Don Rickert Musical Instruments

The Irish, the Harp and Civil War

Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. The minstrel boy to the war is gone, In the ranks of death ye will find him; His father's sword he hath girded on, And his wild harp slung behind him; "Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard, "Tho' all the world betrays thee, One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard, One faithful harp shall praise thee!" ("The Minstrel Boy", known by anyone with even a drop of Irish blood in his or her veins, is an Irish patriotic song written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) in remembrance of friends killed during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.) The Harp is mentioned twice in first verse. The instrument has deep symbolic significance of every Irishman. There were Irish-only (not necessarily their own choice!) regiments on both sides of the American Civil War. Images of a Federal (Union) and Confederate battle flags, remarkably similar in design, are shown below. The old Irish Harp figures prominently in both. The 28th Massachusetts (designated 4th Regiment Irish Brigade) Battle Flag (Federal) 10th Tennessee Irish Infantry Brigade (Confederate) We have considered and are now reconsidering carrying arrying a number of small Celtic and Irish harps, ranging from about 2 lbs to 9 or 10 lbs at our Adventurous Muse online store. Some of these are pictured below. We will also sell weather-resistant period appropriate carrying bags. Harp images Copyright Your World Instruments 2010 Read more →

Gut Fiddle Strings: Let the Truth Overcome Your Fear!

Metal wound strings and modern synthetic core strings (e.g. Dr. Thomastik) are wonderful for the modern fiddler, regardless of the type of music he or she is playing. The good ones, such as D'Addario Helicores and Infeld Super-Flexible rope core strings, sound great, are easy on the fingers (and your instrument) and stay in tune. Other very good synthetic core strings are Correlli Alliance, Pirastro Obligato and D'Addario Pro-Arte. Of course, these benefits can only be derived if your fiddle is structurally sound, it is well set-up and you use a high-performance bow. If any of these requirements are not met, especially the good bow requirement, you are wasting your money on good strings. So why would anyone want to use a 400+ year old type of string on a modern fiddle? The answer is simple. If you are serious about a genre of music from a byegone era going back to about the middle of the 18th Century, you should use the type of string that players used then and have your fiddle set up in the authentic manner of the period. The post-Baroque violin (i.e. the modern violin) is about 250 years old. If you want to play music any older than the 1930s the way it was really played, gut strings are part of the deal. To find out the details of what else is involved besides the gut strings, an article will be published within the next few days. For those who just can't wait, here... Read more →