There are fiddles everywhere according to Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich (a very good read.) With all of the thrift store shopping that I do one will surely turn up like a diamond in the ruff. Apparently, in my reality, fiddles are never man's trash and may never be my treasure. I have learned quite a bit since deciding that I would become a fiddle player (refer back to It begins with a TO DO list... if necessary). Musical instruments are very expensive. Used instruments are illusive and are still quite often priced at $500 or more! Silly me for thinking that I might stumble upon one within my price range of around $50. I discovered a small and what I would describe as "cute" violin shop that I had no idea existed on the second floor of a building in town. My 4 year old and I wandered up an old narrow staircase after being directed there by an employee at Guitar Sam's. They don't sell violins at Guitar Sam's but I did learn from their very helpful staff that violins and fiddles are the same exact thing, with the same amount of strings and everything, the name just depends on how you play it. Anyway, we arrived at the violin shop and as we were reading the hours on the door, discovering that it would open at 12 pm (in 2 hours), the door opened briskly and we startled the man on the other side. In a rush he asked what we were looking for. I replied that I needed a used violin. He then asked "a full size?" while looking at me "or a child's size?" while looking at my kid. I answered "either one" and he looked really confused. I didn't add that I just want something to mess around with on my porch. I was tempted to ask "are the smaller ones cheaper?" but the most appropriate thing to say was "we'll return later when you're open."
As you can see the days are getting warmer and sunnier now and my porch is looking more and more inviting. I envision sitting on my wicker furniture messing around on my fiddle for hours. I imagine that to be unbelievably relaxing. Maybe meditative even? Who knows...figuring out how to use it on my own could be incredibly frustrating. The initial sounds that I produce could sound like nails on a chalkboard and might be intolerable. I might hate it. It is on my TO DO list though and so I will try. Now, how can I find a cheap old fiddle/violin (not sure how I will end up playing the thing) that someone out there is desperate to get rid of and will gift over with relief to have it out of their hands? It doesn't even need to be in good condition. I fancy torn strings, nicks, maybe some green marker, and definitely dust. I can nurse it back to life...I think. Restringing an old banged up violin is cheaper than buying one new from a stranger on Craigslist. This way also offers an opportunity for me to meet a wonderful local person, one who loves violins, who's job it is to care for violins and I will support them with my business (or at least that is what Jenna Woginrich says.) I will find that person later! I won't allow this to deter me! I will just keep looking and by doing so I will hold out hope that one day it will appear, maybe under a pile of old disintegrating records or dusty camping gear at the next second hand shop.
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