A few weeks ago, I bought a bass recorder on e-bay. This is a beautiful=looking instrument which had probably never been played. I got it for a fraction of the price of a new one, but it had a problem. None of the low notes would play. A recorder is such a simple instrument that it seemed that there could be only one thing wrong - the keys in the right hand were not closing the holes completely.

I took it to a music store, and the technician replaced the pads on the keys, but the low notes still would not play. Then a friend had a great suggestion. He said to try putting rubber bands over the keys so that they would press the pads into the holes for a long time. Then perhaps the pads would conform to the holes better and stop leaks.

Fortunately, we had two extra-strong rubber bands in the house from a bunch of asparagus. I did as suggested, and it worked! After 12 hours, the sound was better. After 36 hours, it was good enough. I decided to remove the rubber bands so that the pads wouldn't be changed in shape too much. I now have all the right-hand notes. Joy!

You see, it is a good thing to eat fresh vegetables.