I have everything I need to play the violin.  Back when I started this project I wrote a couple of posts about violin stuff and, while there’s a lot of it, I’ve got it covered.  But that doesn’t stop me from looking.  My purchase of Suzuki Book Two has apparently landed me on the mailing list of a music retailer that publishes a catalog, and I received the first one in the mail yesterday.

Violins, strings, rosin, cases, tuners, metronomes, cellos, violas, guitars, mandolins, bows, shoulder rests, music, mutes, humidifiers, music stands, all ranging from primo to beginner grade –  violin cases from $79 up to $2500, bows from $129 to over $5,000, violins from $150 to “price available upon request,” amongst the finer are an instrument that is basically mine (a 1927 Roth, mine’s a ‘26) and then, on a page by itself and well out ahead of all the rest, a 1740s Guarneri, just sitting there reminding you of the private jet in the Neiman Marcus holiday catalog.

Oh I’m just in heaven.  I need absolutely none of it, but of course when you look at things long enough you develop needs you never knew you had.  Technological progress has rendered catalogs a little passé, but getting one in the mail that pertains to a passion helps me remember all of the time I used to spend with them as a child.  There’s just something about a catalog.

But the accoutrement I need the most – which is still to say not at all – is a beautiful piece of art I saw in Iowa City over the weekend: a custom, handcrafted, sleek wood music stand that is as functional as it is gorgeous.  I was not and likely will never be able to bring myself to drop $1,500 on it (it’s a sculpture – ART!), but that won’t keep it from lingering in my mind for quite a while.  I wish I would have snapped a photo.  Then again, maybe not.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan