Which recorder?

[MaggieW]

I need to buy a recorder but am a little bamboozled by the variety on offer. Is an alto recorder the usual one, or should I be looking at something else? TIA.

Descant recorder is the "usual" one.

descant/soprano is the one you're looking for if it's for school use.

Definitely an alios descant recorder

I always loved my wooden descant recorder over the plastic ones, but I guess it is personal choice.

I agree with asdmumandteacher. Aulos descants have a good sound for a beginner. Don't get the ELC wooden one. Sounds dreadful!

When I taught a beginners recorder group, I used to buy enough recorders for the whole group and then the parents bought them back from me. Not only could I get a better price because I was buying in bulk, but they were all tuned the same which made a huge difference when they were all playing together.

Aulos or Dolmetsch - have a look on ebay - you can sometimes pick them up on there quite cheap.