Violin

Soon after I bought my house in spring of 2000, I started taking lessons from Cambria Moss, who lives in my neighborhood. I got a backpack violin case so that I can ride my bike to my lessons. She has played many different styles including Celtic, bluegrass, jazz, and classical. We have focused mainly on Celtic music, and she has also taught me a lot of music theory. What I like most about taking lessons from her is that she is totally flexible and open to what her students want to learn at the moment. She is also a conscientious and caring person.

In the spring of 2001, I started playing at a bluegrass jam for beginner and intermediate players. We meet the first and third Thursday of every month. There are usually 10 or 15 people there, playing guitars, banjos, mandolins, and fiddles. Occasionally there is a basist too. Everyone gets at least one turn to pick what tune to play and that person sets the pace. This makes it easy enough for the beginners to play along to some songs, while keeping it fun for the more advanced players. They will also sometimes play a song fast and then slow so that everyone has a chance to play. These jams are a ton of fun and not at all intimidating.

My violin is beautiful, but my bows are awful. I had been putting off getting a new one because they are made with various animal parts and I of course am totally opposed to contributing to that. The most obvious is the horsehair. Most people think that they get the hair from happy horses living in pastures. But like most animal products, this is not really where it comes from. Most of the companies selling bow hair are Chinese farms who also sell horse meat. China has a terrible record of animal abuse. Bows need to be rehaired about once a year at least, so I had been totally torn about what to do.

Margaret Adie of Fiddlestick Bow Shop told me about a synthetic bow hair, which is much better than the synthetic hair often found on children's bows. This hair is used often by violinists who play outside because it doesn't stretch and contract with the humidity. I tried it on one of my old bows and it sounded great. Margaret made me a 100% vegan bow, her first ever but hopefully not her last. The pieces which are traditionally made of bone and shell are instead made of silver. The leather pieces have been replaced with a synthetic. She also put a piece of malachite in the frog, just for decoration. You can barely tell the difference between this bow and a traditional horsehair bow.