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The Instruments
It should be the aim of all recorder players to possess and to play several instruments of different sizes, for by so doing the pleasure gained in ensemble playing is greatly increased.
Recorders are delicate instruments and should be treated with great care. When new, especially during the first few weeks, they should be blown for only a few minutes at a time, otherwise the joints may crack. This, of course, applies only to wooden ones.
After playing, and before the recorder is put away, the inside should be dried with a piece of rag; an old linen handkerchief will be found suitable for this. A woollen mop should not be used as fluff from it may find its way into the wind passage and spoil the tone of the recorder. The wind passage can be dried with a small feather or a strip of not too fluffy blotting paper. In doing this, care should be taken not to damage the sharp edge of the Apple, or the instrument will be useless.
New instruments, and even old ones in cold weather, may become blocked with moisture in the head joint. This can be cured by removing the joint and blowing through it from the wide end. Alternatively, leaving the head joint in position, a sharp breath blown into the instrument will clear the moisture, care being taken to cover the window of the instrument with the hand to prevent it from sounding. Should the passage become choked whilst playing, making it impossible to perform one of the operations just mentioned, the mouthpiece can be cleared by sucking quickly through it. The habit of dry playing, however, should be cultivated right from the beginning.
The joints should be greased occasionally with boracic ointment or vaseline as this makes it easier to assemble and take apart the instrument. If a joint becomes loose, it has probably
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