Recorder

The recorder, also known as the fipple flute, flauto diritto, flute-a-bec, or blockflute, is essentially a type of whistle. It seems the name may derive from the latin description of the instrument "fistula nomine ricordo"; a pipe called a keepsake.

Recorder sizes range from sopranino (typically in F) to great bass and contrabass. A single recorder typically has a range of two to three octaves.

Because it is a relatively easy instrument to learn the recorder has been immensely popular as a teaching instrument, but this may also have been detrimental in that it is often dismissed as a child's toy, notwithstanding that it has historically been a virtuosic instrument.