What...really?
You know...I'm starting to wonder if some being on high is trying to tell me something. I have a koto concert next week, it's a private dinner for all these important businessmen at Honda and we're playing for about two hours as background music/entertainment. This is also the first time I'll be paid for a koto performance, so this show is kind of a big deal.
Tonight during my lesson one of the strings on my koto. Effing. BROKE.
*makes incoherent panic/anger noises*
Now, I'd noticed this particular string had been looking a little frayed (I bought my koto four years ago, and this particular string is one of the most heavily played), but I didn't think it would actually break on me. Shows what I know. Now, koto are actually designed so you can deal with a situation like this.
The two loops at the base of the koto are extra string. It's not a big deal to untie both ends and pull forward several inches to give you new string to play on. What is a big deal is getting the string tightened back down so you can actually play it. My teacher and I, using a special tool that's supposed to let you do this yourself, tried for over an hour to fix it. We couldn't do it. Part of the problem is my strings are a little old (apparently you're supposed to replace them every two years. This is news to me!) and dry, so the tightening tool thingy kept slipping, and just we couldn't get it tight enough.
Thankfully, my teacher had an extra koto sitting around (it belongs to one of our other members, but she won't be playing with us next week) and I'll be borrowing it temporarily.
Now, one of the other group members is apparently a whiz at restringing koto, and next Friday she'll have a go at fixing my koto. However, looking at my koto closely I noticed a few other fraying strings. Those will be the next to break. What I really need to do is get them all replaced.
This sucks because the closest professional who can do this is in Boston - the same guy I bought the koto from, in fact. This is the run down:
Set of new strings: $100
Repair fee: $50
Cost of shipping the koto to Boston and back: $160
I'm sorely tempted to finish that like an American Express commercial :P Anyone have a clever suggestion?
My only other option is this: rumor has it from my teacher that there is a guy within driving distance who can restring koto. Apparently the "plan" is for some of us to order new strings from the guy in Boston (100 bucks GAAAH) and then drive to this person's house and have a koto repair party. Or something. When and if that will happen, I have no idea.
Odds are I will soon be shipping my precious, fragile wooden instrument to Boston, hoping and praying that UPS will have mercy and not put a huge DENT in it like they did with my teacher's koto when she had its strings replaced last year.
*resigned sigh*
Tonight during my lesson one of the strings on my koto. Effing. BROKE.
*makes incoherent panic/anger noises*
Now, I'd noticed this particular string had been looking a little frayed (I bought my koto four years ago, and this particular string is one of the most heavily played), but I didn't think it would actually break on me. Shows what I know. Now, koto are actually designed so you can deal with a situation like this.
The two loops at the base of the koto are extra string. It's not a big deal to untie both ends and pull forward several inches to give you new string to play on. What is a big deal is getting the string tightened back down so you can actually play it. My teacher and I, using a special tool that's supposed to let you do this yourself, tried for over an hour to fix it. We couldn't do it. Part of the problem is my strings are a little old (apparently you're supposed to replace them every two years. This is news to me!) and dry, so the tightening tool thingy kept slipping, and just we couldn't get it tight enough.
Thankfully, my teacher had an extra koto sitting around (it belongs to one of our other members, but she won't be playing with us next week) and I'll be borrowing it temporarily.
Now, one of the other group members is apparently a whiz at restringing koto, and next Friday she'll have a go at fixing my koto. However, looking at my koto closely I noticed a few other fraying strings. Those will be the next to break. What I really need to do is get them all replaced.
This sucks because the closest professional who can do this is in Boston - the same guy I bought the koto from, in fact. This is the run down:
Set of new strings: $100
Repair fee: $50
Cost of shipping the koto to Boston and back: $160
I'm sorely tempted to finish that like an American Express commercial :P Anyone have a clever suggestion?
My only other option is this: rumor has it from my teacher that there is a guy within driving distance who can restring koto. Apparently the "plan" is for some of us to order new strings from the guy in Boston (100 bucks GAAAH) and then drive to this person's house and have a koto repair party. Or something. When and if that will happen, I have no idea.
Odds are I will soon be shipping my precious, fragile wooden instrument to Boston, hoping and praying that UPS will have mercy and not put a huge DENT in it like they did with my teacher's koto when she had its strings replaced last year.
*resigned sigh*