Mile High Pochette Fiddle Club

1:00AM somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, just after crossing the Dateline at about 33,000 feet I put the pochette fiddle through its paces – with a mute. The aircraft – a Boeing 747-700 had plenty of room in the door bay by the galley for a few quiet tunes. I had no problems using the short ¼ size bow – even for slow airs. And the mute was very effective in ensuring the sound didn’t get over the ambient sound of the engines.

The flight attendant was concerned that it may be noisy as the other passengers were asleep, but after the first few notes those concerns were quickly allayed. Perhaps this is the first ‘mile-high’ pochette? Maybe this will be the start of a new movement – let’s see how many unusual places become pochette fiddle moments

The only difficulty I had was actually getting the thing back in my backpack afterwards – I dislodged the bridge and the sound-post fell over. It took me the best part of 45 minutes to re-seat it. Luckily the two sound holes were just big enough to get two fingers in to manipulate the sound-post. For future design modification I would enlarge these holes a little – my left index finger was rubbed raw. The alternative would be to provide struts like inside a mandolin, but the sound-post I think works better to carry the sound through to the back plate for extra volume.

Also, if I narrowed the body a little I could fit it inside a PVC tube thus ensuring there would be no knocking against the bridge.

With the scroll removed the overall fiddle length is now down to 22cm which just brings it within the international standard for a carry-on bag without sacrificing playable string length or the traditional placement of the tuning pegs.

At no time did I have any difficulty with Australian or US security checks on the bag – even with the tip of the fiddle poking out of the top of the bag.

 

The Silver Spire

This Irish tune is driving me nuts - but it’s the next one on my list to learn after Paddy Ryan’s Dream which I’ve nearly learnt.

Last week it was the Fleur de Mandragore - a great tune that I heard at the National Folk Festival this year. I’m still having trouble with Tommy’s Tarbukas - but I’m getting there on that one too

Cheers
Jerry

 

Stradivarius - lost and found

Imagine how you’d feel! After 18 months of negotiations you get to borrow a 1723 Stradivarius violin - the “ex-Keisewetter” - worth $4m, only to accidentally leave it in a New York taxi. That’s what happened to Grammy-nominated violinist Philippe Quint on Monday 21 April.

The frantic Quint phoned the cab company and the police. Meanwhile the violin lay in its case in a bag in the back of the cab overnight on a Newark street. It stayed there while the cabbie - Mohamed Khalil - took a fare to Kearny and on to Queens for a vehicle inspection.

A call went out across the cab network and a fellow cabbie asked Khalil if he’d found anything left in the back of his cab. Minutes later Quint was reunited with the violin, whereupon the violinist dropped to his knees and wept with joy and relief. Khalil made light of his honesty - “You have to be honest. Even if it was worth $10 million, it doesn’t belong to me” he is quoted as saying.

You can read more about Quint here.

And if you are ever in Khalil’s cab - make sure you give him an extra tip

Cheers
Jerry

 

Pochette - at the National Folk Festival in Canberra

My box-style pochette (travel fiddle) attracted quite a lot of attention when I took it to the National Folk Festival in Canberra. I’m still thinking through some further modifications, and no I’m not going into commercial production - others like Rickert and Ringholz already make fine box pochettes - but here is mine being played by Sydney fiddle player Tony Pryzakowski

Cheers
Jerry