So, these things tend to happen on days when you don't need it... I'm busy trying to finish an assignment with a busy week coming up, but these are the way that things happen. I guess if it was not happening at an inopportune time, then I probably wouldn't really notice!
Anyway, opening my case this morning... I was greeted by a broken string. Sigh, no big deal... all string players replace their strings on a regular basis as these things snap all the time. I'm happier that metal strings fail much less often than their gut counterparts.... although, I still have both on various instruments, the fact that I have switched to metal on some of the instruments means that I'm changing strings a good deal less often!
... back to the point.... yes, opening a case with a snapped string is annoying but not too much more than that. I figured that replacing it wouldn't be a problem... I had a student to teach and then a symphony orchestra rehearsal the next day. Plus that bloody assignment...
... except that this wasn't a simple broken string. For some reason, the rosewood tailpiece had splintered around the area that was securing the string! I have no idea why and how this failed quite so spectacularly!
I mean, the tailpiece was quite old... I think it was put on the violin about 20 years ago or something like that... and that section of the instrument is under a great deal of tension due to the strings pulling on it, but I've never experienced something quite so odd. I guess there must have been a weakness fracture, perhaps from the change in climate due to the relocation to other side of the world, or perhaps just due to old age and wear and tear?
Anyway... it sparked off a flurry of calls to luthiers who lived in the area that would be able to replace the tailpiece at short notice. It isn't a big job, and one that would only take less than hour... the trouble was that I needed to get to places to teach in a short amount of time, and that it DEFINITELY needed to be fixed for tomorrow when I would have to rehearse in the orchestra!
Unfortunately, the first luthier that I called was away at the coast... and so that wasn't going to work. Thankfully, the second one was available and also had nice tailpieces on stock as well... unfortunately, my oldest daughter was feeling under the weather due to her Coronavirus vaccination yesterday... so, unfortunately, that meant that I had to drag her out of bed and into the car to do a quick drive to the luthier (oh yes, my wife was working... and so we couldn't do an easy child juggle).
In the end, everything managed to get sorted. I was running late... but in the end, so was my student and so everything worked out on that end. Sadly, I didn't get the time to work on my assignment and so that got pushed back again for another day... I did manage to get a rough skeleton of an idea up, and so I will be able to work on the PowerPoint presentation on the weekend.
The trickiest part of the morning was picking out a nice new tailpiece for the violin... these wooden ones, well... they all have unique colours and patterns... and after seeing the same one on my violin for the last couple of decades... well, it is hard to imagine it with anything else. But I did manage to find one that fit and looked sort of right. I guess time will tell whether or not it will be the right one... I can always change it for something else.
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Handy Crypto Tools
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Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
FTX: Regulated US-based exchange with some pretty interesting and useful discounts on trading and withdrawal fees for FTT holders. Decent fiat on-ramp as well!
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Huobi: One of the largest exchanges in the world, some very interesting listings and early access sales through Primelist.
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