My Moeck school recorder

Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

That item would be my Moeck school recorder.

The school marching band

I was about 7 or 8 years old when I started taking music classes. It was a school band, like a marching band. Initially, they put me to play a military trumpet. I was a skinny boy, I felt I didn’t have the lungs for blowing into it. I think it had three pistons, but the pitch needed to be controlled with your mouth. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t capable of making it produce a beautiful sound. I didn’t like it at all.

Then they moved me to play the recorder. I fell in love with it right away. You didn’t need to blow hard on it. On the contrary, you needed to blow just the right amount so that the pitch was right. The sound wasn’t harsh or forced, it was sweet and melodious. With a little effort to learn the fingering, you could play any tune you wanted. And that was what I did. I spent most of my free time playing all the pieces from any musical scores I could get my hands on.

Plastic and resin recorders

My first recorders were made of plastic. To be honest, the sound was terrible. Then I got some Yamaha ones made of resin. The sound was nice, but I was a child, and need to admit I dropped them on the floor more than once or twice. After that, they never sounded the same. I needed a new one. A good one. My mom said that she would buy it. She warned me never to let it fall, though. Otherwise, I would not have a new one. I took that seriously, and promised that earnestly.

Casa Manon, a temple of music

I remember going downtown with my mom and my brother to buy the new recorders for us. I still remember the name of the store and the location, so significant this was. We entered Casa Manon when it was still at Rua 24 de Maio in São Paulo. At that moment everything made sense for me, I understood the importance of music. I saw grand pianos on the floor. Dozens of brass and metal instruments were displayed on the walls. Hundreds of music scores were on the shelves. A few musicians tried the instruments that they were going to buy. Then our turn came.

Moeck school recorder

The seller did open a red box containing a maple wood instrument. It was a Moeck school recorder, far from being their best model. But for me it was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. It was light, beautifully polished and smooth. The seller told me I could try it. I felt so important. The sound that I made on it was the best one I had made yet, so crystal clear. It tasted like wood in my mouth, well, because it was made of wood. But it tasted good! I felt so happy with that gift. Like I promised my mom, I never let it fall.

What became of it? I couldn’t part with it for nothing in the world. I still have it in a trunk back at my old home. Sorry that I can’t put a picture of it here, I am living far away from it now. But here is one from Moeck’s site:

Do you have an item that you were incredibly attached as a youth? Leave that in the comments!