... well I know that here the advice to fiddlers is to always leave your fiddle in its case when you aren't playing it. The issue being to slow the rate at which your fiddle dries out and the glue disintegrates into dust ... but I've got a few fiddles now and they're dotted in cases around the house, so some are not tending to be played because they are out of sight and mind ... and I was thinking ... perhaps it would be nice to perhaps hang them in a glass fronted cabinet (humidified a tad and well out of the reach of any sun) where they could be seen together and where a simple equal selection would be all that's required.
Do you hang your fiddle? ... and Is there any advantage to hanging fiddles vertically or do people hang them for aesthetic reasons alone?
I assume you mean by the scroll using wire, which seems to be common. That works but it leaves gouges, my fiddles have scars from being hung that way by previous owners. If you use something like soft nylon cord it should be OK I guess.
Personally, I store my fiddles and bows in a china cabinet, with the fiddles lying on their ribs. Seems to work well, but be careful of direct sunlight. I think storing the fiddle in the case is more about being sure no one sits on it; I think of a case as the place to put the fiddle when I'm taking it somewhere. At home, any well-protected place with favorable conditions should be fine.
Oh wait, do you live in an arid climate? If so, storing it in the case with a humidifier may be the best way to go. Not sure how easy it would be to keep a cabinet humidified correctly, but if you want to try go for it.
... yeah, well I didn't want to say so, but yes, the keep them in the case advice is solidly grounded here in the dry because the glue disintegrates anyway ... everyone I know here has had an issue at some stage with their instruments becoming unstuck ... But I want to know about everyone's experiences ... even if mildew is an issue ... to weigh the pros and cons before I go ahead. I mean, aren't the Strads hung? Is hanging them by scroll better for allowing the fiddles to vibrate a bit to room sounds? That kind of stuff would be good to know ... because I just don't have any experience of it.
I am extremely fortunate to have the space in the house since the kids are grown and gone to have a room for instruments. Some instruments are hung using the Y bracket style hanger, and some are stored on stands. I'm in Ontario right on Lake Huron so humidity or lack thereof isn't a problem except during the winter. I just run a small humifier in the room to keep it around 50%. Under these conditions hanging or generally leaving instruments out doesn't seem to be a problem.
You can try to humidify your cabinet and test it out before storing the fiddle there. You can buy a hygrometer for fairly little money to measure the humidity and make sure you have the right conditions before moving the fiddle out of the case:
Five of my six are hanging, from their scrolls by soft nylon cords away from the sunlight. My favorite sits in an open case near my chair and music stand.
Violins are so beautiful it seems a shame to keep them locked in a case and not seen. Of course keep them safe and away from potential harm.
Clear Drops, in your climate, lack of humidity (and sheer heat) is likely to be the biggest risk to your fiddles. A humidified cabinet will work, but only if you can keep it at a steady 50%. Usually it's easier to do in a fiddle case, particularly in really dry climates.
When expensive fiddles are kept out of a case, it's always in a climate-controlled room. I've seen fiddles hung from scrolls by sturdy cords and leather strips, never wire. Some shops hang them on wooden dowels sticking out from the wall hat fit under the pegs on either side of the peg box. Best if the dowels are tilted up so the fiddle can't slide off.
Really high end fiddles are often stored in climate controlled vaults, laying flat on their backs on acid-free padding. I've seen two Guarneris stored this way.
I live in Montana, where the humidity frequently bottoms out at 10% (yet can soar to 90% for brief spells). The only economical way to keep a fiddle at 50% that I've found is in the case.
I'm living at Boston College now, and both my fiddles hang. The day goes back and forth from around 30 up to 50 or 60, Fahrenheit, and our room in particular goes from dry to humid like nothing. My fiddle hangs anyway because I prefer it that way. I know it sounds stupid, but there's something overwhelmingly appealing about just picking up the fiddle in an instant and playing tunes.
Jeez, you guys should move to Arkansas! Average humidity of 57%, ranges between about 50%-80% year-round. This is where fiddles want to go when they retire
Hey, the one time I've been through Arkansas, I was thinking it's where *I* want to retire, nevermind my fiddle. Buffalo River country was mighty appealing....
Yeah there's a lot of unspoiled natural beauty here, you should take a float trip down the Buffalo sometime. Lots of people come here to do that. And actually, a lot of people do retire here from other states. If you enjoy trout fishing, some of the best fishing in the country is here.
In Florida it's too hot and humid to open the windows in the summer so the house is all sealed up with the AC on. Come winter the windows are open, it's cool and dry enough where none of the instruments have problems. All strings and wood. I leave 'em all out on stands.
For the fiddle, I got me something similar to this, I stand it up and out of the way on a high display. I just reach up and take it down like a book on a shelf when i want to play.
Tee hee oldstrings, yer safe, I recon ... and thanks for your images SWFL and Will and Dan the Man and Mary and Ravenswood. Marklar, I'm envious, truly envious ... and I've got a spare room which might actually be a better option, I guess, but it would have to be air conditioned and humidified to keep it even temp and humidity (and of course I'm envious) ... but I've just converted it into a drying room because the puppies kept pulling down the washing from the outside line ... so it was fence the clothesline or find somewhere safe to hang the washing.
Llig, well, as useful as ever. The question was: Do you hang your fiddle? ... and my good fiddle is still 2,700 kms away where I took it to get fixed last Christmas (mumble mumble mumble). With noone the other end willing to risk shipping it back to me. As I said above all musical instruments held together with glue eventually become unstuck here ... why, oh why would I subject anything really expensive (good?) to that? ... especially at the expense of selling off reserves ... and then when you HAVE to inevitably send them away to be fixed ... they're gone for months (or in this case nearly a flippin' year!!!) ... and what to do in the meantime ... I mean, give me a break! My two recent fiddles have been acquired to bridge the gap so I've got something, and a reserve, to play ... you have to have reserves here ... a fact ... and having them sitting about in cases surely is not that great for them either. I just want to do something better for them, hey? I would have thought, not unreasonable.
However, having come across that "Isn't it time you got yourself a better fiddle" quip before, I'll take it as a compliment . but I gotta get off the computer now ... we've got a raging thunderstorm ... cheers
I have only have one fiddle now Maybe to good to hang on a wall- but when I had another not so good one I did- I found I played it more for, it was easier to lift an old fiddle and bow off
the wall , than go to the bouther of going into a case for the
good one - so I was Playing all the time,,Whenever a tune just came into my Head,,
jim,,
Packie Manus Byrne, in his autobiography ''Recollections of a Donegal Man'', mentions fiddles hanging on the wall above the fireplace. The fiddles would eventually become blackened with smoke, but in the damp Irish climate, with no central heating in those days, it was the best place to keep them. Left in a case they got too damp and came apart.
I had that once in a fiddle case. I opened it up and it was in pieces! I hang my fiddle on a stand and the other has its own chair to sit on, and before you say anything, no, no one is likely to sit on it! I use a shoulder rest so couldn't be taking it off on off on all the time|! I keep one fiddle tuned down a semi tone and one in standard 440.
Micheal Gill,is he real?if he didnt exist,you would have to invent him,
he reminds me of politicians,who never answer the question,but introduce a red herring.
... well I know that here the advice to fiddlers is to always leave your fiddle in its case when you aren't playing it. The issue being to slow the rate at which your fiddle dries out and the glue disintegrates into dust ... but I've got a few fiddles now and they're dotted in cases around the house, so some are not tending to be played because they are out of sight and mind ... and I was thinking ... perhaps it would be nice to perhaps hang them in a glass fronted cabinet (humidified a tad and well out of the reach of any sun) where they could be seen together and where a simple equal selection would be all that's required.
yes,if its away from direct sun sounds good to me .
think of your fiddles, in the same way people think of antique furniture and central heating.
inside your glass case put a tiny bowl of water ,every day check the water and top it up.
Yes !!! I, too have taken to hanging my fiddles. When they were kept in cases, it always seemed an effort to practice. Once I decided to take my playing to a higher level, I built two hanging racks that hold my fiddles and bows. Way more conduciive to playing and much more convenient to noticing their different voices and making comparisons for tweaking.
My cases are only for transport now.
It's probably a combination of the psychosomatic effect and the practical fact that I play a lot more, but the voice in my fiddle has really come out now that it stays out rather than being cooped up in the case. Maybe it's really a question of whether it's your fiddle that likes it, not you?
No one seems to have mentioned the bow. If you hang your fiddle on the wall do you hang the bow alongside it or keep it elsewhere?
Consider this potential scenario - a fiddler takes his fiddle off the peg, puts it in the case and rushes off to a session, only to realise when he gets there that the bow is still hanging on the wall at home ...
It would seem sensible to hang fiddles and bows together, thank you every one ... and I am really getting to like the whole idea. A temp/humidity controlled environment out of case would also do well for the bows I have no doubt. As it is at the moment, Trevor, the bows are also in the cases, and what could happen is that I might go out with the right fiddle and the wrong bow, or vice versa. Also, whereas carbon fibre may not be affected by changes in humidity, horsehair is. And a carbon fibre fiddle might not be such a bad idea around these parts thanks Hup, or for taking camping in the bush.
Thank you all. Now to start looking for the right kit to do the job ... this'll be fun and keep me outta mischief for a while. Thank you all once again ... and Cathy Cook, thanks for your imagery of blackened fiddles over the fireplace in Donegal ... lovely. OOooooo its nice to ponder the possibilities.
Actually, it's better to keep your bow(s) out of the dark, fiber-rich confines of a case. A bit of light on the bow hair prohibits bow bug infestations. And believe me, you don't want to get bow bugs in your case.
They can feed on synthetic fibers as well. They are common in carpet and can survive on the lining of your case once they get in there, so never put your fiddle, bow, or open case down on a carpeted floor (aside from the obvious reasons).
Thanks to Cathy for mentioning Packie Byrne's autobiography (a great read, by the way), but there's a little more to the story. It was quite common in the past for houses to have an inglenook, a niche built into the fireplace where people might sit for extra warmth. Some larger houses even had said nook on both sides of the fire. Instruments would be hung above the fireplace so they could be easily reached for musicmaking.
I was staying with a friend down in Clare a short while ago whose house still features his late mother's fiddle hanging above the fireplace. He remembers concertinas suspended there too, but also recalls the day when a television arrived in the house. This was set opposite the inglenooks and from that moment on all attention was paid outwards, towards the box, rather than inwards to the fire, the banter and the music-making - human company replaced by banality - the story of our times.
Oooooo this thread has turned interesting after all. How could I be so niaive about such things as bow bugs? Perhaps they don't survive here, it might be too dry ... nobody has ever said anything about them ... but now I know ... and thanks for the link Marklar ... all my bows were (notice the now past tense) stored in cases with fiddles ... yikes!
And thanks for the lovely imagery Floss the Tethers ... it must have been very unhealthy for the humans' respiratory systems sitting over the fire like that though even with the banter and music-making or the TV if they continued to sit in the nooks.
Lazyhound-----right on !!! The one problem with hanging the bows with the fiddles is just that. I once FORGOT to grab the bows; fortunately the venue was reasonblly close.
Phew! That was lucky hauke. My issue is the little thimble thingee I wear on my index finger when I play ... forget it ... then can't play ... it happens ... never mind the fiddle or bow. Oh well ... saves a few OP's splitting headaches I recon.
Hey, I was just meandering home from having lost my latest job (that didn't last long for reasons way beyond my control ... sigh!) and I was looking for some way to console myself ... went looking for perhaps a copy of "The Field" DVD to no avail ... then ... bingo! In the second hand shop I found the perfect cabinet to hang my fiddles and bows in. Not too expensive, but not looking like rubbish, so it is bought, and now to get it home. OOOooo its going to happen ... yippee!
Hey I might like some heavy stuff, something heavier than I've just been through to give some perspective to it. I've had a torrid three weeks or so while the job lasted and this old scraper is not a ball of fluff you know.
I thought about going to the cinema, watch something ridiculously awful, but at the time I was there it wasn't even open yet ... but anyway, I've found The Field on eBay ... so, against your better judgement I'm gunna buy it, but I'll have ta wait for it to come from bluudy America
... sigh! In the meantime I can set up and experiment with the new secondhand fiddle cabinet, hey! Where to put it so it looks good, is outta the sun, yet handy ... might even buy the bottom bit too to house all the cases and other music stuff. OOOOOOooo possibilities.
... The Field came in black and white same as The Boys and Girl from County Clare! ... nothing like watching a bit of insanity to regain a bit of your own and see things in perspective ... but here's an update on the fiddle cabinet ... fiddles not hung yet ... and hopefully soon have three fiddles and a mando in it ... but I found a nice home for the cabinet ... and it is soooooooo handy. I can't believe I dun it! OOoooooooooo! Thank you people for talking it through.
Hey Clear Drops! Quite the delayed reaction on my part, eh? You got it, there's the scene in question. Great flick that was.
Lovely cabinet too! Glad to see you didn't hang the poor fiddle. Like I said above, that's just cruel and unusual punishment. A stern talking to is usually all that's needed to straighten our a wayward instrument, in my opinion.
Do you hang your fiddle?
Do you hang your fiddle?
... well I know that here the advice to fiddlers is to always leave your fiddle in its case when you aren't playing it. The issue being to slow the rate at which your fiddle dries out and the glue disintegrates into dust ... but I've got a few fiddles now and they're dotted in cases around the house, so some are not tending to be played because they are out of sight and mind ... and I was thinking ... perhaps it would be nice to perhaps hang them in a glass fronted cabinet (humidified a tad and well out of the reach of any sun) where they could be seen together and where a simple equal selection would be all that's required.
Do you hang your fiddle? ... and Is there any advantage to hanging fiddles vertically or do people hang them for aesthetic reasons alone?
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I assume you mean by the scroll using wire, which seems to be common. That works but it leaves gouges, my fiddles have scars from being hung that way by previous owners. If you use something like soft nylon cord it should be OK I guess.
Personally, I store my fiddles and bows in a china cabinet, with the fiddles lying on their ribs. Seems to work well, but be careful of direct sunlight. I think storing the fiddle in the case is more about being sure no one sits on it; I think of a case as the place to put the fiddle when I'm taking it somewhere. At home, any well-protected place with favorable conditions should be fine.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Oh wait, do you live in an arid climate? If so, storing it in the case with a humidifier may be the best way to go. Not sure how easy it would be to keep a cabinet humidified correctly, but if you want to try go for it.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
... yeah, well I didn't want to say so, but yes, the keep them in the case advice is solidly grounded here in the dry because the glue disintegrates anyway ... everyone I know here has had an issue at some stage with their instruments becoming unstuck ... But I want to know about everyone's experiences ... even if mildew is an issue ... to weigh the pros and cons before I go ahead. I mean, aren't the Strads hung? Is hanging them by scroll better for allowing the fiddles to vibrate a bit to room sounds? That kind of stuff would be good to know ... because I just don't have any experience of it.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I am extremely fortunate to have the space in the house since the kids are grown and gone to have a room for instruments. Some instruments are hung using the Y bracket style hanger, and some are stored on stands. I'm in Ontario right on Lake Huron so humidity or lack thereof isn't a problem except during the winter. I just run a small humifier in the room to keep it around 50%. Under these conditions hanging or generally leaving instruments out doesn't seem to be a problem.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by dlkes
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
You can try to humidify your cabinet and test it out before storing the fiddle there. You can buy a hygrometer for fairly little money to measure the humidity and make sure you have the right conditions before moving the fiddle out of the case:
http://www.sharmusic.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=HYGROM2&Cat=
I don't think that there's much advantage to hanging fiddles by the scroll other than the fact that it's convenient.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Five of my six are hanging, from their scrolls by soft nylon cords away from the sunlight. My favorite sits in an open case near my chair and music stand.
Violins are so beautiful it seems a shame to keep them locked in a case and not seen. Of course keep them safe and away from potential harm.
Mary
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Antikhntr
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Clear Drops, in your climate, lack of humidity (and sheer heat) is likely to be the biggest risk to your fiddles. A humidified cabinet will work, but only if you can keep it at a steady 50%. Usually it's easier to do in a fiddle case, particularly in really dry climates.
When expensive fiddles are kept out of a case, it's always in a climate-controlled room. I've seen fiddles hung from scrolls by sturdy cords and leather strips, never wire. Some shops hang them on wooden dowels sticking out from the wall hat fit under the pegs on either side of the peg box. Best if the dowels are tilted up so the fiddle can't slide off.
Really high end fiddles are often stored in climate controlled vaults, laying flat on their backs on acid-free padding. I've seen two Guarneris stored this way.
I live in Montana, where the humidity frequently bottoms out at 10% (yet can soar to 90% for brief spells). The only economical way to keep a fiddle at 50% that I've found is in the case.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I'm living at Boston College now, and both my fiddles hang. The day goes back and forth from around 30 up to 50 or 60, Fahrenheit, and our room in particular goes from dry to humid like nothing. My fiddle hangs anyway because I prefer it that way. I know it sounds stupid, but there's something overwhelmingly appealing about just picking up the fiddle in an instant and playing tunes.
--DtM
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Dan the Man
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Jeez, you guys should move to Arkansas! Average humidity of 57%, ranges between about 50%-80% year-round. This is where fiddles want to go when they retire
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Hey, the one time I've been through Arkansas, I was thinking it's where *I* want to retire, nevermind my fiddle. Buffalo River country was mighty appealing....
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Yeah there's a lot of unspoiled natural beauty here, you should take a float trip down the Buffalo sometime. Lots of people come here to do that. And actually, a lot of people do retire here from other states. If you enjoy trout fishing, some of the best fishing in the country is here.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Yes, floating the Buffalo has been on my bucket list for a while now.
Sigh, I live in Montana, surrounded by "blue-ribbon" trout streams, but I rarely go fishing.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Why have so many fiddles anyway? Sell them all and buy a better one with the proceeds.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by ...
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Good Lord no. I talk harshly to it once in a while, but capital punishment? Never.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
In Florida it's too hot and humid to open the windows in the summer so the house is all sealed up with the AC on. Come winter the windows are open, it's cool and dry enough where none of the instruments have problems. All strings and wood. I leave 'em all out on stands.
For the fiddle, I got me something similar to this, I stand it up and out of the way on a high display. I just reach up and take it down like a book on a shelf when i want to play.
http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/product_images/723/P_723_S00.jpg
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
All this talk of being suspended by the scrolls is making me uncomfortable.
# Posted on November 1st 2008 by oldstrings
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Tee hee oldstrings, yer safe, I recon ... and thanks for your images SWFL and Will and Dan the Man and Mary and Ravenswood. Marklar, I'm envious, truly envious ... and I've got a spare room which might actually be a better option, I guess, but it would have to be air conditioned and humidified to keep it even temp and humidity (and of course I'm envious) ... but I've just converted it into a drying room because the puppies kept pulling down the washing from the outside line ... so it was fence the clothesline or find somewhere safe to hang the washing.
. but I gotta get off the computer now ... we've got a raging thunderstorm ... cheers
Llig, well, as useful as ever. The question was: Do you hang your fiddle? ... and my good fiddle is still 2,700 kms away where I took it to get fixed last Christmas (mumble mumble mumble). With noone the other end willing to risk shipping it back to me. As I said above all musical instruments held together with glue eventually become unstuck here ... why, oh why would I subject anything really expensive (good?) to that? ... especially at the expense of selling off reserves ... and then when you HAVE to inevitably send them away to be fixed ... they're gone for months (or in this case nearly a flippin' year!!!) ... and what to do in the meantime ... I mean, give me a break! My two recent fiddles have been acquired to bridge the gap so I've got something, and a reserve, to play ... you have to have reserves here ... a fact ... and having them sitting about in cases surely is not that great for them either. I just want to do something better for them, hey? I would have thought, not unreasonable.
However, having come across that "Isn't it time you got yourself a better fiddle" quip before, I'll take it as a compliment
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I have only have one fiddle now Maybe to good to hang on a wall- but when I had another not so good one I did- I found I played it more for, it was easier to lift an old fiddle and bow off
the wall , than go to the bouther of going into a case for the
good one - so I was Playing all the time,,Whenever a tune just came into my Head,,
jim,,
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by FIDDLE4
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Packie Manus Byrne, in his autobiography ''Recollections of a Donegal Man'', mentions fiddles hanging on the wall above the fireplace. The fiddles would eventually become blackened with smoke, but in the damp Irish climate, with no central heating in those days, it was the best place to keep them. Left in a case they got too damp and came apart.
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by cathycook
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
You can get carbon fiber fiddles now. Maybe that's answer to
climate problems - play it skiing, play it surfing, play it on Uluru!
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by Hup
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I had that once in a fiddle case. I opened it up and it was in pieces! I hang my fiddle on a stand and the other has its own chair to sit on, and before you say anything, no, no one is likely to sit on it! I use a shoulder rest so couldn't be taking it off on off on all the time|! I keep one fiddle tuned down a semi tone and one in standard 440.
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by piobagusfidil
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Micheal Gill,is he real?if he didnt exist,you would have to invent him,
he reminds me of politicians,who never answer the question,but introduce a red herring.
... well I know that here the advice to fiddlers is to always leave your fiddle in its case when you aren't playing it. The issue being to slow the rate at which your fiddle dries out and the glue disintegrates into dust ... but I've got a few fiddles now and they're dotted in cases around the house, so some are not tending to be played because they are out of sight and mind ... and I was thinking ... perhaps it would be nice to perhaps hang them in a glass fronted cabinet (humidified a tad and well out of the reach of any sun) where they could be seen together and where a simple equal selection would be all that's required.
yes,if its away from direct sun sounds good to me .
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by Dick Miles
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
think of your fiddles, in the same way people think of antique furniture and central heating.
inside your glass case put a tiny bowl of water ,every day check the water and top it up.
# Posted on November 2nd 2008 by Dick Miles
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Yes !!! I, too have taken to hanging my fiddles. When they were kept in cases, it always seemed an effort to practice. Once I decided to take my playing to a higher level, I built two hanging racks that hold my fiddles and bows. Way more conduciive to playing and much more convenient to noticing their different voices and making comparisons for tweaking.
My cases are only for transport now.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by hauke
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
It's probably a combination of the psychosomatic effect and the practical fact that I play a lot more, but the voice in my fiddle has really come out now that it stays out rather than being cooped up in the case. Maybe it's really a question of whether it's your fiddle that likes it, not you?
--DtM
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Dan the Man
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
No one seems to have mentioned the bow. If you hang your fiddle on the wall do you hang the bow alongside it or keep it elsewhere?
Consider this potential scenario - a fiddler takes his fiddle off the peg, puts it in the case and rushes off to a session, only to realise when he gets there that the bow is still hanging on the wall at home ...
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I was at a house session recently where a well-known fiddler opened his case to find it completely empty.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by oldstrings
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
It would seem sensible to hang fiddles and bows together, thank you every one ... and I am really getting to like the whole idea. A temp/humidity controlled environment out of case would also do well for the bows I have no doubt. As it is at the moment, Trevor, the bows are also in the cases, and what could happen is that I might go out with the right fiddle and the wrong bow, or vice versa. Also, whereas carbon fibre may not be affected by changes in humidity, horsehair is. And a carbon fibre fiddle might not be such a bad idea around these parts thanks Hup, or for taking camping in the bush.
Thank you all. Now to start looking for the right kit to do the job ... this'll be fun and keep me outta mischief for a while. Thank you all once again ... and Cathy Cook, thanks for your imagery of blackened fiddles over the fireplace in Donegal ... lovely. OOooooo its nice to ponder the possibilities.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
... yep, when I was horsing around, someone turned up to a gymkhana, went to the float on the back ... no horse! It sometimes happens.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Actually, it's better to keep your bow(s) out of the dark, fiber-rich confines of a case. A bit of light on the bow hair prohibits bow bug infestations. And believe me, you don't want to get bow bugs in your case.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
What are bow bugs, Marklar? I didn't know there were such things. Please tell.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
They are tiny bugs that eat the horse hair.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Yeah, they're like tiny mites, more info here:
http://www.stringsmagazine.com/issues/Strings106/yourinstrument.html
They can feed on synthetic fibers as well. They are common in carpet and can survive on the lining of your case once they get in there, so never put your fiddle, bow, or open case down on a carpeted floor (aside from the obvious reasons).
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Marklar
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Thanks to Cathy for mentioning Packie Byrne's autobiography (a great read, by the way), but there's a little more to the story. It was quite common in the past for houses to have an inglenook, a niche built into the fireplace where people might sit for extra warmth. Some larger houses even had said nook on both sides of the fire. Instruments would be hung above the fireplace so they could be easily reached for musicmaking.
I was staying with a friend down in Clare a short while ago whose house still features his late mother's fiddle hanging above the fireplace. He remembers concertinas suspended there too, but also recalls the day when a television arrived in the house. This was set opposite the inglenooks and from that moment on all attention was paid outwards, towards the box, rather than inwards to the fire, the banter and the music-making - human company replaced by banality - the story of our times.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by MacCruiskeen
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Oooooo this thread has turned interesting after all. How could I be so niaive about such things as bow bugs? Perhaps they don't survive here, it might be too dry ... nobody has ever said anything about them ... but now I know ... and thanks for the link Marklar ... all my bows were (notice the now past tense) stored in cases with fiddles ... yikes!
And thanks for the lovely imagery Floss the Tethers ... it must have been very unhealthy for the humans' respiratory systems sitting over the fire like that though even with the banter and music-making or the TV if they continued to sit in the nooks.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Lazyhound-----right on !!! The one problem with hanging the bows with the fiddles is just that. I once FORGOT to grab the bows; fortunately the venue was reasonblly close.
# Posted on November 4th 2008 by hauke
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Phew! That was lucky hauke. My issue is the little thimble thingee I wear on my index finger when I play ... forget it ... then can't play ... it happens ... never mind the fiddle or bow. Oh well ... saves a few OP's splitting headaches I recon.
# Posted on November 4th 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Hey, I was just meandering home from having lost my latest job (that didn't last long for reasons way beyond my control ... sigh!) and I was looking for some way to console myself ... went looking for perhaps a copy of "The Field" DVD to no avail ... then ... bingo! In the second hand shop I found the perfect cabinet to hang my fiddles and bows in. Not too expensive, but not looking like rubbish, so it is bought, and now to get it home. OOOooo its going to happen ... yippee!
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Flippin heck, you can cheer yourself up watching "the Field"? The one with Richard Harris and John Hurt? Blimey
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by ...
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
I don't know Llig, I haven't seen it yet! It isn't available in Australia. I'd just lost my job, sheeze.
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
a little sympathy is in order.
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
You have my sympathy.
And a bit of advice: Go watch "singin in the rain" or "some like it hot" or "seven brides for seven brothers" or something.
I'm just suggesting that watching Richard Harris murder Tom Beringer over an old sod of earth is pretty heavy stuff. Marvelous, but heavy.
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by ...
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
What a great movie that was, though your'e right Llig, even the ceili scene ends horribly! No respite there.
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Hey I might like some heavy stuff, something heavier than I've just been through to give some perspective to it. I've had a torrid three weeks or so while the job lasted and this old scraper is not a ball of fluff you know.
I thought about going to the cinema, watch something ridiculously awful, but at the time I was there it wasn't even open yet ... but anyway, I've found The Field on eBay ... so, against your better judgement I'm gunna buy it, but I'll have ta wait for it to come from bluudy America
Is this what you mean SWFL?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XwjYxAAi7TM
... sigh! In the meantime I can set up and experiment with the new secondhand fiddle cabinet, hey! Where to put it so it looks good, is outta the sun, yet handy ... might even buy the bottom bit too to house all the cases and other music stuff. OOOOOOooo possibilities.
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
... The Field came in black and white same as The Boys and Girl from County Clare! ... nothing like watching a bit of insanity to regain a bit of your own and see things in perspective ... but here's an update on the fiddle cabinet ... fiddles not hung yet ... and hopefully soon have three fiddles and a mando in it ... but I found a nice home for the cabinet ... and it is soooooooo handy. I can't believe I dun it! OOoooooooooo! Thank you people for talking it through.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=271297&l=50c6f&id=1213494535
# Posted on January 13th 2009 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Hey Clear Drops! Quite the delayed reaction on my part, eh? You got it, there's the scene in question. Great flick that was.
Lovely cabinet too! Glad to see you didn't hang the poor fiddle. Like I said above, that's just cruel and unusual punishment. A stern talking to is usually all that's needed to straighten our a wayward instrument, in my opinion.
# Posted on January 13th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
Down with capital punishment for fiddles, hey! I think they are going to be very happy not imprisoned in their cases ... yay!
Do you know how to make a DVD play in colour? It would be great if The Field would ... very powerful stuff ... must watch it again soon.
# Posted on January 13th 2009 by Clear Drops
Re: Do you hang your fiddle?
... and here is the final realisation of a dream with the doors open:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=289406&l=95f4e&id=1213494535
Ready for the old Mittenwald girl when she finally finds her way home where she belongs ... sigh!
# Posted on January 26th 2009 by Clear Drops