Amazing Rudeness

The Pickin' Chicks played today at the Swanwick Picnic in Swanwick, IL.  They were hired to play for one hour between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.  About half-way through their set, the guy that was hired to play after The Pickin' Chicks started setting up his equipment during their performance.  He walked in front of them several times, moved one of the girls out of his way to put up one of his monitors, and then proceeded to stand on stage with them for the last 15 minutes of their performance while he messed around with his microphones, stands and other equipment. 

When asked by two different people to stop, he gave the scathing reply that he was being payed to play and the girls were not.  Then he proceeded to brag about how he had been hired for this gig for the past 21 years.  After that, he totally cut down the very people that had hired him by saying they were weird and that they would be angry if he didn't start playing at 5:30 p.m. on the nose.  (Which didn't happen, by the way.)   Since we were both hired by the same person, of course that person would understand there would be a short time where the PAs would be setup and dismantled.

When the lady in charge heard about this, she apologized for him to the girls.  She said she thought he would have been more professional and that she would have put a stop to it if she had been there.  I hope that other musicians and bands can remember to treat each other nicely.  After all, we're all in this together!

Monday's Advanced Instructional Jam

The past several weeks, the banjo players have been working on playing out of C position.  I have not passed out tab on these songs, as my goal is for everyone to learn them by ear.  I decided to go ahead and post a video of two of the songs so that you can at least hear it and play along.  Just a reminder:  playing out of C position allows you to play songs easily in the keys of C, D, E and F.  I am posting I'll Fly Away and Bury Me Beneath the Willow. 

Fiddle / Violin Setup: What Exactly is it?

As the most important part of your instrument, setup is really something that every player needs to understand!  Especially beginning students!  A good setup can mean a difference as slight as a tone quality adjustment, or as major as a playability issue. 

Just this last week, I corresponded via e-mail regarding the purchase of a fiddle online.  "Austin" wanted to know if the fiddle he was thinking of purchasing was a good fiddle for a beginner.  He sent me a link to the website where the fiddle was for sale, and asked me quite a few questions about it.  Here's what I had to say about it:

Hi Austin -

I think the fiddle is fine, but the setup is probably not going to be fine. You need to make sure that you are buying from a shop that specializes in fiddle setup, not just fiddle sales. An inexpensive instrument can be a fine starter instrument, even if it doesn't have great value or symphonic tone quality. If it is not setup correctly, then it doesn't matter if it costs $1000 or more. It will be hard to play, and that is the last thing anyone needs, especially a beginner. A "factory" setup is not okay. Many online places make you think this is okay, but it's not. You want a person who plays and also specializes in setup/luthier work to set this up for you. You should expect to pay an additional $50-$100 for this, depending upon what needs to be done and where you take it.

Austin then replied with the following:

alright thanks a lot!!, so after buying this you recommend me to go into a music store to get it "set up"? what exactly do you mean buy "set up" though

And this, folks, is the million dollar question!  I reponded with quite a lengthy e-mail, and then decided that I really needed to post this online because too many folks don't know or understand the importance of a good setup.

Hi Austin -

I don't think a regular music store will be able to do this correctly for you. You really need to have this done at a violin shop. A luthier at a violin ship will have the knowledge and EXPERIENCE that is needed to do this correctly. Here is what we typically do when we set up a fiddle:
1) Adjust the curvature of the bridge
2) Adjust the thickness of the bridge
3) Adjust the height of the bridge
4) Adjust the spacing of the bridge
5) "Voice" the bridge, which consists of carving certain parts of the bridge to make it more responsive
6) Put the bridge in the proper place on the fiddle (which affects the tuning of the fiddle)
7) Adjust the spacing of the nut
8) Adjust the height of the nut
9) Set the soundpost in the correct location

Why is this all important? If makes the difference between having an instrument that is easy to play and having one that frustrates you.

When the bridge is shaped correctly, it allows you to be able to play individual strings without hitting other strings. If you are playing bluegrass or folk music and you want to play double stops (two notes at the same time) frequently, then you will want a slightly flatter bridge which makes this easier. The spacing of the strings on the bridge will also affect the same things.

If the bridge is too high, then the strings will be too high off the fingerboard. This causes the fiddle to play out tune and makes it hard to finger the notes. It also increases the amount of the squeaking that you'll get when you play because you'll be more likely to touch strings that you are not playing, and if your bow also touches these strings, all you'll get is a squeak.

If the bridge is too thick, then the tone quality of the instrument is affected. It is more likely to sound tinny because the bridge cannot vibrate as well. Voicing the bridge also helps with the tone quality and vibrations.

Many people do not know this, but fiddle bridges are not glued on the instrument. If the bridge is not in the correct location on the fiddle, then the intonation (playing in tune) is affected. This will also affect where you finger the notes on the fingerboard.

When the nut is too high, then it makes it hard to press the strings down when you play. It will also affect the intonation of the fiddle.

If the string spacing of the nut is too close, then you will have a hard time fingering one string without touching another string. The larger your fingers are, the harder this will be. Fiddle/violin spacing is typically closer than any instrument other than maybe mandolin, so you want this to be correct.

The soundpost is a small wooden dowel that is located inside the fiddle. It is also not glued in. We use special tools to set the location of the soundpost. If a fiddle does not have a soundpost, then the top of the fiddle can cave in due to the amount of pressure from the strings and bridge. If the soundpost is not in the correct location, then it will affect the tone quality of the instrument. In extreme cases, it could affect the soundness of the fiddle, but that is truly rare. This would most likely occur if the soundpost was not the correct height. Too tall of a soundpost can crack the top of the fiddle. Too low of a soundpost will cause it to fall or move on its own.

If you want to find out if your music store has the knowledge, talk to whoever will do the work and find out exactly what they do when set up a fiddle. Ask questions. Most regular music stores simply cannot afford to hire a violin specialist unless they sell and repair lots of fiddles.

You are better off to pay a little bit more and order from a reputable shop that will do all this for you before they even ship out the fiddle. That way if there is a problem, they will spot it before you even get the fiddle. You won't have to make a special trip to have the instrument setup. A reputable shop will also back up the instruments they sell and the work they do.

Please note that I don't personally know the music store you are ordering from, so I can't tell you anything about them. I'm not saying they are bad or are not reputable. I also don't know where you're from, so obviously won't know what music stores are in your area. If you can purchase locally, you are better off. It's always better to be able to talk to a person LIVE rather than on the phone or in e-mail.

If you have a teacher lined up to help you learn, then your teacher should also be able to help you with all of this. A good teacher will know where to buy and get instruments repaired.

October Contests - Flattop Guitar Added!

Our Annual Fiddle & Banjo Contest has been expanded this year to add a Flattop Guitar Picking contest!  The contests will be held in our new location at the New Athens Community Hall in New Athens, IL.  (The flyer has directions.)  There will be five fiddle divisions, four banjo divisions, and just one flattop guitar division for this first year.  If we have enough contestants, we will add divisions to the guitar contest.  Date of the event is Saturday, October 30, 2010.  Registration starts at Noon and the contest starts at 1:00 p.m.  Take a look at the flyer for all the details.  If you still have questions, feel free to contact Chris or Earl at The Bluegrass Shack.

CLICK HERE to view a .pdf version of the flyer.

We hope you'll come out and join us!

The Chris Talley Trio at Bellerive Park!

The Chris Talley Trio will be playing at Bellerive Park (in St. Louis, MO) on Monday, July 26, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.  If you haven't seen them this year, this is a good opportunity to get out!  Bellerive Park is located in the Carondelet area of St. Louis (off Broadway) right on the riverfront.  You can watch the barges float by while the music is playing!

Many of you have asked about Carla, our bass player, and we are happy to say that she will be back with us for this performance.  Carla had two surgeries this year and is finally well enough to join us again!  Many thanks to Kabbie for playing with us while Carla has been out.  We sure appreciate your talent, willingness and skill!

You won't want to miss hearing Miss Emily either!  She is a fine musician and singer, and at 15 years of age, will knock your socks off with her talent!  We are so happy to have her with us as a member of The Chris Talley Trio.  We've got lots of new songs to share with you!

Miscellaneous Stuff

Wow!  It's been a while since I last blogged.  Things have been pretty busy around here and a lot has been happening.  We've sold about a zillion fiddles online in the past month.  You'd think it would be an influx of purchases for kids starting school, but it has actually been adults who have decided that they want to finally fulfill the dream of learning to play an instrument!  Congratulations!  I always say that one of the nice things about music is that it is never too late!  We have a great policy on fiddles here at The Bluegrass Shack, too.  We offer a 100% trade-in policy for all fiddles, whether they are new, used or vintage, as long as they are still in good condition.  That is fiddle for fiddle, and fiddles are the only instrument for which we offer this policy.

The past month has seen many birthdays around here as well.  The last couple of jam sessions have been filled with food and other goodies to help us celebrate.  What fun!

We had a float in the New Athens Homecoming Parade again this year.  This makes the 5th year in a row for us.  Pictures of our float and the Pickin' Chicks float were both printed in full color in the Freeburg Tribune this past week.

The Pickin' Chicks won first place in the Four Fountains Talent Contest held yesterday.  They auditioned last month just for a spot in the contest, and they played wonderfully!

We had our 7th Annual Bluegrass Shack Summer Fiddle Contest on Sunday.  We had 30 contestants and a packed house at our new location -- the New Athens Community Center.  Many thanks to Dick and Gary for making all the fiddle trophies; to The Pickin' Chicks and their families for providing all the food and beverages, and for helping with the door and numerous other things that were needed; to Dawn for her help with scoring; to Janice and Marc for judging; to Kabbie for help with the raffles; to Zane and Ron for performing for the crowd between divisions while the scores were tallied; to Eric and Brad for help with the equipment, chairs, tables and setup; to Earl for taking all the pictures; and to all the rest whom I might have forgotten to mention by name for everything else!  I hope I haven't forgotten anyone!  The crowd was wonderful!  The music was wonderful!  The food was nothing short of amazing (especially the homemade desserts!!!!)!

I think 4-year old London stole the show with her performance on fiddle.  Anyone who saw her will agree!  She was simply adorable.  Our contestant from the farthest location was Tim, from California, who played in the Junior II Division.  In fact, Tim won 1st place in his division!  John B., our oldest contestant, won the top prize of $100 in the Open/Senior Division.  If you haven't been out to our Facebook page, you really need to take a look there.  I have posted pictures from this event and many other events and/or happenings here.  You might just see yourself! 

Tuesday's Jam with Special Birthday!

Just wanting to let you know that at this Tuesday's jam, July 20th, we will be celebrating Stan's birthday.  We hope that you'll come out to enjoy some great bluegrass music and food!  We'll have a table setup for all the goodies. If you want to bring a food to share, feel free, but it's not expected or required! 

Happy Birthday, Stan!