In whos hands

Ok we can all admit it and possibly even have fear of it… we all will go to the arms of the Lord at some stage of our lives.

My grandmother (Lord have mercy) died before I was born and she passed the button accordion to my mother, who passed it to me as she doesn’t play. I will follow by doing it the same. When I pick it up to play it I always think of her and have a young image of her from the black and white photos before she died. Funny enough I went to a fortune teller a few weeks ago who told me she was my Guardian Angel!!

Anyway, where would you like you instruments to go or would you bring them to the grave with you?

I told eveyone in a similar thread last week that George Harrison X Beatle RIP was buried with his ukuele, some one commented “I thought he played guitar”, well he did, but he also liked George Formby music.

As for me when I die I’d like the wife to come with me, kicking and screaming as she trys to get out the coffin while the lids being nailed down . . .

well, if i had a full set of Davy spillane uilleann pipes with planinum keys, gold celtic design embeded into the ivory mounts (real ivory); made with very rare Ancient Kauri wood (oldest wood in the world). Then i would probably take it to the grave! Or i would make sure that it is kept locked behind bullet proof glass in the Uilleann pipe museam (if there is such a thing).

If it was jus your everyday brass/ebony set, then i would certainly hand it down with no worries :D

blessed be

I don’t think I’m quite ready to go yet so you don’t mind if I defer answering that question for a few decades?
However it would be nice if either of my kids developed an interest in trad music but judging from the musical taste of the older one I don’t hold out much hope…though she is handy on the piano, and getting there on guitars, both acoustic and lecky.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who would like my banjos to be buried with me in order to get them out of circulation. I always wonder who had my instruments before me--it’s one of the nice little mysteries. A wonderful man gave me my first fiddle and the bow I still use when he heard that I wanted to learn. He’d become too arthritic to play. I hope the generosity will continue to another generation.

My son things this traditional music stuff is corny. Unfortunately, during his youngest days, I was suffering from a musical dry period, so he was not exposed to enough folky stuff (although he did learn the trumpet and sing in the school choir). So now, I am pinning my hopes on my granddaughter.

“we all will go to the arms of the Lord at some stage of our lives”

most likely at the end!!

I was thinking of taking an instrument with me-might get the honor of playing a tune for God Himself!

I think I remember a cartoon I saw once where the devil is greeting people newly arrived down below, saying “Welcome to hell, here is your accordion.”

<“I was thinking of taking an instrument with me-might get the honor of playing a tune for God Himself!”>

There is always the chance that Frankie Gavin might outlive you!
;)

In addition to playing flute and whistles in this music I play Jazz saxophone. My main tenor sax was made in 1935, and I like to think of all the various players who have owned this instrument over the years. All those stories….
So when I “move on” I certainly hope all of my insturments move on to someone who will love them like I have.

Aul Frankie Gavin from “4 men and a God”, aka DeDanann! Very good, WH, very good!!

(DB’s post-again, Cealgach on DB’s computer
apologies for not signing!)
🙂

I think if the Lord intends for me to play an instrument in Heaven, he will have a good one waiting for me, so I don’t see any point in burying any with me. Give them to someone who will make good use of them. 🙂

As an instrument maker, I would be very happy to see any of my instruments outlive me. I certainly wouldn’t want them in my coffin with me - What could be more frustrating than lying next to a mandolin while your fingers get masticated by invertebrates?

A friend of mine is down-sizing, a bit early maybe but she’s not in good health, so we now have her bodrhan on our wall; “Mine ! ” says the SO. I definitely think one only has the loan of a good instrument, and should be prepared to pass it on.
Scrappy, you’re too young to have any conception of this idea.
My one proviso should be that the instruments are passed on, given or exchanged for modest sums by my heirs, to people who will enjoy them and use them. A friend of mine died a few years ago, and the person who was left the task of disposing of his instruments was trying to get the highest price for each one - fair in one sense, but it does deny those who could possibly benefit the most from enjoying them. The idea of an instrument in a glass case is appaling to me, if it is still playable.

You don’t really “own” a good instrument - well, yes, perhaps in the legal sense but certainly not in the ethical sense. You just look after it so that it can be passed on to the next musician when you’re gone. It’s nice if it can be passed on down through the family, but if that isn’t possible then the important thing is that is goes to someone who will appreciate it and play it.
It hurts me when I see playable old instruments sitting in a museum case and only trotted out once in a blue moon for a brief play. Or perhaps not even that: witness the magnificent “Messiah” Stradivari violin in the Asmolean Museum in Oxford, where it was donated on the condition that it stays in its glass case and is not to be played.
The situation is different of course with really old instruments that are now too fragile to be played; I’ve no quarrel with that.

Pete and I have the same thoughts. Our posts have crossed.

My granny gave me the family threequarter fiddle as soon as I could reach the end of the fretboard (age7) I have never played a note on it, but play the bodhran avidly (age 63), hope this helps.

The situation is even worse when “collectors” get their greedy paws on the best instruments and hide them away in a bank vault, from which the instruments only emerge for the next mega-bucks auction, after which they are promptly returned to the vault. Same applies to other works of art.

You know, I’ve been looking for a decent uke. Where is Mr. Harrison buried?

I would hope all my good instruments (fiddle, grand piano, 57 Gibson guitar) go to my kids, and I hope they USE them. I think they will.

I hope the good Lord hands me a fiddle when I get there. I’d love to see what type of strings he uses! 🙂

Spillane’s uilleann pipes would be more suitable in a bonfire, they say.
Never heard about George being a uker. Why didn’t he combine that with the sitar on a Beatles track? Talk about groovy…

My instruments, guitars, fiddle and UP goes to the middle child that actually plays piano well-gets the piano as well; the eldest gets all the books; and the youngest gets all my camera/computer gear.
The stipulation is that the guitars stays in the family; the UP can get sold if no one wants it; books and cameras can be bartered or sold.

Gotta think of the vinyl and CDs though.

“George Harrison X Beatle RIP was buried with his ukuele”?

Hmmm ………. ‘While My Ukulele Gently Weeps’?

"I look at the world and I notice it’s turning
While my Ukulele gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my Ukulele gently weeps"

etc. etc

Naaaaw

I had the pleasure of seeing uke player Jake Shimabukuro in concert and was blown away. One of the tunes he did was “While My guitar Gently Weeps” and believe me, he did it justice. This guy is awesome –fast, tasty and with a stage presence that includes windmill chording, fingertapping and leaping “running man” poses, all very tongue in cheek and with a tremendous grin.

http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/

Macca’s 1st guitar just sold at auction for £100K. I doubt that the new owner bought it for its quality, or because it was to be played. In fact, I’ve read that a lot of us ageing baby boomers are buying up old guitars as investments, since we could never afford the decent ones when we were young and rebelious.
Decent musical instruments are built with love and care to be played, not locked in a vault.
Save us from the whims of baby boomers!

When our Lady takes me back to her flesh I would like to think that every instrument I “own” will go to someone who will use and enjoy it. My children have been made well aware of my feelings.

Are Jeffries’ anglos allowed in Heaven or are they the Devil’s instrument?
There will be a queue waiting for me to leave my concertinas but most people hope my PA will be going in the coffin with me.

There was a very poigniant episode of “Northern Exposure” where the wealthy ex-astronaut asked a musician to appraise a fiddle for him, and when satisfied announced he would buy it and put it in a bank - at which point the musician stole it ! I was rooting for the musician.

That calls to mind one of my favorite movies, Pete - The Red Violin. A luthier friend was so inspired by the movie that he made some varnish using his own blood and used it to finish a mandolin. If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re probably puzzled by this. It’s really a good movie. Well, it’s no Bubba Ho-Tep, but pretty good anyway.

Well, I want to get cremated at some stage of my life, but I don’t think they’ll let me take my instrument. As my banjo has gold and metal in/on it, I don’t think they’ll be happy putting it in the oven. I’d probably pass it down, hope there’s a banjo builder somewhere up there who sells for a reasonable price (or maybe lone-banjos who have died)

When it comes down to guitars, any that do lurk around for very long (100 yrs+) don’t seem to be holding up too well (string tension over long periods maybe?) and aren’t playable/able to withstand being breathed on heavily, so aren’t very suitable for many generations of playing. But then, more modern (ie last 60 yrs) might…. I’m not gonna complain about the baby boomers buying old guitars, guitars like mind end up being worth alot more than it’d cost you to buy a equivalent modern one….. 🙂 And if it keeps them in circulation it should preserve them if they’re played regularly.

Andy, that’s a good point about the longevity of guitars. It confirms a remark my classical guitar teacher (who was also a luthier) made many years ago to the effect that the tone of guitars and pianos deteriorates with age, whereas that of the violin/cello family of instruments tends to improve.
Of course, a really old guitar or piano may well have an intrinsic value as an antique, or because of its provenance, that is quite separate from any value it may still have as a playable instrument.
By “provenance” I mean some famous person who may have owned or played the instrument. As an example, in a community association hall in a small seaside town not far from where I live there is displayed the ship’s piano on which Rachmaninov practiced when he emigrated from Europe to the USA. As a playable piano I expect it is now pretty gruesome, but as a bit of Rachmaninov memorabilia it has probably acquired a significant monetary value in the eyes of some collectors.

Guitars also improve with age, though some people say they start to deteriorate after several decades. I’ve heard a few luthiers claim that a classical guitar starts to decline after thirty to fifty years, but that steel-stringers stay ripe for seventy years or more. Personally, I don’t think we have a long enough history with well-made guitars - especially steel-string - to draw any conclusions. The violin was perfected centuries ago. The guitar has just reached its golden age within the past twenty years.

Generally I feel that good instruments improve with age. unfortunately this has made them “collectable” so that many vintage guitars are being mothballed for one reason or another. There is a school of thought which suggests that if good instruments are not played regularly, they lose some of their tone. I think this may be true. I’ve had some lovely handmade instruments since “birth” and the tone has definitely developed and improved over the years.

As I have 3 sons, they will have first call on my instruments if and when I pass on, or if I am no longer able to play them myself. Until then I am kind of against handing them over formally, as sometimes windfall instruments are not as highly valued by the recipient as they are by the donor….don’t you think?

To clarify my point about guitar deterioration, initially the guitar will sound better with age (I believe something to do with the wood drying out). So any guitar (particularly those with a spruce top) will sound better as it is played in. The vibrations do have something to do with it, I’ve heard of people leaving basses near to speakers in order to play in the wood. Steel string and electric guitars have the advantage of tougher internal bracing and a truss rod to keep them in one piece, whereas classical guitars don’t. But the flat top steel strung guitar hasn’t been existance for very long, there probably won’t be many 70 yr old guitars around.