Category: music

Callus building

On By CarynIn Craft, music

I played my mandolin for a little while, until my fingers started to hurt. The top strings are thin and feel sharp. To deal with it I need some calluses.

“Calluses develop from repeated friction, rubbing or irritation and pressure on your skin.” (Cleveland Clinic)

Traditionally string players develop calluses from playing their instruments; one recommendation is to play for 10 minutes multiple times per day, rather than one long session. I would love to this, but my schedule doesn’t always allow for that, and I am easily distracted. I started to look for other ways to apply sharp pressure to my finger tips. I tried several home grown things, a block of wood wrapped with old guitar strings, a hand strengthener wrapped with wire, but they did not fit easily in my pocket and so would not be readily available throughout the day. I ended up making a triangular stick.

Photo description: two lengths of flame maple cut with a profile of right triangles, sealed with Howard’s Feed-N-Wax

I squared up a small piece of flame maple to 3/4”, then cut it down the middle to make two triangular shaped sticks. I sanded them to 320 grit and sealed the wood with feed-n-wax. I made two lengths, one to sit by my chair, and the shorter one to go in my pocket.

Photo description: gripping the triangular flame maple stick

To get the edge of the triangle to bite into my fingers, I place my thumb at the wide base and my fingers on the apex.

Photo description: grooves in my fingertips from gripping the wood, which are similar to how my fingers look after playing a string instrument

It takes a month to develop proper calluses, so I will update y’all later on the efficacy of this method. I can say that in the past few days I do pull out the stick (I need a better name) and use it several times a day. Even if calluses don’t develop, it makes a useful fidget.

Mandolin

On By CarynIn music

I’ve been holding back some of my holiday gift money and keeping an eye on the marketplace. I like small instruments and have been eyeballing mandolins. Then one came up that was for sale in the next town over, and looked to be in good condition, so I bought it.

Photo description: face of a American Conservatory bowl back 8 string mandolin
Photo description: bowl back of the American Conservatory mandolin

The seller put me in touch with the previous owner, who had purchased the mandolin from a man who was clearing out his Dad’s house. The instrument had been his grandfather’s and had been sitting in the top of a closet for years. It was made by Lyon & Healey, back when they made more than harps, somewhere around 1890.

I tuned the mandolin, and it keeps pitch well. There are no cracks, and the tuning pegs hold. Absolutely amazing for an instrument that is over 100 years old.

Fixing paper tears

On By CarynIn Craft, Life Hack, music

The roomba ate a page of my kid’s guitar lesson book. I’m not sure how the book ended up on the floor, but I suspect a cat.

Photo description: classic guitar lesson music with multiple messy, wrinkled tears

I ordered document repair tape, because I didn’t have any, and regular transparent tape applied at this magnitude would put further stress on the paper.

The hardest part was getting the tape away from the liner the first time. The box is conveniently set up to dispense the tape and manage the separation process. Getting is started is just a little tricky.

Photo description: paper repair tape set up with the box as the dispenser, with the tape on the left and backing on the right

The tape doesn’t look transparent, but when applied to the paper the ink and pencil marks show through clearly. The tape is also thin, which is why it needs the backing, but is nearly imperceptible when applied. I made sure the tears lined up and where the paper split, that the ink side was visible. To reinforce the repair, I put the tape on the back of the page as well. The damage to the page was extensive, however, I was able to get it stabilized and usable, but not pristine.

Photo description: repaired page with all notes intact and readable

Overall, I can recommend the document repair tape for quick repairs on paper that is referenced frequently, or eaten by the robot vacuum.

Standing up

On By CarynIn Life Hack, music

I received a synthesizer from a neighbor who was cleaning out. It has a “learn” function, something my 1928 upright grand doesn’t. What it doesn’t have is a music stand. (My upright grand has an awesome music stand that can hold many piano books.) I looked up the manual online and saw that the issued music stand was just a thick wire fitted into two holes. Hm. I took an old wire hanger, snipped off the hook, and bent the rest into the right shape. I took a second hanger and made a page stop at the bottom, which does not stop the sheet music from bending and sliding out the open wire frame. Hm.

Photo description: music stand on a synthesizer made from wire hangers

To fix the open frame, I used a grocery bag to make a sheath over the wire. It works, and was a zero cost solution. A little washi tape on the channel works better than the wire to keep pages from sliding.

Photo description: wire and grocery bag music stand on a synthesizer

Sheet music is my crutch. I’m struggling with the teaching method on the synthesizer, since it only shows the note on the staff when it is played, not before.

Confession

On By CarynIn games, music

My content is getting a little thin because I’m currently obsessed with the new update of the Stardew Valley video game. I should be knitting, but instead I’m planting virtual crops and spinning fabric (the “loom” in the game takes raw wool straight to fabric on a device that looks like a spinning wheel). I did the game to perfection before the update, but all the new content from Concerned Ape was worth replaying the game. Like this giant powder melon that grows in winter.

Photo description: screen shot from my Stardew Valley farm with a large blue melon amongst smaller blue melons on a field of snow

I’m getting to the trudging part, where the goal is to get enough money for perfection (either the true game way, or buying it 1% at a time). This is not as fun and I will get easily distracted by real life things, which is good for my blog content.

Of course, the first thing I get distracted with is picking out a harmony part for Bill Grogan’s Goat and singing it through the house. Hm.