Recorders and moisture

A Simple Request

Please pay attention, because I’m about to start begging.  Half of you reading this are guilty, well at least I’m guessing at half.  So, if you are not, then the people playing next to you are, and you have seen them do this.  When after a few minutes of playing and moisture begins to clog the windway, please do not ever stick your finger in the window over the labium and blow that condensation into the recorder.  Please, for the love of the recorder, don’t do it.  There is no single reason why this technique is detrimental to your recorder… there are many.  

Here is one basic fact: recorders abhor excess moisture.  Whenever excess moisture is blown through the windway into the bore it cascades down and is quickly absorbed into the interior end grain surface of the block. That moisture contains saliva, food particles, and other debris.  By not intentionally blowing that excess into our instruments, as well as making it a habit to avoid playing directly after eating, most of the problems this causes can be avoided.  Inspection with a light held up to the head joint will help identify any buildup on any surface of the block.  All surfaces should always appear clean, and any debris will negatively affect the instrument’s tone.  

Mold on the moisture absorbing surfaces of the recorder is the most common and often most serious problem.  Black mold tends to grow on instruments that are well played and not allowed to dry properly before storing them.  Black mold in the windway is a potential health hazard and often extremely difficult to remove permanently.  Black mold can cause permanent damage to the block and windway if left untreated. At the very least black mold will permanently discolor any affected surfaces.  Green mold, which is less of a problem to remove, can still be an issue when left untreated for any extended period. Mold can damage your recorder regardless of the material from which it was made.  Plastic recorders, although durable and machine washable, are usually neglected for these reasons and often go many months without cleaning.

 

The block’s end grain surface absorbs moisture faster than the plain sawn surface and leads to swelling.  Swelling, after extended practice sessions, will usually cause poor intonation, especially in the upper register.  Although cracking is not a common problem associated with regular playing it is something to consider on a recorder not yet broken in or acclimated to its environment. Ever notice that your well played wooden recorder has the block sticking slightly out from the head joint.  That is often a result of swelling on the interior side of the block which causes the tapered block to pop from the joint.  The simple fix is to push it back in place after it has had time to thoroughly dry.

The simple act of placing your finger over the window to block the outward flow of air can have negative consequences. Any recorder with excess moisture blown onto the cutting edge of the labium is fragile. The cutting edge is often so thin that any moisture softens it so that any pressure from your finger has the potential to bend or even break it.  While this is not the case with plastic, and less severe with woods like ebony, the labium is the voice of the instrument and should be very delicately handled and protected from foreign objects like your fingers.   

Moisture that collects in the middle joint will have a tendency over time to glue any debris on any uneven surface of the bore and especially in the tone holes.  Mold is less of an issue in the middle joint as a result of the greater surface area which allows it to dry quickly after playing.  Regular cleaning with a flute swab will prevent most of these very simple tone affecting problems in the middle joint.   

Here are a few simple techniques you can employ that are printed in most recorder care manuals. Properly warm up the head joint prior to playing, and even during practice, by placing it under your arm or in your pocket; a warm head joint is less likely to clog.  Make a habit of sucking the moisture back through the windway before it ever builds to excess and you’ll probably never even notice it.  If long playing sessions without rest lead to serious condensation place your hand over the tone holes and your mouth over the windway and the moisture can be expelled out the beak with a forceful breath.  Ideally, when time allows, remove the head joint and with your mouth positioned over the window place your hand over the open end of the bore and blow.

So I am pleading with all my recorder loving friends, most of whom are not aware they are doing anything wrong, to pay more attention to these basic concerns.  With regular focus on proper care and cleaning your recorder may never have any permanent problems associated with excess moisture.  

Recorder Player: The Jack of all Trades

Jack of all Trades

 Jack of all trades... we all know the saying, but as recorder players we patently ignore its message. It couldn't possibly apply to us if we take our obsession seriously, or could it? Many of the relatively simple questions I am asked regarding recorder problems can be explained in some way as operator error. Does the problem begin with our recorders, the number of them we are expected to play, or our perspective? I'd like to spend a few moments exploring the latter.

 If you play both the guitar and violin, and someone asks you about the number of instruments you play, the obvious answer is two. The answer is the same if you question a violinist who also plays the viola. How bout you, the recorder player? Disregarding any other instruments we play, recorder players invariably refer to the recorder in the singular, not the plurality they actually play. If you add up the number of recorder sizes you actually play, do they add up to one? Why do we pretend they should be counted unequally? A tenor sax looks an awful lot like an alto sax, but ask a saxophonist if they are they same instrument and he will quickly tell you they are two completely individual beasts.

 A master violinist is expected to play only the violin. She learns over time every aspect of her instrument, every nuance, its flaws as well as its strengths. Years of training on the same instrument teaches her how to coax every possible desire she can dream up, even as far as exploiting the instrument's weaknesses. Yet recorder players, even as beginners, are expected to play multiple instruments. There is little functional difference between the violin and viola as compared to the tenor and alto recorders. They play similarly, yet you read for them differently. And although the two bowed instruments might seemingly be the same no violinist sees it that way. As recorder players, we regard all recorders as simply variations on a theme. From the Lilliputian garklein to the Brobdignagian contra bass we somehow consider them the same instrument.

 While you might not play every size, I'm going to guess you play at least four of them. How are we to surmount the myriad complexities of the entire recorder family if we regard them as one and the same. Even if we accept the desire to specialize on all sizes, how could we if we own and play multiples of every size? How many sopranos or altos to you own? Can we be masters of that many instruments? Is it possible for us to learn all the subtleties of every recorder the same way a violinist might learn on a single violin? I offer a simple fix to this problem of instrument diversity. While most of us won't give up our collections, or alter the practice of playing everything always, perhaps all we need to do is change perspective.

 Let us begin to approach every recorder size as its own personality. Accept that the tenor is a completely different animal than the sopranino or the alto. Find enjoyment in knowing you play not one, but many instruments. Learn to breath and play each recorder as it yearns to be played. Learn to control the instrument in your hands and not an idea of one that isn't. Feel its intricacies, learn its subtleties, and accept its limits. Caress its unique form and voice. Delight in the tonal color only that instrument possesses and with the dedication it deserves. Approach each recorder as the individual it is and relish confidently that although you might be a Jack of all trades, with patience and a new perspective you may cease be a master of none.