Learning the soprano recorder was my gateway to the treble clef world. It greatly expanded my musical horizons,

I liked the 3+1 configuration on my Besson 981 (with the big bell) but was always unhappy with the moderate stuffiness. I switched to the Besson 983 (front-action) which has a much more open wrap, so no stuffiness.

The best thing about my 1959 Conn Eb 14J is the naked lady engraving.

My life span overlaps with Jean Sebelius (b. 1865) by 10 years. My high school band director, a Finn, was acquainted with Sebelius.

Wow. Very sad. Way too young. Many memories of him at ITECS and USABTECs are flooding back. I have especially good memories of knowing him behind the scenes at the UNC Greensboro ITEC in 2002.

Thank you. Well done. This is a favorite of mine. For 10 years I played only tuba. Then I took up soprano recorder and it really opened my eyes to a new world (and clef) musically.

My first instrument was Eb tuba at age 9. My NJ public school offered free instrumental group lessons to 4th graders. Being the only tuba, my lesson was one on one with the band leader. Learned BBb in high school. Still prefer Eb.