Maintaining your Recorder
A new (or long-rested) recorder needs time to adjust to warmth and moisture from playing. For the first 3–4 weeks, play daily in short sessions (≤20 minutes). Choose slow passages and long tones so you can listen closely: which breath pressure makes each note bloom, where do notes speak most cleanly, how softly/loudly can you go before the tone thins? Explore—but avoid pushing hard in the top register while the instrument settles.
In cool weather, warm the headjoint before playing—under your arm or in a pocket. This minimizes sudden condensation, which can cause a hoarse or sluggish response.
After each session, dry the instrument: run a lint-free cloth on a cleaning rod through each joint. Then blow out the windway—seal your palm over the open end of the headjoint and blow at the labium so moisture exits at the windway’s top. Take care: the labium edge is delicate; keep fingernails away.
Let the recorder air-dry unassembled and outside the case until fully dry. This discourages mould and helps prevent swelling at the tenons.
Keep the joints happy with a small amount of cork/joint grease. Wipe excess to avoid smearing the tone holes, and if a joint feels tight, twist in one direction only rather than back-and-forth. For keyed instruments, assemble while holding the body above or below the keys so you don’t bend mechanisms. If keys start to click or feel stiff, add a tiny drop of key oil at the hinge (not bore/recorder oil), then work the key gently.
Caring for Wood
Wood is a living material. Makers leave the windway fractionally wide on new instruments because the block can swell during early use. A touch of swelling is normal; if you experience persistent hoarseness or slow speech, it’s typically solved by a simple workshop adjustment.
Protect the recorder from rapid temperature changes and heat. Cars, heaters, and sunny windowsills can over-warm the body, stress the grain, and even soften the paraffin impregnation. Store the instrument in a stable environment and never put it away wet.
For cosmetics and hygiene, wipe the exterior with a slightly damp cloth; a drop of mild dish soap lifts grime around the beak. The windway can be very gently cleared with a soft feather. (If your maker recommends bore oil, follow their interval and product—less is more, and never on plastic parts.)
Additional Considerations
Watch for signs that professional care would help—persistent hoarseness, sluggish response, or joints that feel wrong despite grease. A quick visit to a recorder clinic restores optimum speech.
Wooden bodies with plastic headjoints are generally ready to play and don’t require a formal play-in period.
If condensation builds, a couple of drops of Anticondens (MOL-6138) placed at the labium side of the windway will spread moisture into a thin film; blow out as described after it runs through.
A dedicated maintenance kit (MOL-6132) is handy: swab, cloths, joint grease, and instructions in one place. Replace cloths periodically so you aren’t redistributing moisture.
Above all, play it daily. Regular, mindful playing is the best “care routine” your recorder can have.