Tag: alto

Unusual Dushkin Recorder

This is the second post I've made about Dushkin recorders.  There's not a lot of information about them on the web.  The first post has info I pieced together from what little I could find.  If you're interested, just look back a few posts.  

Last summer I was contacted by a woman named Sally who sent me pics of her Dushkin alto recorder, and wanted to know if I could help her learn how to play it.  The pics were small, but it was apparent it was a very unusual recorder.  It had keys, rings and raised toneholes.  Now, there are keyed recorders out there.  I've got a keyed soprano and tenor.  But usually, the keyed recorders are set up like a 6-key piccolo or 8-key flute.  I asked Sally to send some larger, more detailed photos.  She didn't have a musical background.  She had picked up the recorder many years ago somewhere in Ohio because she liked the look of it, and had just rediscovered it in a cabinet and decided to learn how to play it.  I wanted to help her out, but after looking at the pics, I wasn't sure how to do that.  I sent a 6-key piccolo fingering chart her way, but said it was not going to be an exact match and might be a little difficult to figure out. 
A few weeks went by, and Sally wrote again that it wasn't working out and wanted to know if I wanted to buy it.  So I sent an offer, and she accepted.  Once it arrived, and I could lay my hands on it, it was even odder than it looked in the photos.  And it needed work, which didn't really help Sally's endeavors.  The pads were shot, the G# key was cracked, there as a broken spring, etc.  So I took it to my repair tech for an overhaul and just got it back.   I'm still trying to figure out the fingerings.  It's kind of a cross between clarinet, oboe, 6-key piccolo and recorder.  The first two octaves play pretty well.  I think the third octave will probably play well too, after I figure out the fingerings (that uppermost key must do something). 

I'm thinking this may be some kind of prototype?  I've scoured the net, but I can't find another one like it.  If anyone has an information, or has seen another one, let me know.  And thank you, Sally, for sending it my way.  I'm going to figure this thing out.  🙂

Dushkin Recorders

I've picked up a trio of Dushkin recorders over the past year.  Soprano, alto and tenor.  I haven't been able to find out a lot of information about them.  It seems David Dushkin started making recorders around 1934.  And he was the first American recorder maker.  He started out in the Chicago area, then moved to Vermont.  Other than he and his wife opening two music schools, there's very little information available.  And the is virtually nothing about his recorders.
Dushkin's wood of choice seems to have been walnut.  Although the tenor I recently received looks like rosewood, with a little walnut on the beak.  He also made his headjoints overly complicated.  Most recorder headjoints are comprised of two parts, the headjoint body plus a "block" insert.  Dushkin's headjoints have four components; the headjoint body, the block, a plastic sleeve that goes around that first two things, and then a wooden sleeve that goes around the plastic sleeve.
They all play very differently, but fairly well.  The soprano has a very "reedy" quality.  Intonation is a little wonky, but not horrible.  The alto has a beautiful tone, but it's super quiet.  And you need to blow extremely hard.  The (keyless) tenor plays great.  The tone is a little reedy like the soprano, but the intonation is really good.  The tenor looks to be a later model than the soprano and alto.  Overall, they all play really well.  I couldn't find any information online about how Dushkins played, but was pleasantly surprised.  
Photos below:
Soprano, alto and tenor
Dushkin stamp on the soprano and alto
Dushkin stamp on the tenor
Complicated headjoint components