Just for Fun

Just for fun, I thought I would post this photo of my pre-teen conducting career that was sent to me by my former teacher:

Tools and Acoustics

Having not posted in a couple of weeks, I thought I would post an update. Rather than rushing into making my next violin, I am taking time to work on some fundamentals. First, I have taken inventory of my tools and jigs based on my experience thus far and made decisions regarding what works, what doesn't work, and what I need (or borrow from others too often). This led to a list of tools/jigs to buy and a list of tools/jigs to make, and I have been working to get the tools and jigs from both lists and get them setup properly before starting my next violin. I expect to have everything ready in the next week or two.

I am also excited to announce that I have been accepted to participate in the VSA - Oberlin Acoustics Workshop at Oberlin College from June 6-13. The workshop brings acoustics researchers and violinmakers together for a week of talks, presentations, and experiments and features many of the top names in the field, including, among others, George Bissinger, Joseph Curtin, Fan Tao, Sam Zygmuntowicz, and George Stoppani. To prepare for the workshop, I have been reading all of the relevant acoustics books and articles that I can find. Also, I will be blogging daily from the workshop for those who are interested.

Finally, I am spending time deciding on a model for my next violin, which I plan to start within the next few weeks.

For those who crave more blogging, Gregg has been sending me some very interesting photos from his violinmaking trip to China, which I have been posting on the Alf Studios Blog. I encourage everyone to check it out.