Dick, Again Thanks for all the information. When I have been playing the Aulos I have warmed up two pieces of plastic: The cap that the bocal fits in to and the head joint(?). After reading your reply I tried warming the bocal only. Low and behold I was able to get high “F” without the slurring. So that solves that problem. A note for you: the bocal is very easy clear of condensation: you simply lean back a bit and suck. It clears much faster than the Yamaha bent neck head joint. I too am a large person with very big hands. However, the 5 to 6 stretch is difficult because my joints are “hard”, always have been. I am certainly not “double jointed”. I have been working on easy stretching activities and that may help down the road. I have been playing recorder just over a year and I am trying to stop being lazy and letting my right hand relax when it is not busy. Again: thanks for all your messages; they really help. OH, one more thing: I know what you mean about high C#. When I transcribe some of my church melodies They have to go into the upper octave generally so that I can get down to the D’s and C’s written into the music. In one piece I get to slur B to C# to B in the upper octave. Try it; you’ll hate it. Bill Young
