Saturday, May 5, 2007

More bows and classical guitar

I tried out more bows today, during some free time I found while working at the shop. I'm trying less expensive bows, as I feel I am not advanced enough to make adequate use of the more expensive bows I was trying earlier, especially after listening to that dreadful recording I made of myself. Still, the ones I tried were around $1,000, about the same price as the refrigerator we are contemplating.

How can you compare these two things for $1,000: a bow and a refrigerator?! And my daughter is on the verge of buying her first used car at $600.

Then a young woman came in, wanting to learn to play an instrument. She once had a guitar, but gave it to a friend because the friend played it better than she did. She had recently returned from Colombia, where she had worked in an orphanage. A friend there played classical guitar. I showed her a violin and helped her play a few notes. The shop manager played classical guitar for her, coincidentally the very song her friend had played for her. In the end, she bought a classical guitar for $199 and a case for $39.

I looked at the $1,000 bow, and thought: wow, 4 classical guitars. With cases. And frets.

3 comments:

Guanaco said...

I've sure had days when I wished I could buy frets for my cello.

My teacher told me that eventually I will know when I'm ready for a better bow.

gottagopractice said...

Amazing, isn't it? I was thinking as I walked to orchestra rehearsal the other day that I was carrying more money over my shoulder than is parked in my garage. It does seem pretty ridiculous, especially when you compare it to the price of almost any other instrument.

Maricello said...

G, My teacher thinks I need a new bow, to go with my new cello, but does agree that I should take my time in choosing it. I actually like the bows I am trying this week better than the more expensive ones, but I still expect to wait awhile.

GTGP, Yes! I spent a lot on saxophones and clarinets for my kids, but not so much as I am spending on me (and they are more talented). But at least a decent cello will appreciate in value (or at least hold its own), and you can't say that about most cars, or even most clarinets.