(no subject)
I recently joined an early music ensemble in the SCA. They've been around for a long time, and I've had my reasons for not joining before. One of the big reasons (in my mind) was that my modern string instruments would be annoyingly out of place in a mostly recorder ensemble.
Well, right now the membership is down to one recorder player, a viol-type string player, and a guitarist. My violin really isn't all that out of place. Except, it is powerful modern instrument, strung with strings deliberately chosen to project a bright sound. I drown every one out. But, the viol-player is far more clever than me, and suggester I just use a mute. Problem solved.
When I mentioned to D that I had joined this group, his ears perked up and he expressed some interest in playing. I mentioned to the group that my brother is interested in joining, and he plays the viola, and can play the sax (translates well to learning the recorder quickly), and sings tenor. Their ears perked right up, and D came along for the last rehearsal, and everyone had a good time.
It was quite entertaining, actually. With five players, we could play five part pieces. But, then someone needs to play the base line. All of our instruments are more tenor/alto/soprano, and technical proficiency varies. D is out of practice, and more used to reading alto clef, not G clef when playing viola, and I'm not comfortable playing above about A on the E string, at least when sight reading. I'm also the only one who can read bass clef proficiently (I think), so I ended up playing the bass line on the violin, which really does require a lot of concentration to override conflicting music instincts.
So, while it was fun, the general consensus was that while someone playing the bass line is good, having someone play it on a bass range instrument would be even better. Yeah, I can take a hint, universe.
I hauled up my cello from the basement after rehearsal. I never meant to go so long without playing it but, well, I did.
There are some immediate problems. The interior of the case has mold on it. I'm not quite sure how this happened. I mean, the cello was in the basement when all the water problems happened, but I ALWAYS kept it up and away from any chance of getting wet. Well, no matter. The cello itself does not have any mold on it, nor does the bow. I've moved the case out to the garage, and I will clean it with bleach out there, and if it is sunny on Saturday, prop it open to the sun for a while. This is short term, though. I'm going to get a new (or used) case, as I have been beating on this one since high school, and it is showing all that wear and tear.
But, YIKES, are cello hard cases pricey. For the quality I want (I don't need tour-to-Europe durability, but neither do I want the cheap crap), it's going to cost at least $500. And DOUBLE YIKES, I'd forgotten how pricey cello string are. The cheapest A string I priced out cost more than what I spend on full sets for my violin, and I don't get cheap violin strings. And I do need to replace the strings. Even if I haven't played on them regularly, these strings are at least 5 years old, and it looks like there is some corrosion on the lower strings' windings. Since this will be pretty much for early music, I'm looking at getting gut core strings, and the least expensive of the quality sets is $150, And strings need to be replaced at least once a year.
The cello will need to go into the shop. There is some cracking in the glue in the seams (common problem), and it could use a once-over after having been not played for so long.
Still, I am practicing. My fingertips are sore: the callouses for cello are different than for violin, and cello string are WAY thicker than I remember. I'm both better and worse at handling the bow than before I switched to violin: better, because I have a lot more control from the shoulder and elbow for moving between strings and keeping the bow centered on the string. Worse, because the cello requires a lot more pressure to get the string to speak and speak clearly than the violin does, and I've got a much lighter hand now from playing the violin.
And while I am rusty as hell, all the positions are still there, I can sight read anything and everything in the early music book, and, I can still play violin for most of the two and three part pieces (which, I and mostly sightread on the violin, which is really cool).
This is going to be fun. Expensive, but fun.
Well, right now the membership is down to one recorder player, a viol-type string player, and a guitarist. My violin really isn't all that out of place. Except, it is powerful modern instrument, strung with strings deliberately chosen to project a bright sound. I drown every one out. But, the viol-player is far more clever than me, and suggester I just use a mute. Problem solved.
When I mentioned to D that I had joined this group, his ears perked up and he expressed some interest in playing. I mentioned to the group that my brother is interested in joining, and he plays the viola, and can play the sax (translates well to learning the recorder quickly), and sings tenor. Their ears perked right up, and D came along for the last rehearsal, and everyone had a good time.
It was quite entertaining, actually. With five players, we could play five part pieces. But, then someone needs to play the base line. All of our instruments are more tenor/alto/soprano, and technical proficiency varies. D is out of practice, and more used to reading alto clef, not G clef when playing viola, and I'm not comfortable playing above about A on the E string, at least when sight reading. I'm also the only one who can read bass clef proficiently (I think), so I ended up playing the bass line on the violin, which really does require a lot of concentration to override conflicting music instincts.
So, while it was fun, the general consensus was that while someone playing the bass line is good, having someone play it on a bass range instrument would be even better. Yeah, I can take a hint, universe.
I hauled up my cello from the basement after rehearsal. I never meant to go so long without playing it but, well, I did.
There are some immediate problems. The interior of the case has mold on it. I'm not quite sure how this happened. I mean, the cello was in the basement when all the water problems happened, but I ALWAYS kept it up and away from any chance of getting wet. Well, no matter. The cello itself does not have any mold on it, nor does the bow. I've moved the case out to the garage, and I will clean it with bleach out there, and if it is sunny on Saturday, prop it open to the sun for a while. This is short term, though. I'm going to get a new (or used) case, as I have been beating on this one since high school, and it is showing all that wear and tear.
But, YIKES, are cello hard cases pricey. For the quality I want (I don't need tour-to-Europe durability, but neither do I want the cheap crap), it's going to cost at least $500. And DOUBLE YIKES, I'd forgotten how pricey cello string are. The cheapest A string I priced out cost more than what I spend on full sets for my violin, and I don't get cheap violin strings. And I do need to replace the strings. Even if I haven't played on them regularly, these strings are at least 5 years old, and it looks like there is some corrosion on the lower strings' windings. Since this will be pretty much for early music, I'm looking at getting gut core strings, and the least expensive of the quality sets is $150, And strings need to be replaced at least once a year.
The cello will need to go into the shop. There is some cracking in the glue in the seams (common problem), and it could use a once-over after having been not played for so long.
Still, I am practicing. My fingertips are sore: the callouses for cello are different than for violin, and cello string are WAY thicker than I remember. I'm both better and worse at handling the bow than before I switched to violin: better, because I have a lot more control from the shoulder and elbow for moving between strings and keeping the bow centered on the string. Worse, because the cello requires a lot more pressure to get the string to speak and speak clearly than the violin does, and I've got a much lighter hand now from playing the violin.
And while I am rusty as hell, all the positions are still there, I can sight read anything and everything in the early music book, and, I can still play violin for most of the two and three part pieces (which, I and mostly sightread on the violin, which is really cool).
This is going to be fun. Expensive, but fun.