The recorder, known from at least the 14th century, is a duct flute, meaning air is directed through an internal channel at the mouthpiece. Instruments of this type exist in many cultures.
By the mid-16th century, recorder families included soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sizes. These instruments actually sound one octave higher than the human voice of the same name. Great bass and contrabass sizes were developed later in the century, making it possible for recorders to play at vocal pitch.
Renaissance recorders differ from later Baroque models in having a wide cylindrical bore that emphasizes the fundamental tone, making for a rich, organ-like sound, but which limits the range to about an octave and a sixth.
