Ken – that’s very interesting! Thank you! I’ve suspected for a while that part of the issue of reaching for bottom notes is posture and how the recorder is handled. I’ve noticed that my reach appears to have ‘grown’. Since at my (also ancient) age it’s unlikely that my fingers have grown, I have to put it down to improved technique and getting used to the stretch.
The plastic instruments are very forgiving and I love them for practice. I don’t want to add a wooden treble (alto) to my collection until I’ve got past the stage of really abusing the poor things. It’s proving a slightly different experience from the descant and so far a much easier one – apart from the stretch!
Thanks again for your insights.