Feb. 1—Students in Sara Cleary's fourth grade music class learned their next note, an E, on the recorder Tuesday morning. It's an important note if they are to play "It's Raining, It's Pouring" ...

Remember the recorder? It's that small plastic instrument — looks kind of like a flute or clarinet — that's often the first instrument children learn to play in school. Or, at least, they used to. But ...

The recorder is a deceptively simple woodwind instrument, typically consisting of just three pieces, eight tone holes, and a wooden mouthpiece. It's usually seen in the hands of schoolchildren who are ...