Bah... nothing is more annoying that opening up the case, hoping to fit in a quick half hour of practice before a student arrives in an otherwise packed day/week/month to see that one of the strings of the instrument has snapped. Of course, given that these are gut strings and the seasons have been changing, it was sort of to be expected... and it didn't help that I haven't had time to regularly change these strings... so, a combination of season change and lack of regular restringing has led to this. But still, annoying... even if slightly self-inflected.

So, a quick change of the instrument before trying to learn a couple of Hume solos that I need to play in a couple of days time. They are gorgeous pieces, and with the viola d'amore alone I can take the time to revel in the bloom of sound from the sympathetic strings and also to take the time to speak the notes properly in a fully rhetorical manner.

These pieces will serve as a bit of an interlude in an otherwise heavily keyboard orientated lecture/concert for the local university and outreach. We are focussed more upon the changing role and technology in keyboard instruments as the periods moved from the early Baroque through the later Classical eras... harpsichords and plucked instruments giving way to the early proto pianos of the time with hammers instead.

The part of the viola d'amore piece... other than the interlude, is to also highlight the extinction certain instruments and groups of instruments as there started to be more standardisation of parts, instruments, and roles. I think that it is a bit of a pity that we lost so many interesting instruments and sounds as we approached the classical era.... but that is my personal observation.

... there was also a change in the way that the music was written... as more instruments broke "out" of their Baroque roles and there was a sort of democratisation of parts where each part would start to take leading/melodic roles... to me, it was also a step backwards... and one that led to the modern classical school of thought that I have been staunchly opposed to. If you want to have a sort of relatable and similar situation... it would be like the drummer of a rock band deciding that they didn't want to be the rhythmic backbone, but would like to be doing the same as the lead guitar/singer. Sure... do that... but you definitely lose something in the process, as the group dynamic is much weaker for the change.

... or if you aren't music orientated, it is like the engine deciding that it wants to be the steering wheel of the car.

Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Coinbase Wallet: Multi chain wallet with lots of opportunities to Learn and Earn!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
WooX: The centralised version of WooFi. Stake WOO for fee-free trades and free withdrawals! This link also gives you back 25% of the commission.
GMX.io: Decentralised perpetual futures trading on Arbitrum!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
KuCoin: I still use this exchange to take part in the Spotlight and Burning Drop launches.
MEXC: Accepts HIVE, and trades in most poopcoins! Join the casino!
ByBit: Leverage and spot trading, next Binance?
OkX: Again, another Binance contender?