A neighbor was having a yard sale. She posted it on Facebook. Front and center was a picture of a violin.
Now I once played the violin, a very long time ago, and not very well, if I remember, but well enough for say, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or some such. She only wanted $10 for the entire thing - violin, case, etc.
I hopped in my car and went and bought it.
There was, of course, a reason it was $10. The neighbor said she never learned to play and it was taking up space. I briefly examined the instrument - it was missing a string and the bow had loads of broken hairs on it - but I paid her the $10 and brought it home.
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| The strings are for my guitalele, not a violin, but I think I'll put an old string on the violin when I change the strings. |
The first thing I noticed was that the case smells like animal. There is a reason I seldom purchase things at yard sales; everyone has a pet. The case is not a hard shell case, so I can't wipe it off. It's Carhart-type material and I'm not sure how I could clean it to get the pet smell out. I left it out in the garage and brought the violin in the house.
I reasoned that even if it was not playable (which, it turns out, it likely isn't), I could hang it on the wall. I have a space that needs to be filled.
The violin is not old; it was made in China; the bridge is loose and that's not a good thing, and it has a fretboard. Violins - good violins - don't have fretboards.
So basically I bought something to hang on the wall, not something to play, but maybe one of these days I will find a decent violin and learn to play it. This is a full-sized violin, and I would probably prefer a smaller one (they do make them littler).
Sometimes common sense does not prevail. I have thought about sending the thing off to Goodwill (and I suppose that is where the case will end up) but why not use it as décor? It will look pretty on the wall. I already have two dulcimers hanging up.
Books and musical instruments. Two things I can't seem to say no to. Something in my genes, I guess.
If it makes you feel any better, I came home on Sunday with an antique typewriter. I've long wanted one, but it's cast iron and weighs a ton and I really have no idea where to put it at the moment and wherever it ends up it will serve no purpose but decoration and dust collecting. I couldn't say no because the woman selling it offered me a ridiculously low price when she saw my interest.
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