When it comes to antique or original instruments, it’s normally a huge bonus if we have a maker’s stamp to identify and date the instrument. New owners are then happy to know some details about the maker’s background and the properties of the instrument itself. Organology, or the study of...
Whether you’re a rabologist or a musician, walking stick instruments are rather fascinating. Rabology is the study and/or collection of walking sticks. The walking stick collector’s market is huge and walking sticks seem not to lose their value over time.From sticks to canesWalking sticks were originally simply sticks, as the...
We often come across musical instruments with no stamp and no indication as to where they were made or their makers. They remain forever unsigned, unstamped and anonymous. These instruments are often brushed aside and rejected as worthless or inferior. But are they? Why did instrument makers choose anonymity and...
Let’s face it… the subject of pitch is complicated. Pitch has been the focus of whole books, treaties, conferences, workshops and of course musicians over the course of history. So, what do we mean by pitch and why are there so many pitches? In terms of instruments, why are there...
It is known that towards the end of the eighteenth century, flutes with eight keys, or double and alternate keyed flutes were preferred among musicians. Yet things were to change drastically with the Theobald BOEHM (1794-1881)1832 invention – the conical ring-key flute. Sadly, it was to become a beautiful instrument...
If you are interested in learning more about flute acoustics, we have an interesting article written by Jens Holger Rindel, a senior consultant at Multiconsult in Norway, senior researcher in Odeon A/S, Denmark, former Professor in acoustics at the Technical University of Denmark… and flutist!It was presented at the Baltic-Nordic...
We’ve all heard of apprentices and masters. The apprenticeship model is the journey towards mastering an art and becoming a master with the ability to teach others. But what is a journeyman? Read on to find out more about a journeyman’s life.GuildsThroughout history, most trades, such as carpentry, shoemaking or...
The terms Fragonard Courting Couple or Fragonard Love Story refer to a motif inspired by the work of the French artist, Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806). Fragonard, born in Grasse, on the now French Riviera, was a painter and printmaker from the Rococo (Roccoco or Late Baroque) movement and later Neoclassical...
Unicorns have become all the rage over recent years and we are often confronted in our daily lives with unicorns in the form of cartoons, cuddly toys, pencil cases, hairbands and even inflatable pool loungers.A unicorn is a beast that typically looks like a horse and has one single, pointed...
