| --Rhiannon Schmitt gives the Pink Floyd Song title a | | | | really wasn’t anything to get upset about. The |
| whole new meaning. "Don't practice your | | | | violin was repaired and only an expert could see the |
| backhand with your Strad" and other useful | | | | fine line where the break occurred.A reputation for |
| advice.--A while back In Edmonton, Canada a heavy | | | | fragility precedes violins to the point that people are |
| flyaway juggling pin collided with the most unlikely of | | | | nervous, almost superstitious, around them. I see the |
| targets: a rare 270-year-old Italian violin. The Flying | | | | anxiety in a student’s eyes when they hold the |
| Karamazov Brothers juggling troupe were performing | | | | violin for the first time, afraid that the instrument will |
| alongside the Edmonton Symphony when the bizarre | | | | spontaneously combust or shatter as soon as they |
| accident occurred."All of a sudden, one just flew | | | | touch it.Though you shouldn’t practice your |
| out of the juggler's hand and landed on a violin just | | | | backhand with your Strad, violins are amazingly robust |
| behind him," said Jerrold Eilander, the orchestra's | | | | and will live a long time if you take the proper |
| publicist. "Some people were confused, some | | | | precautions. For starters, don’t leave your violin |
| people didn't know what was going on… They just | | | | laying on the floor, sitting on the couch or perched |
| carried on the show and went on to the next | | | | precariously on top of a stack of books. Cellist James |
| thing." Luckily the player of the violin, incidentally | | | | McKean once said, “Always fasten your |
| also the concertmaster, was reported to be unharmed, | | | | seatbelt, never trust someone who calls you |
| and only the violin’s bridge was damaged.This is | | | | ‘pal,’ and don’t leave your cello |
| one of the many violin accidents I hear of all the time. | | | | lying around to get tripped over. It’s the single |
| Just last week one of my students’ mothers | | | | most common cause of damage to an instrument or |
| called me, her voice drenched in a painfully familiar tone | | | | bow.”I suggest that players hang their violins |
| of awkwardness, followed by a sickly sentence that | | | | from a hook or instrument shelf high up on the wall or |
| induces instant panic in the psyche of a music teacher: | | | | simply put it back in its case when it’s not in use. |
| “The violin broke.”This wasn’t the | | | | Never leave it in the car, especially in extreme hot or |
| first time I had heard those three little words slammed | | | | cold weather, and always keep it in the cab rather |
| together in such a dreadful combination. A particularly | | | | than the trunk. Oh, and don’t forget your fiddle |
| traumatic instance was a couple years back when a | | | | on the roof of the car when you drive off. Believe it or |
| student accidentally (really, how often do people break | | | | not, I know someone who did just that!In the event that |
| expensive antiques intentionally?) dropped one of my | | | | something does happen to your violin, you can usually |
| violins.My mind triggered a survival reflex not used | | | | get it repaired. If the damage is such that it cannot be |
| since my primitive ancestors fought off sabre-toothed | | | | repaired, most home insurance policies cover loss of |
| tigers. This alone kept me from keeling over from the | | | | musical instruments. It’s a good idea to give a |
| shock. “Remain calm,” I thought to myself. | | | | written appraisal of your instrument to your insurance |
| “Just don’t panic,” came my next | | | | company so you get fair replacement value.A final |
| thought, closely followed by, “I’m going to | | | | word on violin care: Try your best to avoid airborne |
| kill him!”I maintained my composure and | | | | juggling pins!**Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is a |
| explained in my most reassuring voice possible, as not | | | | professional violinist and music teacher who has |
| to make him feel worse, that I was sure the violin could | | | | enjoyed creative writing for years. She writes for two |
| be repaired. I forced my teeth into a stiff smile when | | | | Canadian publications and Australia's "Music Teacher |
| he showed me the violin, scroll broken off and strings | | | | Magazine. |
| splayed out in all directions. Funny, but in the end it | | | | |