Is Adler A440 tenor Baroque with NO LEVER

[Kristen V]

Hi! My name is Kristen. I’d like to get my first tenor. I have the possibility of buying a Johnnes Adler tenor A440. Looks in good condition. Would be buying from photos, so I can’t try it. But it has NO BOTTOM LEVER. Would this be a major drawback for a tenor? Thanks!
Kristen

[Jason Cone]

I don’t think there’s a single correct answer to your question (i.e., is a keyless tenor recorder a drawback). I suspect that it depends on the individual instrument and the player.

You might read through the “tenor recorders” guide on the Antique Sound Workshop’s site.

Some excerpts from that:

Some tenor recorders have a single or double key on the footjoint to facilitate closing the lowest fingered tone hole…Players needing a low c# should purchase either a keyless instrument or an instrument with a double key…

Tenor recorders vary a great deal more than smaller instruments in design and ease of playing…small bore tenors have, as one might surmise, a narrower bore toward the bottom, are shorter in length, and are typically keyless instruments…larger bore tenors are appreciably wider in bore toward the foot, are longer in length, and usually have a single or double key on the lowest tone hole…

Conventional wisdom in the recorder world would have one believe that players with smaller hands should consider only keyed tenor recorders; however, “it ain’t necessarily so.” Keyless instruments are smaller, shorter, lighter in weight, less expensive, and the right hand tone holes are smaller in diameter and located closer together…Often, a manually-challenged player will find an ergonomically-designed keyless instrument…much more manageable than a larger keyed instrument…

…the great majority of players who experience difficulty in playing tenor and larger recorders are usually convinced that they have small hands and that that is the source of their problems. Most of the time, the difficulty is due not to having small hands, regardless of what they believe or have been told, but rather to incorrect arm, hand, and finger position…

…it should be borne in mind that tenor recorder designs vary a great deal more ergonomically than soprano or alto designs; the hole size and spacing can and do vary greatly from one make and model to another. Players are best advised to seek the help of a dealer with a large and varied inventory of tenor recorders and extensive experience in recorder pedagogy when selecting an instrument to suit their specific needs. There is no one make and model tenor recorder that is universally suitable.

[Kristen V]

Thanks Jason! I managed to get in touch with the symphony recorder player. He advised tht neither of the 2 wooden tenors I had been considering were a good investment. So for now I’ve gotten the Yamaha plastic tenor on order.

Thank you!
Kristen
😉🎶

[Jason Cone]

You’re welcome. Glad to hear that you got some advice and settled on an instrument. I have a Yamaha tenor, too. I think you’ll enjoy it.

[Kristen V]

Thanks! Looking forward to getting it! Meanwhile playing my Moeck pearwood alto & my 2 interesting gemshorns (and a native American flute made by highspirits.com).

Thanks again!
Kristen

[Kristen V]

(These are my gemshorn flutes. One is an interesting African Antelope with a surprising deep tone. The other is an American Cow horn. Also a rich tone, but not quite as deep as the other. Click to see the full image. They have mahogany mouth pieces.)

• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Kristen V.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Jason Cone]

Those gemshorn flutes are very cool. I don’t have any of those, but I do have a small collection of tin whistles (and low whistles), in addition to my recorders.

How do you like the Moeck alto? Right now, all my recorders are plastic (either the standard Yamaha ABS or their newer Ecodear models), and I’m looking at getting a wooden alto in the near future.

[Kristen V]

Hi! Yes! I Love the gemshorns too. Had a thumb hole and an additional pinkie hole put on the cow horn one. Made by Evergreen Instruments. By Caleb Byerly. The Yamaha hasn’t arrived yet. Have never had a plastic instrument before. My Moeck alto is pear. Mollenhauer Soprano is Walnut. But the Yamaha sound is so good and price is right.

A little known fact. May sound strange, but I have the instruments I can made in 432 frequency. Everything is standard 440 frequency. But 432 resonates with the soul and spirit. Yes, may sound strange, but sensitive people can REALLY feel the difference. My gemshorns are 432.

[Jason Cone]

You should post some recordings; I’d love it hear those gemshorns.

[Kristen V]

Hi! Ok — sometime in the future I’ll do some recordings. 😉 (I also have a wonderful 432 9 + bass note steel drum as well as a nylon string and steel string Lyres. The steel drum has wonderful bell tones. It’s called “The Aeolian 10. Made of a specific sort of random combination of notes based on the ancient Aeolian mode. With the bass center note they span at least 3 octaves. And the notes are not even in consecutive order. But Amazingly! I learned where the notes are and can play 10 or 12 Christmas carols, Fur Elise, Greensleeves, The Sound of Music (sounds really fantastic) and others on the steel drum. Amazing what can be played with those basically 9 random notes spanning 3 octaves!)

[Jason Cone]

Very cool. My my instrument is guitar, but I also play piano. And as you know, I’m learning to play recorder. My other instruments include tin whistles and low whistles, bodhran, mandolin, and ukulele, and a couple electric bass guitars. My eldest daughter plays viola and piano (she’s currently playing viola with Symphony of North Houston), and my youngest daughter plays violin, so we all play together sometimes.

You’d definitely be able to play a lot of songs with Aeolian mode notes since it’s the relative minor for the key of C major. Your instrument collection sounds very interesting. I’d like to get a lute or theorbo at some point, or maybe a hurdy-gurdy, but I want to get some more proficiency on recorder before I add another instrument. I’ve also been idly considering a Native American flute. I’d like to try a guitarviol, but those are pretty expensive and I hesitate to spend that much without having tried the instrument.

[Kristen V]

Hi! Fantastic that you play with your kids! Sounds great! I never heard of a guitraviol. But googled it and listened to someone playing. Very interesting! Before getting my Native American flute I search EVERY flute maker. I found highspirits.com, Odell Borg, to be BEST by far!

Native Americans think so too. Years ago I asked him to make a line of 432 Flutes, and he now does it. This is a great feature! Unless you want to get a 440 to play with other instruments. He makes them too.

The diameter is a little bigger, so the sound is amazing. If you want to check the 432s, they are called “a Earth Tone” Flutes on his site. Good luck!

[Jason Cone]

Guitarviol is a modern take on a historical instrument: the arpeggione (probably considered a member of the viol family, similar to a viol da gamba).

I’m a card-carrying member of the Cherokee Nation (although truth be told I’m mostly of Irish/Scottish/English ancestry — just over an 1/8th Cherokee), so a Native American flute has some additional appeal for me. Thanks for the feedback on highspirits.com.

[Kristen V]

Hi! Absolutely! High Spirits is considered best by many Native American tribes.

Ok, my Yamaha tenor arrived today. Nice sound, but too difficult for my small hands to play. So I am selling it for $60 with $5 for shipping,

[Kristen V]

Tenor recorder. Yamaha with double holes. Not wooden, but very nice tone and double holes. Levers on last holes. With zip bag/case. $60 + $5 shipping.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Author]

Posts