The Frustration That Launched Todd’s Lifelong Search

Even back then (mid 1960s to 1971) I experienced one of the main problems that many musicians face: It’s hard to find a time and place to play. The sax is relatively big and inconvenient to carry around. It’s loud enough to be annoying to people. I wished I had an instrument that I could just carry around and play when I felt like it. I tried the harmonica, and learned a few obligatory blues riffs, but it just didn’t satisfy me. I discovered the recorder, and bought an inexpensive wooden one that I could carry around with me. Well, it wasn’t ideal. I had to carry it in a pocket, from which half of it protruded. But I put up with that because…what else was there?

Why the Recorder Couldn’t Satisfy Him

I learned the recorder fingering quickly enough, but I wasn’t terribly interested in the recorder repertoire. I just wanted an instrument to play pop music melodies and improvise. And of course I didn’t get lessons, so I taught myself a lot of bad habits, no doubt, which I still have. But the soprano recorder was my first try at an EDC instrument. As you might imagine, other teenagers found it pretty amusing that I carried that thing around, but I eventually won some respect by being able to play pretty much anything that anyone requested, by ear. Since that’s what I was doing all the time, that’s what I got good at.

That was a long time ago, and during many of those years I didn’t make much music at all. I became too dignified to walk around with a recorder sticking out of my pocket. I sold my sax to pay bills (but I later got another). It wasn’t until I was in my fifties that I decided to try again. By this time, there was an Internet and I could get some ideas from it. I wanted an instrument portable enough to carry around and play with little or no preparation. I still wasn’t keen on harmonica. I discovered tin whistle and the ocarina, and decided to try both.

Maybe the Tin Whistle?

The tin whistle is slightly more portable than the recorder, and it has a somewhat different sound, more open and rustic. The recorder has a smaller, “pinched” sound, and it squeaks very, very easily (although enough practice can get you beyond that). The tin whistle is as simple as a wind instrument can be, but because it’s diatonic (doesn’t play all the sharps and flats), there are limits to what you can play on it. I still play the whistle for most Irish dance music, but I don’t always want to play that music.

Aha, How About Ocarinas?

The ocarina has a purer sound than either whistle or recorder, but the trade-off is its limited range. Still, I accepted that and played Mountain Ocarinas for years. They were virtually indestructible, fit easily into a pocket, and had a pleasing sound. But there were plenty of melodies that I couldn’t play without modifying them. All of us who played Mountain Ocarinas knew that Coda existed as a concept, and were eager to see it become a reality.

“Finally…”

Finally, we have an instrument portable and durable enough to be EDC, but with a two-octave chromatic range. This is enough to play almost any pop or folk song, and even a lot of classical material (such as traditional recorder music). And unlike existing double-chamber ocarinas, it would not require the clumsy switching of the fingers of the right hand between two sets of tone holes.

It Sounded Unlike Anything Else

In addition, Coda’s sound is full and clear throughout its range. The low notes are beautiful, whereas on both recorder and whistle they tend to be weak and fragile; you can’t push them without breaking them. But on Coda you can belt them right out. These days, I play in church most Sundays. I play the sax again, and I’ve picked up the standard concert flute, but I also play Coda every week. It comes through very clearly, even with piano and choir in the mix. People notice it, and often stop by afterwards to ask me what that instrument is that I was playing. It doesn’t sound quite like anything else.

But Most Importantly…

But the most important thing is that it allows me to play anywhere, anytime. I sometimes use the Silencers to practice, but mostly I just play. With Coda, it’s not a problem to just wander off somewhere and play without bugging anyone, especially since I’m not shy about playing outdoors where there are people around. If Coda had existed when I was in school, I would have been playing it. It was what I wanted all along.

A Surprising Benefit of Playing Coda

One other thing: Because I played Mountain Ocarinas, and then Coda, so much, it has made me a better musician on the other instruments as well. Some instrumental skills don’t translate well from one instrument to another, but the really important ones do, such as the general instincts about what makes musical sense. I don’t play a song on the sax in exactly the same way I play it on Coda, but playing it on Coda gives me ideas that I do bring to the sax, or flute. And vice versa, of course. I sometimes find myself playing sax phrasings on Coda too, which is a lot of fun.”

P.S. Why Coda is a Game-Changer…

“I almost always carry Coda in a pocket. I’m just not a clip guy. In the cooler weather, I keep it in a jacket or coat pocket. In warmer weather, I wear cargo shorts, specifically to have a pocket for Coda. And yes, the EDC idea is absolutely crucial. It’s just very difficult to find time and space to practice most instruments regularly, and regular practice is key, as we now know from a mountain of research. It doesn’t have to be a lot of practice, but it does have to be frequent, and focused. So being able to have an instrument with you all the time (or most of the time) is a game-changer.”

—Todd Moody

 

* headings have been added to the review