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 ...

Although many people might remember the recorder as just a simple instrument from their introductory music classes, it can nevertheless produce rich and varied melodies in the hands of a virtuoso like ...