Fiddlin' About

Several years ago I found myself sitting in a Borders minding my own business, reading a book and over the speakers came a song that hit me at my very core. I'd never heard anything like it. It wasn't the words for they were foreign to me and it wasn't the notes itself. It was something in the man's voice that grabbed me. It was passionate, almost primal. I marched myself up to the counter and begged the person there to tell me where the CD was so that I could buy it.

The song is called Yma O' Hyd which in Welsh mean's "We're Still Here". It's an anthem of sorts that talks about how they have withstood adversity for generations at the hands of the English and yet persevered. The CD it's on is a compilation of Celtic music and is called Kindred Spirit and was my introduction to a type of music that I now deeply love and listen to on a regular basis.  This CD and that song began my love of all things Celtic/Irish/Scottish...

It's hard to point at one particular aspect of Celtic music and say "that's why I like it".  There's a list of things I love including the stories they tell, the whimsical play of the music itself, the talent of the musicians, the fun that they seem to have on stage.  I'm continually awed by the breadth of the talent by these guys.  Many an Irish Festival has come and gone with me in utter idolatry of them.  They trade instruments with one another!  It's not enough to master one instrument, they master multiples!  And me the master of none!

My favorite instrument by far is the Fiddle. For years I've wished that I knew how to play and for whatever reason, January of '09 my curiosity and yearning got the best of me and I decided to buy one.

Not knowing a damn thing about what to buy or how much to spend or even where to buy I decided to log onto eBay and see what they had to offer. I found many brand new violins and settled on one for $25 plus shipping. I figured that's not a huge price to pay to find out if it's worth pursuing so I bought it, again with no clue what I was getting into.

In preparation I went to my local Borders, whose speakers incidentally weren't playing anything as good as that time 10ish years ago, and purchased a copy of 'Violin for Dummies'. I had visions of coming home one day soon, finding the box there on my doorstep, taking it inside, opening the box, taking out the fiddle and bow and in one fluid motion drawing the bow across the strings. I knew it wouldn't sound anything like the maestro's but I'd at least be able to make a joyful noise.

The day arrived when that box was waiting for me. i could hardly manage the patience to park the car without wrecking it! I grabbed the box, ran inside and proceeded to unpack my new found joy.

What an utter disappointment! The bow was completely useless! it wasn't even taut! How did they expect me to play with a flimsy bow? And the strings made no sound when I plucked them and there was this weird piece of wood sitting underneath the little thingy at the end. I was mortified! 50 whole bucks including the shipping down the tubes!

I had a dinner appointment and therefore had to leave shortly but before I did I sent a scathing email to the sender to let her know how disappointed I was. Sure I hadn't spent that much money, but even so I wanted an instrument that at least created a little sound.

Dinner was less than wonderful to say the least.  Years of imagining myself on stage in an Irish band dancing around, singing, and playing the fiddle all drifted away like smoke in the wind.  I kept wondering if it was defective, had I been ripped-off, did it get damaged in the shipping, was I missing something?  Surely I was missing something...

My journey home from the restaurant wasn't quite as eager as the drive home for work earlier that day however I was anxious to see if my seller had responded.

Thankfully she had and also thankfully she was much more calm and understanding than I had been.  I can only imagine her reading the email I'd sent her and shaking her head at what a moron I must be!  As it turns out there's this little doo-hickey on the end of the bow that tightens the strings as you turn it!  Who Knew!

And that little piece of wood drifting around is pretty important.  They call it a Bridge and the darn thing won't make a sound without it!  The seller was kind enough to give me a few pointers about how to place it and tighten the strings to keep it in place.  Funny, if I'd bothered to read the 'Violin for Dummies' before I opened the fiddle case I might have avoided the embarrassment. But then, the book does say "for Dummies".

So, I get the bow tightened, the bridge in place, and the strings tight enough to make sound when plucked and I figure I'm well on my way!  I grab the fiddle and place it like I think it should be and grab the bow and draw it across the strings...

Nothing...  Not a damn freakin' thing.  No note, not even a bad sounding one.  I had expected a sound similar to two cats growling at each other, but not even that.  DAH!  NOW WHAT!!!

OOOOOH, see there's this thing called Rosin!  Another thing that would've been good to know before I'd started trying to play.  Evidently that stuff is pretty important to the overall success of a fiddler.  

So, I rosin up my bow and finally, what seems like hours later, was able to make a joyful noise!  It was the most beautiful sound ever!  I have no earthly idea what note it was for I hadn't yet tuned the thing.  But I didn't care.  I made a sound with my brand new fiddle!

I called my grandmother and played my one note for her.  I called my dad as well.  They both thought I was nuts I'm sure.  My son cheered for me, the cat tried to catch the bow, and the dog didn't care one whit.  And I was thrilled.

It was a good day.

Next step... read the damn book...