2010.021 Birthday, v.2

Pennywhistles, & ocarinas, & music books… oh my! These have a very high fun:dollar ratio! For my birthday this year, I treated myself to a few inexpensive instruments… a set of three Susato penny whistle bodies, and one head. We have another Susato penny whistle with its head (of course) of the same bore size, so now we have 4 whistles and two heads. Two of the whistles are Ds, so two of us can play together if we want to, in D. The others are a C and a Bb. I gave the Bb to my drummer daughter last year because it is the same key as the fifes we play with our fife & drum corps, but easier to play and care for.

The other instrument is an ocarina. This little sweetie plays one octave plus one note, in the key of C. It’s small enough to hang around one’s neck as a pendant… always at the ready to pick out a tune, or shorten a wait. It has a surprisingly full tone for such a little thing, and the night sky engravings and shaped holes are right up my alley!

Then, there are the books. Not so inexpensive, but well worth the investment! The Waltz Book, collected & edited by Bill Matthiesen, is the first in a series of three. I’m looking forward to collecting the rest after I’m familiar with this first book. And The Portland Collection, by Susan Songer with Clyde Curley, a staple of the contra dance crowd.

I’ve had books and instruments together in the same room for a few hours now, and I have to say the fun dividend is paying out handsomely!

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