content, physical features, and selected instrument considerations in each.
Hawkins (2007) studied the researched gender traits or sexual bias that can be presented to students through choral curricular type books. She found that there were significantly more songs about men than women along with gender stereotypes.
Sheldon, Reese, and Grashel (1999) showed that three different types of accompaniment (live, intelligent digital, and none) make a difference in performance quality. Method books can come with types of accompaniments available for students – important to note how it will impact students.

12. Methodology

13. Methodology
This study is a content analysis of the following recorder books:
1) Essential Elements Book 1: Recorder
2) Do it! Play Recorder Volume 1 by James Froseth
3) Complete Recorder Book by Denise Gagne
4) My Recorder Book by Sandy Feldstein
5) Recorder Excellence (Standard of Excellence)
6) Recorder Express by Artie Almeida
METHODOLOGY
This study is a content analysis of the following recorder books:
1) Essential Elements Book 1: Recorder
2) Do it! Play Recorder Vol 1 by James Froseth
3) Complete Recorder Book by Denise Gagne
4) My Recorder Book – Sandy Feldstein
5) Recorder Excellence (Standard of Excellence)
6) Recorder Express – Artie Almeida

14. Data Collection and Analysis
Analysis of rhythm sequences and note sequences
Aesthetic qualities/other content areas
Rate in which new concepts are introduced
Range and variety of material
Supplemental resources
The following data will be collected from each STUDENT book. I have grouped analysis into 5 different categories…
Analysis of rhythm sequences and note sequences
Aesthetic qualities/other content areas
Rate in which new concepts are introduced
Range and variety of material
Supplemental resources

15. 1) Analysis of rhythm sequences and note sequences
Example Book 1
Notes (measure number)
Rhythm sequence (measure number)
B (m. 1)
quarter note (m. 1)
eighth notes (m. 1)
quarter rest (m. 5)
A (m. 6)
half note (m. 6)
half rest (m. 14)
G (m. 15)
whole note (m. 17)
whole rest (m. 19)
E, (m. 27)
Split eigths (m. 26)
D, (m. 39)
Tie (m. 40)
C’ (m. 55)
D’ (m. 55)
none
The following chart will be filled out for each book.
Left hand side deals with the notes introduced, Right hand side tracks the rhythms introduced
The measure numbers in which the new concepts are introduced are documented.
Measure numbers are the most accurate way of measuring due to the size of different fonts, layouts, etc

16. 2) Aesthetic qualities/ Other content areas
(sample)
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
# of pages 30
# of measures
353
Clarity of pages
GOOD
Fingering chart NO
Explanation of new material: notes
YES
Explanation of new material: rhythms
Explanation of new material: other concepts
Counting System
NUMBER SYSTEM
Glossary of Terms
Instrument care
Reproducible
Teacher Manual
Aesthetic qualities and other content areas will be tracked on one chart for all 6 books to compare.
-NUMBER OF PAGES AND NUMBER OF MEASURES will be a number. The number of measures will only be melodic exercises, not rhythm, supplemental exercises like composition or note naming
-CLARITY OF PAGES: scale of good-okay-poor
-EXPLANATION OF NEW MATERIAL: Does the book have an explanation for all new RHYTHMS, NOTES, CONCEPTS that are introduced in each exercise? They will be rated YES, SOME, or NO.
-COUNTING SYSTEM- if any is in the book, it will be listed here
-GLOSSARY OF TERMS- YES or NO
-INSTRUMENT CARE – YES or NO
-REPRODUCIBLE – YES or NO
-TEACHER MANUAL AVAILABLE- YES or NO

17. 3) Rate in which new concepts are introduced
Narrative description for each book
There will be a narrative discussion of the rate that new notes and new rhythms are introduced BASED OFF THE DATA COLLECTED IN PART 1. How well is each concept reinforced? This is especially important if there is only one resource that the teacher uses for recorder, especially in a recorder unit.

18. 4) Range and Variety of Material
Folk Songs (American)
Folk Songs (multi-cultural)
Holiday
Original composition
Other (popular)
Looking at the range and variety of material in each book will consist of categorizing the melodic exercises only.
The exercises will be placed in the following categories: folk songs (American), Folk songs (multi-cultural), Holiday, Original composition, Other (popular)
The percentages of exercises belonging to each category will be calculated

19. 5) Supplemental Resources
SAMPLE
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Orff Arrangements
SOME
CD accompaniment
YES
Piano accompaniment
Powerpoints NO
Interactive White Board Features
Video/DVD features
Online resources
Supplemental resources that will be examined are: Orff arrangements, CD accompaniment, piano accompaniment, Powerpoints, Interactive Whiteboard features, Video/DVD features, and Online resources. These will be rated with a YES, SOME, or NO in each category.

20. Questions?