It is usual for a beginner recorder player to start on a descant recorder, and often the next step is to switch to the tenor recorder, as this uses the same fingering as the descant, which makes it very easy to pick up and play. 

  The main difference is the size, as it is several times larger than a descant, so a player will have to learn to stretch to reach all of the holes.   Quite often there is an extra C/C# key added on so the bottom holes are much easier to reach.