Bow-wow!

I stopped by Kapeller Violin yesterday and spent about one and a half hours examining different bows to replace mine.

I ended up taking home a German bow which is lighter, but stiffer and and with better control than my current bow. I will audition it for a week or so and then probably exchange mine for this one, paying the difference. Fortunately, Jane has a 100% trade-up policy, less rehairing fee. This bow is almost double the cost of my previous bow, but I suppose it is the old thing about getting what you pay for. I also tried some carbon-fiber bows and liked what I saw. I may also pick up a coda bow to use as a backup bow.

I am reminded of the 'tomato stick' story that my violin teacher told me recently. Keadron had gone to visit a friend and he had several nice bows there. She ended up buying one which was very expensive, but the difference in her playing was immediate. He told her to take her old bow into her backyard and to use it for its best purpose: to hold up a tomato plant. Of course, it is all relative, but his point was made.

While there, Greg (the shop luthier), worked on the Boulangeot. He replaced the e-string and cut down the nut a little so that the strings would not have such high action and would thus be slightly easier to play. That cost a few dollars, but the difference was immediate and gratifying.

C-ing double

During my lesson yesterday, John Turner helped to get me started with double stops as a fundamental ornamentation method for fiddle music. He showed me how to play scales using double stop drones in order to become accustomed to bowing across two strings simultaneously.

He also helped me to learn the fundamentals of strathspey rhythm and demonstrated how practically any 4/4 tune can be played as a slow air, strathspey, or reel, depending on one's mood. He confided that he had on several occasions, for his own entertainment, played the exact same tune in these three styles during Scottish Fiddling competitions, giving the judge a made-up name for each one and had never been questioned by the judge.

John also confirmed my own sense of two things with my instruments:

1) My Boulangeot is more difficult to play than my Doetsch, primarily because the strings on the French instrument are higher off the fingerboard. He said that the Boulangeot is harder to play, but gives more if pushed. That has been my experience as well.

2) My bow needs replacing, due to excessive 'mushiness'. It is my way of saying that I can't bite down with that bow. I think that I will talk to Jane Kapeller about trading it in on a high-quality carbon fiber bow.

Basking in fiddle sunshine

I registered early (put down my $100 deposit) for Swannanoa Celtic Week 2006. Next year, it is July 16-22. I had so much fun and learned so much there last year, that I can hardly wait to return.