Day 88 – Louder Please



March 7, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

Balancing sounds with plugs.
Volume is the motivation but when did acoustic instruments become capable of plugging in? Until several innovations took place, the guitar, for instance, was limited to small venues. Musicians wanted to be heard in larger places. Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres increased the guitar size and created a “fan” top bracing design around 1850. Guitars became louder but musicians were still not satisfied. Then around 1900, German immigrant Christian Martin invented the X brace, which allowed the use of steel strings with increased sound. However, this still wasn’t loud enough. Lloyd Loar of Gibson guitars developed the first pickup and then George Beauchamp and Aldoph Rickenbacker created a better pickup, which then revolutionized the music industry and allowed acoustic instruments to be plugged in and  heard in larger venues. Loud is here.


Tonight I watched the plug in preparations for a performance at Georgie Jessup’s Edith May’s Paradise house concert with Crying Fridays. With the myriad of wire and plug puzzles, it seemed to me that only a musical technology genius could set the stage for the great performances we heard. At some point in the sound checks, my husband David looked at the plugged in bass and mentioned the “big violin with the catheter” House laughter ensued. His wit and astute observance of a metaphor made me think about other ways of being plugged in.

David has always been plugged into humor and my relationship with him has made all the difference. Although all my life I’ve loved to play practical jokes and laugh, I tend to be serious. But it is David’s influence in plugging me into humor that sets my stage with equilibrium, a life that is balanced.

My gift today is being plugged in.
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> DAY 89 Saving Candles 

You can read my other posts on this project here:

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