instruments on the playa

[Enli]

Hello hello!

So, I've often heard that bringing instruments to the playa (wood instruments in particular) is bad because of the danger the environment poses to them - not to mention you have to compete with a million amplifiers pumping out techno! :lol: That's understandable to me, but I recently spoke with a friend who brought a guitar to BM a few times and had no problems. It piqued my interest in the possibility of sharing music on the playa.

Specifically I am considering bringing a fiddle; I know it will probably be far more needy than a guitar. Dust + rosin + delicate bow strings = maybe a big ugly mess. I would consider spending a bit of money on a cheapie violin if anyone feels the danger would be too great for my (already cheapie!) fiddle at home. If I did bring an instrument I'd definitely be willing to spend a lot of time babying it, cleaning it, re-soaking a humidifier and whathaveyou.

Have you ever brought a wooden instrument to the playa? How did your instrument fare, and how much upkeep did it require?

I am very interested in hearing about your experiences bringing instruments to the playa and whether it's a damned terrible idea or if I should go for it. :)

"Saltless" Enli

[knowmad]

I make and Play Cedar Flutes; about the only problem I noticed (and learned from) is the Alkaline dust will pit the finish on your piece. I should have wiped it down better maybe with a bit of vinegar first and then wax. but Interments and music is so welcome. when you play on the open playa the sound just gets sucked away, other times it caries for weird long distances, and gets some bizarre heat/air/distortion sounds to it.

Look around on eplaya Seems I remember seeing some one organizing a symphony

[Elliot]

I cannot address the feed and care of the fiddle, but I would love to hear you play in Black Rock City!

[Enli]

I make and Play Cedar Flutes; about the only problem I noticed (and learned from) is the Alkaline dust will pit the finish on your piece. I should have wiped it down better maybe with a bit of vinegar first and then wax. but Interments and music is so welcome. when you play on the open playa the sound just gets sucked away, other times it caries for weird long distances, and gets some bizarre heat/air/distortion sounds to it.

Thanks! That's a great point, I forgot that the alkali could have an effect on the varnish. And I love what you said about the sound.. I can't wait to experiment.

I cannot address the feed and care of the fiddle, but I would love to hear you play in Black Rock City!

Yay! I'll be happy to play a tune for you.

[Mojojita]

We have brought giutars to the playa for a dozen years now. Our biggest concern is the extreme lack of humidity. It helps to keep a bit of damp sponge in the case - works like a cigar humidor. Don't forget to loosen strings during travel as the elevation changes as well as heat and humidity can have a profound effect on the neck. Metal guitar strings are shot and have to be changed after a week of playa - they corrode very quickly. Be sure to keep instruments packed away when not in use and you should do fine.

Come see us at Jungle Camp and we'll swap a song or five.

[LeChatNoir]

An eplayan from way back, Rian Jackson, brings (or at least used to bring) a fiddle to the Burn every year. She’s doesn’t hang around the board anymore, which is too bad, but regardless she’s discussed this topic before on here and I bet with a search for her username and the word “fiddleâ€

[Ugly Dougly]

Reed instruments must be the worst on the playa, since they're the most vulnerable to drying out.

Still, looking forward to hearing more live acoustic music!!!

[jpx]

i've had good luck bringing a Backpacker guitar to Black Rock City, with no need to baby it. i really did just throw it over my shoulder and cart it around, on my bike, storms, anyplace. i didn't have problems with it at all though i did break the same string twice, and carry double spares now.

"not to mention you have to compete with a million amplifiers pumping out techno!"

you'd be surprised, the piano at the skinny kitty lounge could hold its own ... quite handily...

[Ugly Dougly]

Ha, the SKL had its own ampitheatre.

[LittleJack]

As an inveterate picker, I had to bring an instrument last year. My main instrument is mandolin, and they're almost as touchy as fiddles, so after much thought I brought my manjo (banjo headed mando), aka My Man Joe. I've wired the inside with sound activated EL-Wire, which makes it even more fun. The advantage of the manjo, besides being a somewhat carnival instrument, is that I can take the resonator off of the back and clean the inside out with compressed air before giving it a very light wipe with vinegar and water. And whoever mentioned the strings was quite correct, plan on changing them when you get home.

I went to an acoustic jam last year and had a blast. I'd love to jam more with folks on the playa, or heaven forbid maybe even morris dance or Irish dance! There was an Irish bar last year where I ended up jamming with some folks, albeit briefly.

-Little Jack

[Ugly Dougly]

An Irish Bar?

[LittleJack]

Yep, nice little bar, too. It was across the street from AEZ, down maybe a block towards the 10:00 side.

[Ugly Dougly]

Aye, wrong side from my camp. Missed a lot of things.

[phil]

Instruments at Burning Man:

Drums:
http://www.vimeo.com/8189265

Violin:
http://www.vimeo.com/1688375

Another violinist:
http://www.vimeo.com/1688152

Joan Baez:
http://www.vimeo.com/383060

Mandolin:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/civex/3917337308/

[knowmad]

Aye, wrong side from my camp. Missed a lot of things.

how in all hell's blazes, do you have a wrong side to your camp? ya'll burn weired.

[Ugly Dougly]

Aye, wrong side from my camp. Missed a lot of things.

how in all hell's blazes, do you have a wrong side to your camp? ya'll burn weired.

It was the wrong side of Black Rock City.

Course, it's all wrong. Ain't right neither.

[Ranger Genius]

I brought a wooden astrolabe one time. Worked fine. No permanent damage.

I think I misunderstood the question.

[illy dilly]

Course, it's all wrong. Ain't right neither.

We couldn't get ours right side up all week!

I am very interested in hearing about your experiences bringing instruments to the playa and whether it's a damned terrible idea or if I should go for it

I'd say go for it!!! I don't know anything about instruments, but I do know that hearing live acoustic music sitting around the camp is amazing.

[phil]

I brought a wooden astrolabe one time. Worked fine. No permanent damage.

I think I misunderstood the question.

Depends on what an astrolabe is. Do you pluck it? I have visions of plucking the 'labe. Astrolabe. Sounds like an instrument to me.

Didn't Jane Fonda have one in Barbarella?

[TomServo]

Just don't clean it all week. Used to play Bass Clarinet, should stay nice and hydrated...BUT Definitly keep it in its case when not being used. Never got this picky, but do they make a wax for woodwinds?

[Ranger Genius]

I brought a wooden astrolabe one time. Worked fine. No permanent damage.

I think I misunderstood the question.

Depends on what an astrolabe is. Do you pluck it? I have visions of plucking the 'labe. Astrolabe. Sounds like an instrument to me.

Didn't Jane Fonda have one in Barbarella?

You could pluck it, but it wouldn't do you much good.

[Joe Buck]

Hi Enli,

I play (and make) Uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes). I have brought a set of pipes out the last couple of years and the worst thing that happened was I blew a reed, which is something you, very luckily don't have to contend with. One set is made of ebony and the other boxwood and I have not noticed any problem with the wood or finish since returning. The Boxwood set is finished with a violin varnish too, so pretty much just like the surface of a violin. One thing that was in my favor is that I live in Salt Lake City, which has basically the same relative humidity as the Playa. I would have to say that most Irish pipers would probably be aghast at the thought of bringing such a complicated and expensive instrument to the playa, but I made the suckers so I can repair them if something goes wrong, theoretically. I am also careful to protect the pipes from the heat of the day and try not to open the case in a full on dust storm! One (very) sarcastic Irish piper I know commented that all the smoke in your typical Irish pub (before the smoking ban that is) could be no worse to the pipes than a playa dust storm, and after playing in too many dingy smoke-filled pubs I would have to agree, at least the residual playa smells, well, if not good at least OK, in a nostalgic fashion LOL.

As far as getting rid of the playa dust, I remove the reeds from my pipes (there are 7 reeds and 7 different pipes on the suckers) and blow off any dust with compressed air. I have a compressor in my workshop, but you can pick up a couple of cans of compressed air at any computer store, the stuff for blowing off computer parts and such. I asked a good friend here who makes violins for a living and he strongly advised against using anything but a dry clothe to wipe off the fiddle, and compressed air to blow out the insides. The varnish is very resilient to dry dust, but vinegar or alcohol-based solvents will remove some varnish. Also, he pointed out that violins are put together with hide-based glue, which is not permanent and allows them to be taken apart for repairs, even after centuries. Hide glue becomes liquid when heated, so make sure you keep the fiddle protected from the day-time heat (not in the trunk of your car!).

What type of music you play? If you have any Irish tunes in your repertoire we could play pipes and fiddle, although you would have to drop your open-string tuning two steps because I'm bringing an old-style set of pipes pitched in B. My fiddle-making friend does this all the time and it's a great sound, very much an old-school sound prevalent in Ireland before the potato famine!

Hope to see you on the playa!

[jpx]

Also, he pointed out that violins are put together with hide-based glue, which is not permanent and allows them to be taken apart for repairs, even after centuries. Hide glue becomes liquid when heated, so make sure you keep the fiddle protected from the day-time heat (not in the trunk of your car!).

does anyone know, either in theory or from personal experience, whether a repaired fiddle will be weaker at the point of the repair? or, is it like epoxy, where the glue can be harder than the substance being glued?

very sadly, i walked my viola into a doorframe, so there is a huge crack that i have had to have repaired. in a way this good, since this can now be the playa viola. but i'm concerned that the glue will not stand a chance in the heat of the playa.

nobody cries when you cut up a viola...

[Ugly Dougly]

What type of music you play? If you have any Irish tunes in your repertoire we could play pipes and fiddle, although you would have to drop your open-string tuning two steps because I'm bringing an old-style set of pipes pitched in B. My fiddle-making friend does this all the time and it's a great sound, very much an old-school sound prevalent in Ireland before the potato famine!

Hope to see you on the playa!

That would be a feast for the ears!

[Joe Buck]

That would be a feast for the ears!

Well, maybe if I could play like Mick O'Brian it would be!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnWxsNshZQ&feature=related[/youtube]

I have a similar set of B pipes, based on a set made by Maurice Coyne ~1840, but I lack the musical fortitude and skill of Master O'Brian I'm afraid.

Nothing more steam-punkish than a set of Uilleann pipes with all those metal levers and complicated valves!

JPX, you probably did the viola a favor by relieving internal strain in the wood! I would imagine that it will be more stable post-repair because of it, but I would ask the guy who repaired it if possible and get his 2 cents worth. I'm always amazed to watch my friend repair violins, he always asserts that they are much more resilient than people (i.e. their owners) think. I've seen him pry the top right off a violin with out much fanfare, just pop it right off with a knife!

As far as the heat, I avoid playing my pipes in direct sunlight, but mostly because the reeds hate it and they are more happy in the evening on the playa when it cools off. I camp in a VW Bus which is pretty well insulated from the day-time heat. I keep the pipes in their case, well covered with some form of simple insulation, like a sleeping bag. They do just fine.

[Ugly Dougly]

That's beautiful. I would love to provide a venue for this music. It looks like I might have a Bizar Muzik (or something) camp for unusual and experimental music. or Barbarian Cafe for that matter. You'd be welcome to a gig there however it winds up.

[theCryptofishist]

Maybe I'm way off base here, but I'd be more concerned about how the repair might affect the tone.
And you might want to talk to a luthier about glues. MOst of us are just spit-balling.

[Ugly Dougly]

Violas never get respect. There's an entire category of viola jokes online.

[Polkageist]

Wow, I hope I come across the Irish pub location. I could just install myself in there and merrily play music forever and ever.

Considering that I love my instrument, and I've never been out to Burning Man, my plan is to buy a cheap-ass fiddle and case (~$200 worth) and proceed to play music for everybody with that.

If it dies in the desert, it lived the life of a good cause.

[Elliot]

Yesss! More real music on the Playa!