Playing the recorder isn't necessarily "child's play". The recorder is a serious "real" musical instrument like all the other members of the woodwind family. The soprano recorder in C is the traditional starting point for children as it is just the right size for little fingers. That doesn't mean it's a "kids only" instrument. many 17C composers have written for the soprano recorder. If you don't want to start with the small C instrument, there's the tenor as the "large" alternative. Because of its size, though, it may be too large for some hands. The alto recorder in F, the 18C favorite of many Baroque composers e.g. Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, also called "flauto dolce"/the sweet recorder, is probably the best place for adults to start with. It's not "too small" nor "too big", offers loads of original literature, and is simply "dolce/sweet". The large F-instrument is the bass recorder. Many alto players play the bass as well but cannot read the bass clef, hence have to rely on others to transpose parts into the treble clef. I offer bass recorder playing and reading in bass clef. Being passionate about Celtic music myself, I offer workshops explaining and practicing the differences between classical and Celtic playing for recorder players who want to venture into trad Irish or Celtic music.