When I was still teaching, and in charge of Music at Coombe Dean School, Elburton, Plymouth, we had an excellent recorder group and this would encourage me to write something for them, every so often. In this particular piece I have tried to create the spirit of a Big Band, with each of the three recorder lines having the opportunity to take written-out jazz solos, as well as play in full chordal harmony. Children have little problems with the notation, as soon as they feel the... (more)

When I was still teaching, and in charge of Music at Coombe Dean School, Elburton, Plymouth, we had an excellent recorder group and this would encourage me to write something for them, every so often. In this particular piece I have tried to create the spirit of a Big Band, with each of the three recorder lines having the opportunity to take written-out jazz solos, as well as play in full chordal harmony. Children have little problems with the notation, as soon as they feel the rhythm of each phrase, and seemed to enjoy playing the piece. The treble recorder line splits into two parts frequently, the tenor only once, and descant never, so five players plus piano could easily manage it.

To avoid duplication, I removed this from the website, a long while ago, once I had uploaded the version for three flutes, now called Tootie-Flooties!.

However, I very recently heard from Charles Fisher, of Unicorn Music - see Company logo above - who is starting a Recorder Classroom page with Scorch files, in both full and Music Minus One versions for grades 1-3 and 4-6, and who wanted to share the recorder version with class teachers. Charles is currently on the board of ARTA and also the publisher of ARTAfacts, the quarterly newsletter of the American Recorder Teachers Association (similar to ERTA). It then seemed natural to reinstate the original recorder version, for visitors linking back from the Recorder Classroom page.

Do take a look there, if you're at all into Recorders!

All Reviews

There are 3 reviews for this score

Cool piece
How marvellous to see recorders being used for their true purpose - Jazz! This is good because children need fun when learning the recorder. (I remember when I learned, we played tedious arrangements of "Frere Jacque" and "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star"). Also, a very enjoyable piece to listen to. And most importantly, this has inspired me to go and find my old recorder and play it again!

Edward Stroud

Recorders never sounded so cool!
Hats off to Philip R Buttall for Recorders go Big Band! I have taught recorder for years. This is just plain cool, really good writing and playable! Mr. Buttall has contibuted an awesome work to the body of recorder literature. Thank you!

Chet Heflin

Pots of fun
I really like this composition. Mr. Buttall has done an excellent job creating that big-band feel with this type of ensemble. I'm not into recorders at all myself and approached this piece with some (incorrect!) preconceptions abut how this would work, but I was very pleasantly surprised indeed! Not only have I listened to an extremely enjoyable piece of music, but I have also learned something today. Looking forward to more!

Michael Roberts