I play a number of different recorders.
I was trying to think about where to start, and I couldn’t. I love them all for their different feels, sounds, and memories.
The 2 Mollenhauer Modern recorders are cool and unusual. They are modern reproductions that have been reworked to have a stronger, louder sound across a wider range of pitches. They also have key work to ensure the bottom notes are easy to play and in tune. I love their sound strength and versatility. The Alto is made of rosewood, while the soprano is made of Grenadilla.
The Tenor is a Kung Superior in Olive wood – I fell in love with its tone, and in many ways, I think it is my favorite.
The two Moeck recorders are both Rottenburgh models – the Soprano is Grenadilla again, and the Sopranino is made of Boxwood. You might wonder why I have two Grenadilla Soprano recorders – well, for two reasons, they sound different. The Moeck recorder is softer and ‘prettier’ great for butterfly or being a blackbird – the Mollenhauer Modern is more ‘raucous’ ready to lead a dance or run away with a jig while soaring over the rest of the band to be heard.
The rest of the recorders I play with the band are from a single set of Hopf Praetorius Renaissance recorders. I was fortunate to be able to buy all eight from Michael Lynn of Oberlin Conservatory. I don’t play the middle ones often as I prefer my modern instruments. However, the Garklein, Bass, and Great Bass are excellent and eye-catching, and I never dreamed I’d be able to afford a Great Bass. Justifying purchasing a Bass was hard enough – to find a set was a dream.
The Wazinator and my Violin are both instruments I purchased from our prior band member when she became concerned they had become contaminated with whatever it was she had become sensitive to at her old house. I am more than happy to keep them singing and playing music while she recuperates and potentially returns one day to play them again.
I chose this particular keyboard model because it feels the closest to playing an acoustic piano. With other digital keyboards, there is a dullness in the tone that this Roland model transcends. The touch is as exciting as playing my Yamaha Baby Grand.
I am very happy while playing on this keyboard! It has tremendous capabilities for live performance, including combining sounds, splitting the keyboard into different sounds, an equalizer, ambiance choices, including a wood room, and memory for each sound design I create for our diverse repertoire. The built-in speakers are very powerful so I don’t need to plug into an amplifier for rehearsals and small house performances.
Rich and sparkly! That is how I describe the sound of this beautiful guitar.
We are all pleased and impressed with the tone and responsiveness!
Whether strumming, finger-picking, or using it as a drum,
it adds brightness and power to our music-making.
The Celtic II 34 String Harp is not only rich in tone but also a work of art visually with her Celtic knot engravings, moonstones, abalone inlays, walnut and bubinga wood. She weighs 25 pounds, has an integrated pickup, a range of C2-A7, and is 52 inches high. She was made in Southern California by Triplett Harp Makers. Between Verlene and me, we have lovingly owned about eight Triplett Harps. I am calling her Luna for now, but I think there is another name that will emerge as she becomes more comfortable with being a harp. She was lovingly born in February of 2023.
The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usually covers two or three octaves.
Instrument family: Wind instrument, Woodwind instrument, Aerophone, Free reed aerophone
Place of origin: Italy
Invented: 1950s
Inventor: Hohner
Related instruments: Harmonica, Accordion, Reed organ, Yu
The melodica was first used as a serious musical instrument in the 1960s by composers such as Steve Reich in his piece titled Melodica (1966). Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal developed a technique consisting of singing while playing the melodica, resulting in a wide tonal and harmonic palette.
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