Bows adventure

[Sakura]

These performers 100% use cheaper bows for these crazy live performances The real good bows are used solely for recordings or live orchestra.

Majority of these great bows and instruments are loaned to them by investors and foundations. Though the items are insured, the insurance company does not cover damages caused by neglect or abuse.

 

[Luzifer]

Oh oh!

 

[rockpool]

Unlike cars - you're not really out of pocket - you simply traded one form of money for another - you still have the same net worth, and most likely an appreciating asset. So did you really spend anything? ;-)

Plus - I assume you can write off some of the cost as a business expense against performance income?

 

[Sakura]

Unlike cars - you're not really out of pocket - you simply traded one form of money for another - you still have the same net worth, and most likely an appreciating asset. So did you really spend anything? ;-)

Plus - I assume you can write off some of the cost as a business expense against performance income?

Thanks so much for the kind comments. I traded a couple of blocks of gold for it, partly to diversify, and I think I probably made the right choice since gold is plummeting as we speak. But regardless of the reasoning behind it, I simply wanted the bow because it gives me emotional satisfaction as well. When I play it, I forget everything, just like when I’m driving a Lambo

It may be possible to write off part of the cost as a business expense if the item is used for company purposes. However, to write off the full expense properly, it is usually better for the company to purchase it directly as a business investment. If the item is purchased privately, but related expenses such as maintenance are written off as business expenses, the separation between personal and company use can become unclear and create problems during an audit. So, I just bought all my instruments privately and do not use it as business expense, since the maintenance is not expensive at all.

 

[Sakura]

I'm going to have a short recital on June 27, the last Saturday of the month, and I had a short rehearsal on June 14, last Sunday.

I decided to use my new $$ bow at the rehearsal, hoping to impress people ROFL.

But something unexpected happened during the rehearsal. The pianist clearly did not practice beforehand. She was just relying on sight-reading and hoping to bullshit her way through it. Maybe she underestimated the piece, but music is brutally honest, especially classical music. Every missed note, strange chord, and wrong entrance stands out immediately.

So, in the end, she wasted everybody’s time, and now I have to do another rehearsal this Friday, June 19.

This is not some elitist move or me calling someone out for fun. She simply did not practice the piece properly, despite having three full months to prepare. That is the problem. Maybe I should upload the rehearsal recording so you guys can hear the disaster for yourselves. Actually, if she messes it up again, I might just upload the whole thing.

 

[rockpool]

What's the old saying "Skip one day of practice, I notice, skip two, the band notices, skip three, the audience notices..."

While on topic - tell us about the horsehair on the bow - how long does that last, and can you refresh it yourself, or do you have to give it to an artisan to do so? Does it wear out, or?

 

[Sakura]

What's the old saying "Skip one day of practice, I notice, skip two, the band notices, skip three, the audience notices..."

While on topic - tell us about the horsehair on the bow - how long does that last, and can you refresh it yourself, or do you have to give it to an artisan to do so? Does it wear out, or?

LOL, very true.

In my case, if I skip practice the previous day, I usually try to make up for it by practicing twice as much the next day. The problem is, at this point I probably owe about two years' worth of practice

Active professionals, especially soloists, can go through one set of bow hair every few days because they practice so much. For some players, it may last a few weeks or a few months. For students or amateur players, once or twice a year is usually enough.

Personally, I always bring my bows to an artisan/luthier for rehairing, no matter how expensive or cheap the bow is. I treat them all with the same extreme care. For older and more expensive bows, I specifically ask the master luthier to handle it personally and not one of their young pupils.

I suppose I could change the hair myself too if I have the tools, but only if someone pointed a gun at me. It is too risky because one tiny slip in concentration and the bow could split in half.

When bow hair wears out, you can usually see that the hair becomes thinner and uneven because some strands have broken off, and the color may change to a slightly greyish tone. When this happens, it can affect the sound quite a lot. Less hair means less grip on the string, so less sound comes out, and certain techniques become much harder to perform. Old rosin can also become tacky, causing the hair to grab the string too much. Also, if the bow is left for several years without maintenance and stored badly, bugs may eventually decide to enjoy the hair

Are you planning to learn the violin, or does anyone in your family play? It is a really fun experience once you get past the basics. The only annoying part is learning the basics, because it is not as immediately fun like piano.

 

[rockpool]

Sounds like you need two antique bows so you're not waiting for it to be serviced all the time! ;-)

No, not a violinist or an aspiring one, just intellectually curious about everything. I played tenor horn in my youth orchestra, but life took me in a different direction away from musical performance. I was adequate, but not talented.

It's interesting your perspective on DIY servicing though - I would MUCH rather service my Lamborghini myself than give it to my dealer - I have no confidence in them at all, though historically I did use an independent repair shop where the owner was an absolute craftsman. I remember needing a clutch for a Gallardo, and him calling me saying, "you know, the clutch on the Maserati is a third of the price, and if we just put it in the lathe to switch the starter gear - it will work fine..."

 

[Sakura]

Wow, a tenor horn player! I have always respected brass players because they add so much to the mood and color of the music. Without them, the orchestra would feel a bit plain. But going into another profession was probably a good idea, because I have not seen many rich musicians in my lifetime ROFL.

Now you are giving me a good reason to get another bow I have two other bows. One is fairly old but not exactly antique, and the other is a student bow that I used a long time ago.

Are you sure your mechanic's name is not MacGyver or maybe @Luzifer I totally understand about dealer service. They broke the casing at the back of my CD player when installing the cosmetic roll bar, and later they broke my right tail light during service. I also think they scratched one of the rims when they changed the tires. If it were not for their dealer diagnostic machine, I would probably take the car somewhere else.

 

[Luzifer]

Wow, a tenor horn player! I have always respected brass players because they add so much to the mood and color of the music. Without them, the orchestra would feel a bit plain. But going into another profession was probably a good idea, because I have not seen many rich musicians in my lifetime ROFL.

Now you are giving me a good reason to get another bow I have two other bows. One is fairly old but not exactly antique, and the other is a student bow that I used a long time ago.

Are you sure your mechanic's name is not MacGyver or maybe @Luzifer I totally understand about dealer service. They broke the casing at the back of my CD player when installing the cosmetic roll bar, and later they broke my right tail light during service. I also think they scratched one of the rims when they changed the tires. If it were not for their dealer diagnostic machine, I would probably take the car somewhere else.

It's impossible to take car trim out without breaking a tab, a clip or whatever. First they were not really made to be taken out easily, next you don't know the exact way to take these apart and by trying to figure it out you break some.

Same goes for car connectors, On the Corvette it's a complete nightmare, the connectors clip in but they made them so complicated to remove like a jigsaw puzzle and the plastic is brittle. I had to replace the TPS sensor connector, Throttle body connector and even the plastic part of the throttle body broke! The Starter connector is also broke. I had to cut these out and solder wires. When I bought new ones I tested them out and sure enough I will never be able to take them apart easily next time, they will break again.

Other than that most mechanics don't care and will damage your car, they never take the blame.

 

[rockpool]

If the customer drives it off the lot - they consider their work done. DIY becomes a problem eventually - I just built a huge two story workshop on my property, mostly to store all the tools I've acquired over the years - and I'm in tech so I don't need any of them for my profession. When you own three table saws and four routers, you have a problem. I am a complete failure at Danshari ;-)

 

[Luzifer]

I wish I had a big garage to fit both cars and a large space to work in. Since house prices skyrocketed even if I sold the H, the Vette and my current house it wouldn't be enough. I would have a 2 car garage with another mortgage payment without any cars!

 

[Sakura]

Right after I wrote about business expense, the taxman called for an audit next month. I was waiting for them to call two years ago since they last audited me ten years ago. They usually come to audit once every ten years. Maybe I was down the list since I got their certificate ten years ago for passing the audit in perfect score.

I think the gov is running out of money as the inflation is out of control. The rates were raised few days ago so the gov now has to pay extra to pay back the debt.

 

[Luzifer]

Right after I wrote about business expense, the taxman called for an audit next month. I was waiting for them to call two years ago since they last audited me ten years ago. They usually come to audit once every ten years. Maybe I was down the list since I got their certificate ten years ago for passing the audit in perfect score.

I think the gov is running out of money as the inflation is out of control. The rates were raised few days ago so the gov now has to pay extra to pay back the debt.

I hope it's not a complicated process.

 

[Sakura]

I hope it's not a complicated process.

I think they just wanted a free tour at my gold stash.

 

[Sakura]

Back to bows, new international wildlife trade regulations called CITES have made overseas sales of pernambuco bows much more complicated. Pernambuco, the Brazilian wood traditionally used for fine bows, is now treated as a protected material, so import or export permits may be required for international commercial sales.

The tree huggers are at it again, making it harder for people to enjoy nice things. I suppose the value of existing bows may rise further as the rules become stricter.

 

[Sakura]

I'm going to have a short recital on June 27, the last Saturday of the month, and I had a short rehearsal on June 14, last Sunday.

I decided to use my new $$ bow at the rehearsal, hoping to impress people ROFL.

But something unexpected happened during the rehearsal. The pianist clearly did not practice beforehand. She was just relying on sight-reading and hoping to bullshit her way through it. Maybe she underestimated the piece, but music is brutally honest, especially classical music. Every missed note, strange chord, and wrong entrance stands out immediately.

So, in the end, she wasted everybody’s time, and now I have to do another rehearsal this Friday, June 19.

This is not some elitist move or me calling someone out for fun. She simply did not practice the piece properly, despite having three full months to prepare. That is the problem. Maybe I should upload the rehearsal recording so you guys can hear the disaster for yourselves. Actually, if she messes it up again, I might just upload the whole thing.

Just to update the world news that nobody asked for LOL...

It is June 19 today, so I went to another rehearsal. I brought my expensive bow.

The pianist did practice this time, so that was an improvement. However, I think she still needs a lot of work because she sometimes did not follow the score. She improvised. I mean, I have never seen a pianist improvise in classical music like this. Maybe in jazz, sure, but certainly not in classical music with standard repertoire, especially when there is no cadenza section written there.

When she messed up, she just made up her own chords. She thinks she is Mozart, but Mozart did not do strange chords and never BS his way through. At that point, I was not sure whether we were still playing classical music.

What should I do about this? This is my first time dealing with this kind of pianist. I am not very optimistic about the June 27 performance, but I guess there is not much I can do now except pray and hope for the best.

 

[REKIII]

That is crazy that she is doing that. If she was a soloist, fine, still weird, but only those that know the music well would notice. But when in a group, or duet, she simply cannot do that. She sounds weird, but, even if you/others are playing correct, you sound off too. I mean at some point you have to bow out, right? Just to avoid embarrassment?

 

[Sakura]

I read that smart people do extra preparation when the odds are against them. So today I asked a pianist friend to help me do some extra preparation before the main event, and she kindly agreed. So I'll do extra prep on the 25th, just two days before the main event.

I am going to ask her to play like the crazy pianist, so I can practice surviving unexpected situations. Maybe if I play extra confidently and more phrasing, a strange chord here and there from the pianist will not be so noticeable. Hopefully

 

[rockpool]

I think you should be ready to channel your inner Charles Yang - if you go out, go out in epic style....