Next May will be my 13th anniversary here at Paige’s Music.  My daily responsibilities keep me moving around, but I often find myself stuck at my desk as I work through a series of email responses and phone calls.  I don’t know if the current research on sitting at a desk will end up being of the “eggs are evil” variety, but it would be nice to not always be sitting while working at the computer.  Enter the “standing desk” phenomenon!  Just today, I joined the ranks of people everywhere that can raise and lower their desk.  I typed these words STANDING UP!!  I’m grateful for the chance to exercise my stabilizer muscles throughout the day and give my feet a little bit more of a workout.  Why am I telling you all of this?  The next time you’re in Encore you might see Regina using her Varidesk or you might see me standing at my 43″ tall elevated desk.  Don’t worry, if we need to work on some paperwork together I’ll be able to return to earth at the push of a button.  Also, I seriously dated myself with the R.E.M. lyrics in the title…

This beautiful cello by Cleveland-based luthier Eugene Holtier was out with a talented young musician.  The timing wasn’t quite right for him to keep it, so it came back to us with some quality playing hours on it…sounding better than ever!  It sounded so good, I couldn’t help trying to capture a little bit of it in a video.  Using just my phone and a music stand, I expertly framed the shot and recorded a good take.  When I went to go listen to it, I realized I’d chopped my head off.  Given the choice between a decent take and seeing my head…well, I choose the decent take! This Holtier cello has fantastic power and projection, but it already has the warmth and character of a much older cello.  Beautiful materials, beautiful workmanship, and a wonderfully textured, un-antiqued varnish finish it out.  Priced several steps below the most established names in the cello making world, it compares very favorably with its more expensive brethren.  I invite you to come and play it!

The process of selecting, harvesting, cutting, and seasoning wood for violin family instruments is worthy an entire series of blog posts.  While the appearance of the wood is important, it is only one of many factors luthiers consider when choosing the wood to build an instrument.  Specific gravity, sound transmission speed, weight, age…these are just some of the important measurements. While different makers might not agree on exactly what makes an ideal piece of wood from a sound quality standpoint, almost everyone loves a beautifully figured piece of wood!  The “flaming” that we see on so many of the great old Italian instruments is still prized by makers and players alike.  I had the chance to select two spectacular cello backs recently.  They are too freshly cut to be ready to use, but we’ll be patient as they air dry.  Finding wood with this figure that is already seasoned and ready to use would be much more expensive…if you can even find it.  I love imagining what this will look like once it is varnished!  

One of the most rewarding parts of being involved with Encore Orchestral Strings is the long-term relationships we have with several renowned luthiers.  I first contacted Larry Wilke back in 2007 and our friendship has grown ever since.  Over the years, we’ve represented and sold many of Larry’s cellos and several of them have gone to musicians here in central Indiana.  We had the pleasure of hosting Larry for a short visit last week and one of the events we always try to plan is a dinner with local Wilke owners.  This past Tuesday three local musicians who own Wilke cellos were able to come over along with many other cello friends.  Larry brought one of his most recently completed cellos along so we had a total of four of his cellos in my basement for people to play.  Thai takeout, paper plates, beer from the bottle…informal, but so much fun! If we have more time to plan the next time he visits, I’d like to hold a similar event at the store so that as many people as possible can experience his world-class instruments!

I voted in the elections today and enjoyed the entire process – great location, wonderful volunteer staff, free candy, jovial conversations with those standing in line with me, and the knowledge that I participated in the process.  With all the weighty issues facing our country, I thought I’d suggest a slightly more lighthearted – but possibly no less controversial – poll regarding your favorite instrumental concerto.  I’m primarily thinking about violin, viola, cello, and bass…but if you want to nominate your favorite concerto for bowed nose-hair, or something equally esoteric, feel free. This is incredibly difficult for me as there are so many amazing concerti out there…but I’ll take a stand for the Dvořák B-minor cello concerto.  What’s yours?

Over the years I’ve had a chance to stock many of the world’s best cello cases.  These have taken various forms and been made out of different materials.  As I tell most of my cello case customers, when you spend more money on a cello case you usually end up with a lighter case.  No one likes a heavy cello case, but in that regard things are relative.  When I was a young cello student I had a black, vinyl-covered cases made from plywood.  That thing weighed a TON!  Even the entry level fiberglass hard cases typically weight 12-14 pounds.  The lightest cases tend to weight 6-7 pounds.  It’s easy to act like a 5-7 pound difference is insignificant, but try carrying it around a city all day or between buildings at a university.  Those pounds can make a BIG difference. Enter the Musilia M6.  At 7.7 pounds, it can’t lay claim to being the lightest case on the market.  However, it does have an innovative suspension system and mounting points for an excellent backpack system.  It has high-quality conventional latches.  Unlike some full-carbon cases I’ve dealt with, it feels not only light but also strong.  The “M” stands for

I simply cannot believe we’re here again.  It was 32 degrees this morning.  THIRTY.  TWO.  I set up the humidifiers in the studio room over the weekend, and the humidifier for the main showroom just kicked on for the first time.  IT’S TOO SOON!!!  I am not ready to schlep the humidifier bottles to and from the sink room multiple times a day.  Hopefully we’ll have a nice warm up in the coming weeks and look back at this as a little blip. Even if it is a blip, actual winter will be here soon.  Every professional string player’s favorite season because of all the holiday concerts, but every string player’s least favorite season because of low humidity, open seams, and cracks.  No matter how much moisture is in the air outside, once it gets pulled through your furnace and heated up, it tends to be too dry to make your instrument happy.  Cellists and bassists must pay attention to humidity through the coldest months or risk the welfare of their cherished instruments. Although the exact number can be debated, instruments generally like to have 40-60% humidity as a range.  How do we deal with this?  I advocate the “big

I missed this week’s blog post by a day because I took a trip down to the southern part of our beautiful state.  While most of my time is spent in the shop so that I’m available to help musicians who visit us, there are times when it makes sense for me to take the shop with me.  While a trip of thirty minutes, an hour, or even two hours makes sense when a musician wants to select an instrument or a bow here at the store, I can occasionally serve a group of people by taking a large selection of instruments to them. If you are a private instructor, professor, or director in a city far from central Indiana, feel free to contact me about the possibility of setting up a visit!

When we think of pernambuco, it is almost always in the context of talking about bows.  The preferred material for bows for hundreds of years, there are conservation efforts underway to make sure it is still available for generations to come.  The same qualities that make it ideally suited for bows would theoretically have advantages in applications like a tailpiece.  Pernambuco is also a beautiful wood, and this particular cello tailpiece from Bois d’Harmonie is an absolute stunner.  It might already be slated to be used on a wonderful modern cello scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2019. I’ll give you a moment to put a reminder on your calendar to check back in mid-November next year to see how this tailpiece looks on the cello…  

Cases tend to be a blank canvas for musicians to express themselves.  Walk through a college campus music building and you’ll see cases covered in stickers, cases every color of the rainbow, high-tech carbon cases that look like they belong on a racetrack, and elegant cases make you wonder about their price tag.  We can’t possibly stock every case on the market, but we try to carry both the most popular choices and the occasional case that is a bit off the beaten path. We just received an Eastman K3 composite case that, at 7.1 pounds, is definitely one of the lighter cases on the market.  Like the other Eastman cases we carry, it features reliable hardware and a fully padded interior.  On this case, the carbon composite finish is both fun and stunning!  The bits of color in the midst of the carbon weave add visual interest from a distance and really pop when you’re close to the case. We also received a Negri violin case covered in genuine leather.  Besides smelling wonderful, it gives this case a unique but subtle look. Come in and check them out!  

I’m often sharing information in this space – events coming up, instruments that just arrived, a new product, etc.  With this post, I’m asking for information.  From you.  I want to hear about your favorites!  Your favorite: Strings Rosin Case Mute Tuner Accessory you can’t do without You get the picture; what are you using on a day-to-day basis that you love.  If you’ve arrived at your favorite after trying a bunch of different stuff, let me know what you tried before landing on your favorite. This is a great way for me to make sure I’m stocking what you love and it’s also a great way for me to discover something I might not have known about.  Thank you!  

The most recognizable name in the world of violin makers – Antonio Stradivari.  While it’s a name known by almost everyone, seeing one of his instruments up close isn’t always easy.  In conjunction with the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI), the State Museum is having a “Festival of the Violin”.  For a time, the famous “Gingold” Stradivari violin will be on display at the State Museum.  If seeing a Strad is on your bucket list, be sure to check it out! https://www.indianamuseum.org/festival-of-the-violin Enjoy!

Every four years, Indianapolis becomes the nexus of the violin world.  The IVCI draws violinists and violin aficionados from around the world.  My awareness of the competition goes back to 1998 when I studying the cello at Butler University.  I became further aware and connected to the competition when my roommate from the Aspen Music Festival in 1997 because a laureate of the competition in 2006.  He has not gone on to assume the role of Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic.  To say the list of IVCI winners reads like a “who’s who” in the violin world is an understatement.  I can’t describe the competition any better than the summary on the website: Remarkable performances, extraordinary prizes and a festival atmosphere characterize the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) as “the ultimate violin contest…” writes the Chicago Tribune. Laureates of “The Indianapolis” have emerged as outstanding artists in concert halls across the globe. “For seventeen days every four years, Indianapolis is the most important place to be if you are a rising violin talent. Forty of the world’s brightest talents come here to perform some of the most beautiful music ever written before enthusiastic audiences. The repertory of the IVCI

When I talk to people about the history of the violin bow, the conversation usually focuses on the transition between baroque bows and modern bows.  By this, we are typically referring to the direction and degree of camber – baroque bows being straighter or having the stick camber away from the hair, modern bows having a camber towards the hair of the bow.  The “inward” camber of the modern bow is part of what gives it greater strength, making it better suited for more modern repertoire and technique. While there have been advances in materials science over the past 100 years, bringing us various new stick materials – fiberglass, carbon-fiber, alternate woods – the basic design of a violin bow hasn’t changed much in at least that long.  While his ideas are currently far from being embraced as mainstream, Gilles Nehr proposes some bold changes to some of the most cherished aspects of traditional bow making.  Collectors and bow experts devote entire volumes to the “head” of the bow, describing with fetishistic detail every curve and line.  In his new bows, Gilles dispenses with the traditional head altogether.  Looking at the downsides of a traditional frog, Gilles also offers a

Coda has been in a long process of releasing a new flagship bow, the Marquise GS.  They started with the violin bow with a cello bow promised soon thereafter.  I have several friends who use the former flagship bow – the Diamond GX – and love it.  I wanted to make sure we had early examples of the cello bows and placed our order as soon as they were available.  We now have TWO cello bows in stock.  I’d be very interested in local professionals familiar with the Diamond GX to take these bows on trial for feedback.  If that sounds like you, please be in touch with me so we can set it up!  

When working with musicians – especially young students – I always say that, although the “look” of an instrument shouldn’t be at the top of their list in terms of importance, it can definitely be ON the list.  I’m especially struck by this when we receive instruments from different workshops that are relatively humble in terms of their price-point.  I’m still able to remember what student instruments looked like when I was a young musician…and they did NOT look this nice!  Just this week, we received five violas from a relatively new workshop that all had clean workmanship, a very attractive un-antiqued varnish, and particularly beautiful material.  I’ve kept this one at my desk all day, occasionally playing it like a mandola!  I’m sure all my colleagues in the shop are very grateful to be serenaded by my plucked viola prowess! Just take a look at the broad flames in the maple and the transparency of the varnish.  Beautiful!  

In early spring of this year, I announced a new partnership with Coda bow.  Since that time, we’ve included a Coda Protégé model bow (violin, viola, cello) or Revelation model (bass) with every new Encore rental agreement.  The response has been overwhelming!  Students, private instructors, and classroom teachers have all been thrilled with the quality and performance of these bows.  It has been incredibly gratifying to provide such excellent musical tools to students.  Knowing that they are made here in the USA with premium materials and components and that they are backed by both Coda’s warranty and Encore’s customer service – our customers have been thrilled. We continue to stock Coda’s entire lineup – Prodigy, Diamond NX/SX/GX, and occasionally their new top-of-the-line Marquise GS.  Please come visit us and audition the entire range!