Tag: Adventurous Muse
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Authentic Cases for 19th Century Musical Instruments
Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. The type of case usually used for fiddles and guitars of the mid-19th century is often called a "coffin" case, owing to its resemblance to a coffin. Coffin cases were sometimes used for banjos as well. Here are some examples of some actual cases for period guitars and…
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The Irish, the Harp and Civil War
Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. The minstrel boy to the war is gone,In the ranks of death ye will find him;His father's sword he hath girded on,And his wild harp slung behind him;"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,"Tho' all the world betrays thee,One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,One faithful…
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Tenor Banjo and Irish Tenor Banjo: Is There a Difference?
Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. This is an excellent question, and it comes up all the time from smart musicians. The difference between the Tenor Banjo and Irish Tenor Banjo is, on one level, analogous to the difference between a violin and a fiddle. They are played differently. But Irish Tenor Banjos are…
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The Violin Was Perfected 300 Years Ago…Hogwash!
Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. Recently I had been looking at a lot of violin and fiddle related websites and blogs and have seen far too many assertions that the violin was perfected centuries ago. This ranks up there on the idiocy scale as the statement by the Director of the U.S. Patent…
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So You Think You Need a Pernambuco Fiddle Bow, Eh?
Well, okay…some people actually do need a pernambuco bow. Read on. In a recent article, Making Sense of the New Carbon Fiber Bows, I expressed a strong preference for the new generation of braided carbon fiber bows, for violin, fiddle, viola and octave violin (sometimes called baritone violin) for meeting the needs of the modern player. Considerations I…
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Kira and Her Adventurer IId Travel Violin Save the Day at the Abbey in Conques
Before Our Story, A Little Bit About the 1,000 Year-Old Sainte-Foy Abbey Church The Sainte-Foy Abbey (of the Benedictine Order) Church in Conques, France (the Southern part of France) was a popular stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, in what is now Spain. Its construction began sometime in the 1020s and…
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The Violin Tail Gut: What Goes Around Comes Around (Part 3)
Introduction We ended Part 2 of this article with commentary of the difficulty of installing a Kevlar tail cord. This final part delves into how its done and touches on the matter of whether or not it is worth the trouble. Removing the Tailpiece First, "tie-off" the strings so that they do not unravel on the pegs…
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A Chin Rest for Fiddlers Who Do Not Use Chin Rests
In our very recent article, The Solution to the Chin Rest Problem on Backpacker Violins and Fiddles, I described Don Rickert Lutherie's quest for the solution to the chin rest problem with our backpacker and travel violins and fiddles. See that article for the details. The bottom line is that we have found a tailpiece-chin…
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