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Violin or fiddle?

In Music on September 4, 2011 at 10:40 am

Is that a violin or a fiddle?

If you have read my first novel, “One Fiddle Too Many,” you might have picked up that I have more than a passing interest in violins. Some close friends and family members have suggested that it is a substance abuse problem, and on occasion have attempted interventions. The closest they have come to success is an agreement that I divest myself of two instruments for each one that I acquire. This applies to all my musical instruments, not just fiddles, with the result that I am down to three playable violins. (This does not count bass fiddles which get special consideration. The agreement is more complex than most U.N. treaties, and at least as controversial. For example, my workshop which is full of violin carcasses and bones, is exempt from the agreement, but on a case by case basis can be made subject to most of the terms.)

As to my playing ability, I am a passable jam session bluegrass fiddler. I can do some Irish, some old-time, some country. I can’t read a stick of music, but I have a pretty good ear, and I can figure my way through a lot of what I need to.

Today, I am going to address the issue of the difference between a fiddle and a violin. There is none. I could end this piece right here, but what a waste of the internet if I did. I mean Al Gore went to all that trouble to invent the internet, the least I can do is my part to fill it with what little bit of information I can scrape together. So, here goes.

People associate the word fiddle with old time country fiddlers from the backwoods of the Appalachians. Most fiddlers probably have little brothers with pale skin and pointy ears who play the banjo. The fact is that the word fiddle probably pre-dates the word violin in reference to bowed string instruments.

I have heard some people say that a fiddle is flatter than a violin. Not true. The instruments that are more rounded and more highly or gracefully arched are designs that came from violinmakers such as Amati or Guarnerius. Stradivari came along with his design that flattened out the arches.

I have heard folks say that a fiddle player sets his sound post a little farther back, farther up, closer to the center, closer to the edge, grain running crossways to the top, grain running with the top; everything in the world to try to differentiate it from a violin. The fact of the matter is this: There is one place for the soundpost to be installed properly. Minute adjustments in any direction can be made by a luthier in conjunction with the musician to reflect personal preference. But that does not turn a violin into a fiddle. (If you don’t know what the sound post is, fear not. I will publish an article on this remarkable 3 inch piece of spruce dowel another time.)

It’s the strings! Fiddlers play on steel strings. Violinists play on gut strings. First of all I don’t know anybody who uses gut strings anymore. Especially here in Florida where they would grow mold and rot. I know a lot of fiddlers and we all agree on this: steel strings are very useful in the garden for making fences around your vegetable patches. You want your fiddle to sound good spend some money on strings with some kind of synthetic core wrapped with something smooth. A string that is good enough for a concert hall will be just as welcome at a barn dance.

I guess the myth I hear most often regards the bridge. The bridge is that little slice of maple that hold up the strings. The strings cross over it and it transmits the vibrations to the body of the instrument where the magic takes place. On a properly set up classical violin, this bridge has a rather dramatic arch to it. This enables to violinist to play each string separately and distinctly. I had long been told that if one is going to fiddle, you need a barely perceptible curve to the bridge so that you can play two strings at once easily.

Old bridge on the left; new one is on the right.

Now it is true that a fiddler will play more of what we call double stops – playing two strings at once. Why that is may be the subject another article altogether. But in fact, classical music has its share of double stops, so it is entirely possible and often necessary to play two strings at once on a highly arched bridge.

Now, with this as background, let me tell you about one of my recent bouts with lutherie.  It is a perfectly adequate violin. The person from whom I bought it was a well-known and highly accomplished professional fiddle player. The bridge was very nearly flat, and the soundpost was almost adjacent to the foot of the bridge rather than the recommended 4 – 5 mm back. I played this just as it was set up when I bought for probably the next 12 to 15 years. Volume and tone suited me perfectly, and this is the instrument on which I learned most of what I know.

I decided to mess around with things. I cut a new soundpost and installed it properly, then set to work fitting a bridge of classical description to it. Fitting a bridge is an activity that requires a great deal of patience, skill and very, very sharp knives. It should not be done during cocktail hour. So, I carved, and fit and set, and removed, and carved more, sanded a little, carved again, and finally had a very respectably carved bridge of classical proportions.

I restrung the instrument with the new bridge, tuned up the strings and with the playing of only a few notes of a scale, I wondered where my old fiddle went. I realized that I was playing an instrument that had only been giving me sixty percent (this is a very subjective assignment of a mathematical notion, mind you) of what it was capable. Everything that I liked about it got better. The high notes got brighter and stronger. The low notes took a warmth that was noticeable before, but now somehow, well warmer. Volume increased. Many folks who have heard me play the fiddle may not be pleased with that development. It will take me some time to develop the proper bowing technique to play on a classical bridge. But that’s me not the fiddle.

So, there you have proof positive that there is no technical difference between a violin and a fiddle. There may be personal preferences among individual musicians, but we are all fiddlers; we are all violinists.

Sales of “One Fiddle Too Many”

In Van Poole's Corner on August 31, 2011 at 9:54 am

Sales of “One Fiddle Too Many” are going well. I will be selling and signing books at a number of locations in the coming weeks, and have placed an order that should be delivered soon so that I will have plenty to go around.

I want to thank everybody who has already bought a copy. Tell your friends how much you enjoyed reading it and maybe they will buy one too. I think the book has great appeal to people who like reading about Jacksonville when it was in its heyday of hosting northern visitors at the turn of the twentieth century. While times have changed, we still serve as a winter destination for folks from northern cities wanting a more hospitable climate for their winter months. The main difference now is that there are so many other choices.

If you have read “One Fiddle Too Many” and enjoyed it, one way of expressing yourself and providing feedback is to go Amazon.com and search for the title. You will find both the paperback version and the Kindle version. Click on one or the other and click the “Like” button. Then, scroll down the page toward the bottom and you will see a section called “Tag this product.” There is a little box there where you can type in a word that you think you think helps describe the book. It could be “mystery,” “historic fiction,” “violins,” or whatever word comes to mind. These two actions will help the book show up in searches whenever those key words are entered. The “like” button shows amazon.com that the book has a certain popularity and this will also help it show up in searches. If anyone is really energetic, amazon provides a platform for readers to write and submit their own reviews as one reader has already done.

Thanks to all and I really hope to see you at any of these upcoming book signing events.

1. September ArtWalk, Wednesday, September 7th. Chamblin’s Uptown, 215 N. Laura Street. 5:00 PM – 8:00PM.

2. Jacksonville Historical Society Monthly Meeting. Tuesday, September 13th, Old St. Andrews, 317 A.Philip Randolph Bv. 6:30 PM

3. Riverside Arts Market Literary Day. Saturday, September 17th. 10:00AM – 4:00PM. On Riverside Avenue, under the Fuller Warren Bridge.

4. Florida Heritage Book Festival, Saturday, September 24th, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL. (More details on this event will be available later.)

5. Affair in the Square. Thursday, October 20th, 6:00PM – 9:00PM, in front of San Marco Bookstore

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Reader Review of “One Fiddle Too Many.”

In Van Poole's Corner on August 26, 2011 at 11:18 am

Customer Reviews One Fiddle Too Many

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopefully, One Fiddle Too Many Is Just the Start,August 20, 2011

This review is from: One Fiddle Too Many (Kindle Edition)

One Fiddle Too Many, by Jordan Logue, is about an interesting set of characters in an interesting time, in an interesting place. It is a refreshingly literate read with the author obviously having acquainted himself with the vocal idioms of the time and place, Jacksonville, Florida in 1901. That is not to say it is written in dialect, it merely reflects the way people talked at that point in history. True Grit is another book that does this. Lambert Van Poole navigates the maze of knowledge that leads to the solution to a murder in a persistent determined way, learning, as he goes, about violins, music and musicians. Logue gives the reader a feel for the place that is almost like walking down a real street 110 years ago with a real detective. You get drawn into the justice (and injustice) of the time, when rules were based upon a moral ethos rather than an attempt to avoid being sued. Yet the pervasiveness of political concerns is still evident as the Chief of Police and Mayor attempt to preserve Jacksonville’s status as a winter paradise in the pre-Miami Florida tourism era. An explainable murder, which is resolved and appears to be a one-time fluke based upon an individual’s greed is a much less disturbing event than a random, apparently motiveless, street murder to the city fathers in a tourist area. You get the feeling that you have an insider’s view of police procedures of the time. Lambert Van Poole should be played by Gary Cooper. He is stalwart, heroic and human. Hopefully One Fiddle Too Many is just the start of a long series of novels by Jordan Logue.

 

Upcoming dates for “One Fiddle Too Many”

In Van Poole's Corner on August 26, 2011 at 10:54 am

Greetings friends and neighbors and fans of Lambert Van Poole from across the globe. My first book, “One Fiddle Too Many” is selling very well. In fact I have stayed so busy keeping up with things that I have been neglecting my duties of regularly updating content here.

One set of enthusiastic Van-Poolians, as they call themselves, have been after me to publicize my schedule of book-signings.  I really had wanted to keep them quiet and hope nobody showed up, because I am running very low on ink. Not in my printer, but in my fountain pen. Call me eccentric, call me old-fashioned (or mix me an old-fashioned), but I use a fountain pen. Not a cartridge pen, a fountain pen. The kind with the lever on the side of the barrel, and you stick the nib into a bottle of ink to fill the barrel. Anyway, I am perilously low on ink. To avoid running out entirely, I was secretly hoping that no one would come my book signings and it would not be an issue. But one adoring fan sent me a bottle of blue ink so I am now back in business and can sign several thousand copies if called upon to do so.

I am however, running perilously low on actual books. (This part is not a joke!) There are signed copies available for sale at the following locations:

  • Chamblin’s Bookmine -Roosevelt Boulevard
  • Chamblin’s Uptown – 215 Laura St.
  • Lenny’s Custom Jewelry – Avondale Shopping Center
  • The Violin Shoppe – Beach & Southside Boulevard
  • The Jacksonville Historic Society, 317 A.Philip Randolph Boulevard
Now here is the schedule for signings:
  1. September ArtWalk, Wednesday, September 7th. Chamblin’s Uptown, 215 N. Laura Street. 5:00 PM – 8:00PM.
  2. Jacksonville Historical Society Monthly Meeting. Tuesday, September 13th, Old St. Andrews, 317 A.Philip Randolph Bv. 6:30 PM
  3. Riverside Arts Market Literary Day. Saturday, September 17th. 10:00AM – 4:00PM. On Riverside Avenue, under the Fuller Warren Bridge.
  4. Florida Heritage Book Festival, Saturday, September 24th, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL. (More details on this event will be available later.)
  5. Affair in the Square. Thursday, October 20th, 6:ooPM – 9:00PM, in front of San Marco Bookstore

Come by and visit at any of these events. Copies of the book will be available for sale at all of these, depending on availability. If you have bought a copy through amazon.com, bring it by and I will be happy to sign it for you. If you have bought a copy from one of the local outlets that is already signed, bring it by and I will personalize it for you.

I hope everyone is enjoying “One Fiddle Too Many.” I should have the second Lambert Van Poole mystery out by the end of this year. Working title is “A Test of Wills.”

An excerpt from One Fiddle Too Many

In Van Poole's Corner on June 27, 2011 at 12:36 pm

Here is an excerpt from Chapter One.

 

Benny chose to look for a yankee of the second category – a prosperous young businessman with no dependents in tow for whom he must demonstrate pack superiority. Dress nicely, greet them deferentially and help them with their bags and they are likely to be civil and give you a nickel for handling one little suitcase. Just as he had hoped, a well dressed man came out of the station. He wore a dark brown tweed suit with a red bow tie and a tightly fitting bowler hat. A perfectly trimmed triangular beard clung to his chin, while his upper lip was adorned with a neat mustache. He struggled with an odd sized suitcase. It was larger than an overnight bag that a person would carry on the train for some personal essentials and a change of clothes. It looked like a hamper, was about half the size of a steamer trunk, and formed of fabric stretched over a frame, rather than built sturdily of wood. He carried it awkwardly as the latches were near giving way, and the fabric was beginning to rip up one side of it.

“Help you with that bag, sir?” He said as he reached to take the man’s luggage. He intentionally thickened his Irish brogue, as he knew that the northern folks liked it. “And what hotel would be your choice today, sir?”

“I don’t need any help.” The man said. His unfriendly manner and his struggle with the suitcase brought Benny to regret that he picked this particular traveler, as he seemed entirely too unpleasant to part with a nickel or a dime. “But you might direct me to a modestly priced hotel,” the man said. Just then, the suitcase fell apart and spilled the man’s belongings all across the wooden sidewalk. “Oh for God’s sakes, now look what you’ve done, you idiot.” The man shouted. Benny dropped to his knees and started gathering the items before they got trampled over by the sea of people rushing past to get their fist glimpse of paradise in winter.

“I am terribly sorry, sir.” Benny had barely touched the man’s suitcase, but it seemed he was going to get the blame anyway, so he might as well clean it up and hope for a good tip.

“As you should be. Coming up here grabbing at a man’s stuff and throwing it all over the sidewalk. What kind of a place is this?” The man raised his voice and people started to slow down and stare.

As Benny was piling the stuff back into the suitcase, his eyes were drawn to what was unmistakably the scroll of a violin, peeking out from amongst the scattered clothing which formerly had been neatly packed in the now useless suitcase. As Benny reached for it, the man grabbed it and examined it quickly, but thoroughly. Satisfied that no damage had occurred, he re-wrapped it in a bundle of quilted cloth material that he had pulled from the pile.

Benny was stuffing the man’s belongings back into the tattered grip and said, “That’s no way to carry a fiddle, you know,” said Benny.

“Yes, well, it’s the only way I have of carrying it. So I’ll just thank you to mind your own business. You‘ve done enough damage as it is.” The man squatted and grabbed the suitcase away from Benny who was still on his knees. He tried to make the violin fit back into the suitcase but there was no room now because of the damaged condition of the suitcase and the willy-nilly way everything had gone back in.

“Well, it needs a stoutly built wood case or it will soon be in splinters.”

“Oh, and since you are such an expert about violins and what is good for them, here you are carrying bags at the train station.” snapped the man. He would have had no way of knowing it, but Benny indeed knew a lot about the instrument. Being both a talented fiddler and a skilled enough carpenter, making a little wooden box to fit the violin would be no challenge at all.

“All I’m saying is I could build you such a case. One you’d be proud to carry and it would do the fiddle good, too.”

The traveler was looking around nervously, exasperated that he could not fit the violin back into the suitcase. He regained his composure, smiled at Benny and said, “Well, now. That offer intrigues me. What is your name?”

“Brendan Tiernan sir. My friends call me Benny.”

“My name is Sullivan. You can call me Sully.” The man seemed embarrassed and almost apologetic about his earlier behavior. “How much would building this case cost?”

“Two dollars for the wood and the latches, two dollars for my labors.  I can have it for you in three or four days.”

“Four dollars altogether? I could probably do better at a pawn shop.”

“Suit yourself. They’re all owned by the Jews. I don’t think you could find anything among them for four dollars. But nevertheless I’ll do it for three.”

“Now you’re talking. So you can build a good stout one for three dollars?”

“Yes, indeed. I’ve built a many of ‘em, sir.” Benny told him.

“As much as this sounds like a great idea, how do I know that you won’t go right up the street and spend my money on whisky instead of building me a violin case?”

“Well, you don’t, sir, except that I can tell you I have give up drinking and pledged meself to a life of sobriety.” he announced proudly. “All I can do is promise that if you gave me a dollar up front, and let me take the measurements I need of the instrument, by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, I will deliver to your hotel a fine wooden violin case.”

“I’ll tell you what, Benny. You have convinced me that you are a trustworthy man. Here is two dollars. Take the violin with you now, and make me a case as you describe. You tell me where you live and I will come by at the appointed time with the other dollar. I’ll bring a bottle of whisky, and if I like the case that will be your bonus. If you promise to take good care of the instrument, I’ll give you another dollar bonus.”

“Now, sir, you have made a deal you’ll not regret. But no need for any whisky. As I said I give that up.”

Benny grabbed a scrap of paper from among the man’s belongings and scribbled his address on it. “This is actually a paint supply store, but round back of the building is a staircase that goes up to three rooms. I rent the last one you’ll come to.”

“Thank you, Benny. And could you recommend a good hotel? I don’t necessarily want to pay top dollar for a lot of coddling, but I would like a nice clean place.”

“Oh, Sully. To come this far south during winter without having made some arrangements is the mark of a gambling man for sure. But I think you could find room at the Anchor South Hotel. A bit starker than some of the others, but well kept.”

“Thanks, Benny. Now I’ll come round early next week. You run along and get to work, and I’ll get a cart to the hotel.”

“The Anchor doesn’t run a cart, but it’s an easy walk from here. Just two blocks down Bay Street here and it’s on the left.” Benny shouted as he turned to leave.

Benny went off down the sidewalk carrying the man’s violin, trying to keep it wrapped in remnants of the quilted cloth material in which it had been packed. He had two dollars in his pocket and the potential to earn two more. It brought back the memories of earning a dollar and fifty cents a day as a carpenter. The money was good, and the work was not terrible. It was showing up every day that was his downfall. And there always seemed to be a fiddle involved when he stopped showing up.

Like what you read? Buy the whole book here: https://www.createspace.com/3629785

Have a Smoke?

In Current events, Smoke on June 21, 2011 at 3:10 pm

One of the problems with being a lifelong cynic and greeting every situation with healthy sarcasm is that no one really knows when you are serious. It’s that boy-crying-wolf thing.  So, understand, this is not sarcasm. I am enjoying the smoke in the air.  I do not celebrate the destruction of forest land, and I am terribly sorry for and sympathetic towards those poor folks who have had to evacuate, or lost their homes, land or even life, like the two brave firefighters in Hamilton County yesterday. That is no joking matter.  But I am not one who is complaining about the smoke in the air. Actually, I rather like it. It’s like living in a campground.  I saw a port-o-let at a building site in the neighborhood the other morning and was tempted to use it.

I am sorry for those with respiratory problems for whom this is causing discomfort. But in all honesty the smoke does not bother me.  I even went out to the practice range and hit a bucket of golf balls this morning. Couldn’t see where they landed, but for once it was not because of my swing. The smoke obscured the range past about 50 yards. And the aroma was delightful.

I guess my 32 years of cigarette smoking is somewhat like an inoculation – like getting the measles vaccine.  They inject you with a virus and you develop anti-bodies for it.  What cigarettes have done to my lungs these forest fires cannot hope to equal.  I’m off the cigarettes now but still have an affinity for my pipe. And my preference is for the non-aromatic tobaccos that smell a bit like an old barn before you light them and rather like a campfire once you get them going.  So a brisk walk in the morning opens up the sensory pathways every bit as well as one of my favorite vices.

I do like to be sipping on a nice bourbon with water or a single malt scotch when I am intentionally smoking, though. That is challenging when you have a hyperactive English Springer after whom you must clean up on the end of six foot lead.

Announcing the Jordan Logue Blog

In Uncategorized on June 21, 2011 at 2:14 pm

I have just received the final proof copy of my debut novel One Fiddle Too Many, and if I knew what I was doing here, I would be able to underline the title as I was taught to in high school.  As soon as I confirm it as error-free, (a relative term in the world of publishing) it will be available for purchase on Amazon.com as well as my very own e-store, a concept that I must confess thus far eludes me.  However, I am assured by the non-people guiding me through the publishing process, that I will develop a grasp of it as I mature in my web presence. The book will be published in paperback as will be available at the heard-of price of $14.99. I will post a link for it as soon as it is ready. I hope you will buy a copy and enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I am a little more than halfway through with my second novel which is also a historically based murder mystery set in Jacksonville, again featuring Detective Lambert Van Poole.

In addition to writing about my writing and selling my books, I will use this forum to write about things that are really important to me: Beer, sandwiches, bluegrass music, cigars, pipes and pipe tobacco, lutherie, blacksmithing, cocktails, post and beam construction, fly-tying, torpedo grass cultivation and maybe, just maybe, an occasional mention of politics and other local goings-on.

I intend to have guest columnists post in my absence or in the rare case that I may lack some particular knowledge about a current event. For example the renowned economist and business expert Julius Carstairs-Entwistle will be a regular feature with his musings and reflections. There will also be the LVP corner where the continuing drama in the life of Detective Lambert Van Poole will appear as short stories.

If you are an experienced blogger or blog reader you might have picked on the clue that I have no idea what I am doing. I will eventually figure it out, but I am in no particular hurry.  Tags, widgets and other things have all taken on new meanings with which I shall no doubt struggle for a time. I will figure it out about the same time the world moves on to complicate the daylights out of something else.