Stories, poetry, rhymes, and chants are a staple in elementary classroom music.  These literary forms can be a fine complement to recorder instruction.  Developing technique on recorder, as with any instrument, requires a certain amount of repetition.  Stories and poetry can be the perfect vehicle for this repetition.  The repetition is embedded in the activity, thereby alleviating the need for boring drill.  Whether it is a single note, a combination of notes or an entire melody, this book contains examples for each type of repetition.  Stories and poetry can also be used as an effective tool for creativity, by providing inspiration and parameters.  In addition, stories can be used to tie together several short melodies for a performance or a review. In this book, you will find examples where recorder is combined with rhymes, chants, sayings, poems, stories that I created, and storybooks.  Included is a link to PowerPoint presentations for each lesson.

Donna Basile taught elementary music on Long Island, NY for 38 years prior to retiring in 2017. Donna has presented recorder workshops at the local, state, and national levels and taught level 1, 2, and 3 recorder for the AOSA Orff Schulwerk teacher training course at Hofstra University for 25 years. Donna is one of the teachers featured in “NYSSMA Music Views,” a DVD by the New York State School Music Association.  She was a member of the Recorder Orchestra of New York for the entire twenty years of its existence and played in a recorder swing band. Donna currently co-chairs the Suffolk Country Music Educators Association Recorder Festival