Category Archives: Art
Gourd Resonator Lute
I acquired several medium sized gourds a few years back, and slowy discovered how to best use them as I intended, to make musical instruments. Gourds have traditionally served as resonating bodies in musical instruments, either as the main body, … Continue reading
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Spinning in Texas
You might remember my electronic music, including Theremin from some years back. Some might notice I stopped recording about 5 years ago. I have been focusing on an acoustic interest that goes back decades before I built my Theremin. I … Continue reading
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Traditional Medicine for Silk Strings
BAI JI…for treating silk strings for Asian instruments Available here. A Bletilla striata rhizome Even the very best silk strings after more than a few years, will become a little hairy. This is in fact the process that creates rich … Continue reading
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Tagged Bai ji, Bletilla striata, Chinese Traditioal Medicine, Music strings, Silk musical strings
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Yao Stave Box Construction
Making boxes …by hand begins with scoring the folds. I use the tip of a burnising tool. This makes it easier to make sharp folds exactly in place. I fold the tabs backward: They will be inserted later. The sides … Continue reading
Tying a Bundle of Yarrow
A customer contacted me recently and asked me to post a description of the way I tie my bundles of Yarrow. I was a little surprised, but it soon occurred that it may not be as obvious a sort of … Continue reading
Ramala or “ilm Al-ramal” Divination Dice
The practice of Geomancy originated with Middle Eastern shaman. One practice was to draw patterns in the sand to invoke earth energies. From these patterns a range of meanings became standardized. To this day there are practitioners in many parts … Continue reading
Moon Lute (Yueqin)
How complex a musical instrument is! Once I started this project, it loomed forth with so many steps I had never taken. New ideas about how to approach each detail came to me in my waking dreams. I had been … Continue reading
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Tagged Asian music, Chinese music, Moon lute, Music strings, Silk strings, Yuqin
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New sets of Long Dice
A new source of exotic woods has brought me renewed interest in the Zhang Shaizi that introduced last year. I found some really fine Ebony and a nice little box to present them. They were unique in that the ‘pips’ … Continue reading
Real Silk Strings: Advice
Someone wrote while addressing me, and suggested they might like to attempt to make some Silk strings for their own use. I replied: I would recommend, if you haven’t already, that you get a copy of the Yu-ku-chai-ch’in-pu translated by … Continue reading
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What Started All That
A gentleman I met yesterday complained about how the Internet has changed the way commerce is conducted in the world today. After I listened for a few minutes, I briefly outlined my progress with online sales in the last few … Continue reading
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Tagged Chinese Traditioal Medicine, I Ching, Oracle, Yarrow stalks, Yi Jing
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