Solo A Musical Journey I

[Kelski]

Timestamp: 55th of Fall, 518 A.V.

Kelski had a visitor first thing after lunch. The old seer and violinist Mosa, an Ex-Denvalite, took a long time in getting up the stairs, but the pack that Ebon hauled for her belied the fact that she was planning on a short visit. Ebon was burdened in addition with an umbrella, a half-dozen scarves, and a violin case. The Kelvic Night Lion staggered up the steps at the sheer weight of the old woman’s burdens. Kelski had put her work on hold for the rest of the day and into the night since Mosa had been promising her a violin lesson.

Ebon deposited Mosa’s things next to the couch where she had sat herself down and then he made himself scarce.

Little Rhaus, meanwhile, stared at the Kelvic woman with hurt all over his ceramic face. Kelski had forewarned him that Mosa was coming and he was beyond offended that she wanted the seer to teach her violin and had declined lessons from him. Declined! Indigent, Little Rhaus couldn’t imagine what the woman had to offer Kelski which he couldn’t give. He knew how to play – at least a little – absolutely ever instrument that was ever made. He was MAGIC. Mosa was just… an old woman who knew not what she was talking about.

Kelski had tried to sooth him, telling him how excited Mosa was to teach her and how good it would be for the old woman to have a student again. She’d been feeling neglected, useless, and really loved speaking about music and playing the violin. So, in a way both women were benefiting. Mosa got a student and Kelski got excellent training.

She didn’t have the heart to point out to Little Rhaus that although he could play EVERY instrument that existed, he only could play them to a limited extent. His best feature was singing, and Kelski honestly didn’t think learning from someone relatively unskilled would be any good. The Sea Eagle wanted to learn from the best.

Besides, she’d invited Little Rhaus to stick around and sit in on the lesson as well, perhaps learning something himself. The statue had stared at her incredulous and had said ‘NO!’ and then marched off as if Kelski had wounded him to his core. The Kelvic felt guilty. But she’d really wanted to learn from Mosa.

And when the old woman had arrived, she’d been completely oblivious to the micro drama that had been unfolding in The Midnight Gem. She’d grinned at Kelski, thanked Ebon, and had looked around for the little mouse who was hiding currently in her own room avoiding getting drafted to fetch tea or make sandwiches again, since she’d already handled the lunch crowd. Kelski was more than welcoming though and sat down to greet Mosa, pouring her tea and offering her a plate of leftovers from their lunch – fruit, nuts, cheese and bread.

Then she fetched her violin. Little Rhaus was nowhere in sight, and that upset Kelski a bit. “Little Rhaus! Mosa is here… you sure you don’t want to hear any of this lesson?” Kelski asked, but the statue had seemingly disappeared. Worry nagged at Kelski, even though she didn’t have too much time to deal with it.


Count: 539

[Kelski]

Mosa grinned at Kelski. “You are sure you are ready for this? I know you finally got yourself a violin and you wanted to learn to play it. I’m probably one of the only ones in this city that actually can teach you.” The old woman said with a grin, her own violin case resting beside her. The elderly woman’s gnarled hands, arthritic fingers, and the perpetual effects of the cold weather in Sunberth’s winter had all but precluded her playing her own instrument. But that hadn’t stopped her from teaching.

“Of course….” Kelski said, glad she had invited Mosa to The Midnight Gem for a few days to teach her some lessons. Mosa had set up camp in the guest quarters which were Duncan’s former quarters as the Isur had moved into the double bunked guest room with his Kelvic bondmate. Mosa had quickly made herself at home, not only settling in her little room but quickly capturing a spot on the couch and having Kelski pull up a chair with her violin. They’d been talking about the instruments since.

“I know nothing of violins. I just know they sound beautiful.” Kelski said softly. “That doesn’t mean I can’t learn. Kynier plays the oboe. I’d like to be able to play with him sometime.” The Kelvic said somewhat whimsically, as if she didn’t quite believe she was going to be able to play.

Mosa leaned forward and smiled, the firelight crackling off the main hearth painting her features in a somewhat sinister way. “Anyone can play, Kelski. But whether you can play well and play with your heart is up to you. It’s the way you take to the instrument and how you treat it that matters. I’ll also need to show you a thing or two about how to change strings and clean your violin. Proper care and maintenance are important. “ Mosa said. “My father, back in Denval, made musical instruments from wood… all sorts. He’d make stringed instruments, drums, harps, violins, violas, even big ones like cellos and bases. He loved the wood and loved music. The first thing he ever taught me was how to care for them.” The old woman said softly.

“They will last a lifetime if you simply take care of them. In fact, most of them will last your lifetime, the lifetime of your children, and a dozen more if each one in the line they are passed down to keeps them safe and well maintained. And truly, the work is really simple. All you have to do is keep them dirt free, dry, and in a very well-constructed case that will keep the moisture out. You need to make sure resin is wiped off them when you resin the strings. The varnish on the wood can fuse to the resin and become a thick black paste on the wood that is almost impossible to remove without sanding down the instrument and re-staining and varnishing it, which can change the sound. Such actions are incredibly damaging and need to be done at the hands of a restorer.” Mosa added, her lecture mode in full swing. Kelski had experienced it once before when the elder was teaching her palmistry.


Count: 537

[Kelski]

Kelski nodded, still worried that Little Rhaus hadn’t shown up yet. She excused herself in the name of checking on the forge in her workshop and trotted down stairs to quietly search the workshop. She found nothing. And so when she climbed back up the stairs, she’d discovered Mosa had started without her. The woman was so excited to be teaching, she was explaining things seemingly to nothing. Kelski nodded as if she hadn’t left and tried to catch up.

While Mosa talked, Kelski unfastened the case of her violin and took it out, laying it across her lap. She stroked its long neck, ran her fingers over its strings, and explored the dark almost ebony wood of the musical instrument. She liked the look of it, the feel of it, as it catered to her very tactile nature. “Wine corks, Kelski. Save them. Use them to clean your violin. Clean the rosin off the strings with them. It will make a huge difference in the sound. Corks work brilliantly because they don’t damage the strings, but pick up the rosin easily. Leave the tuning pegs loose… when you store the violin. And if you put it away for a long period of time, take them out of the neck altogether. When you put them back together and tighten them, add peg dope to them so they grip the grooves they are screwed into instead of slipping free and causing your violin to lose its tune. You can buy peg dope at places they sell instruments or buy it from beekeepers. Its’ just propolis.. the glue bees make for sealing their hives.” Mosa added with a smile. “If the peg dope stops working and the pegs start slipping a great deal, you’ll need to replace the entire pegs. They wear out from repeated tightening, loosening, and being stored. Even the weather can cause them to swell and shrink accordingly. The same happens if you travel.” She added thoughtfully, then looked curiously at Kelski’s violin.

“That instrument is beautiful. I’m glad the bow matches it. Take care of it well. You’ll need to unstring it when you store it because bows can become ‘sprung’ or warped. The only real maintenance is regular thorough cleaning of the length of the bow with a very soft cloth. You’ll also need to re-hair it infrequently. Hairs are often lost from the bow during playing, because they wear or break. So when that happens, you’ll have to take it to an instrument maker or seller and get new hair put in the bow when yours gets too thin. Its something you can learn to do for yourself if you keep horses and pull hair from their tails for it. You might have to replace the wire lapping and the leather grip, or lubricate the screw that tightens the hair. But beyond that, nothing else really should be needed. Take care of your bow. It’s precious. Any large cracks and breakages in the bow mean it can never be used again. If it gets warped, same thing. Thats why violinists loosen their horsehair bows before they store them in their cases to keep this from happening. Are you following me?" Mosa demanded and Kelski nodded.


Count: 539

[Kelski]

In truth, not everything Mosa said was easy to follow. Kelski was busy trying to understand what her bow was, versus the violin itself, and as she fiddled with it, she figured out quickly how to unstring it and string it back up. It had been unstrung in the case so whomever it belonged to meant that they were taking care of it. There was also a jar of peg dope and clean cloths in her case. She found extra strings and extra horse hair in the case as well. That pleased her since she hadn’t been looking for it before.

Frankly words like peg dope and bows, even the thought of cleaning the violin was all new to Kelski. She was adding to her vocabulary by leaps and bounds as she tried to soak in everything that Mosa was telling her. Truth be told she would have liked to know what parts were what on the violin before Mosa got too far. And before she could ask, Mosa launched into that lesson as well.

Kelski excused herself for a few moments in the pretexts of using the little girl’s room. She didn’t have to use the restroom though. She was worried about Little Rhaus and searched the master bedroom, its suite, and the bath attached. Then she went out on the balcony, took a quick look at the roof, and then scanned the deck and beach below.

Nothing. She returned to Mosa.

“Now, I’m not going to be teaching you how to play your instrument without you knowing what parts are when I tell you to do something with a part of it. So, let me grab mine out….” Which she did, making a big fuss out of taking the instrument out of its case, laying it across her lap where Kelski could see it, and running her hands up and down its length. Kelski couldn’t help but contrast the two instruments. Mosa’s was pale, like the color of butter, and strung with dark strings. She had etchings in a strange language worked up and down the sides of the violin. On Kelski’s instrument, the stain was so dark as to be black and there were silver runes worked up and down its length. Kelski had no idea the origins of the violin, but she was sure there was a good story behind it. Listening carefully, Kelski kept her eye on Mosa as she began to lay out the parts.

Giving the old woman proper respect, Kelski scooted her chair closer and leaned so she could get a good look. Mosa ran her hands at the top of the violin, right above the pegs. She stroked the part of it that was almost curled like an animal horn. “This is the scroll, Kelski. Its swept back look is traditional. Now these, these are the tuning pegs that lie just beneath the scroll… and the pegbox which the pegs fit into. These are the nuts that hold the pegs in, and the neck holds all the strings above the main sound box.” Mosa said, glancing up at Kelski when she glanced down at her own instrument. She touched the parts in kind, almost reverently as the Kelvic did the same.


Count: 540

[Kelski]

Mosa moved her hands softly down the length of the strings, and gestured at them. “This is the fingerboard, the area under the strings. The body… or belly is the rest of this. The white pieces in the middle of the strings… this is the bridge. The fine tuners are below that. The tailpiece is at the end, just here. And you rest the instrument on its end-pin when you lay it down. These are the bridges and ribs…” Mosa gestured, then ran her hand across the odd piece sticking out at one angle. “This is the chinrest. The bottom is blatantly obvious, and the two curves on either side of the bridge are the F-holes.” She added, smiling at Kelski. The Kelvic nodded her understanding, quietly repeating each of the parts of her violin to herself. She enjoyed learning, truth be told, and learning an instrument was a whole new area that she’d never ventured into before in her mind.

Taking another break, Kelski quickly excused herself and ran through the upstairs bedrooms and looked in the chests and under the beds, hoping to immediately find Little Rhaus. She didn’t find him, only causing her worry to grow. Finally, she went back to her lesson with her keen ears open. She saw nothing and heard nothing of the little statue. Kelski was starting to get very worried. She couldn’t imagine Little Rhaus being so angry that he missed learning something new.

Mosa simply raised an eyebrow at her. The old woman was keen enough to know something was up, but she didn’t outright ask.

Next, Mosa picked up her bow, and put it carefully together. She did it slow enough that Kelski could follow suit with her own bow, and learn the parts like she had the violin. “Take your bow out if the case. Careful with it, because it is fragile, Kelski. There’s a screw at the bottom. Use it to tighten and loosen the bow hair. Yours will be loose so tighten it. It should be screwed to the right to make it tighter. If your hands are sweaty, wet, or it is just hard to spin the screw, try putting your shirt, or a piece of cloth over it. The process should be much easier. Then, take this rosin….” Mosa held up what looked like a U shaped container filled with what smelled like pine sap. “Rosin comes from tree sap. Rub it on the bow because you want the grains of sap to get into the hairs. Use the rosin and rub it onto the bow hair, up and down repeatedly, about 5 or 6 times. More is fine but never do less.” Rosa advised, then began to point out the parts of a bow.

“You have the screw, frog, tip, hair and stick. That’s it on bows. The screw holds the hair into the frog. The tip guards the bow and protects the other end of where the hair attaches from the frog. The stick is the main part of the bow, and the hair – from horses like I said before – stretches across from the tip to the frog. The frog is where you tighten the hair. The tip is at the other end and just holds the hair at the opposite end from the frog.” She said.

Continued in: A Musical Journey II

Count: 554

[Kelski]

G R A D E S

Kelski

Violin +5, Investigation +2

Violin: Proper Care and Maintenance, Violin: Wine Corks Can Be Used To Clean Rosin Off Strings, Violin: How To Store Them Properly, Violin: How To String And Unstring Them, Violin: The Parts Of a Violin and Bow + Their Uses

PM me with questions or concerns.