"...relationship between lace and music...discovered another...Belgian...Binche...Bayeux...bobbins...musical sound (Belgian not as clear, Binch higher pitched/clickety..." Nancy
As a percussionist favoring drums, one becomes quite aware of wooden sticks. I loved a conversation with owner of "Lacemaker USA" where she too talked about how she loved the sound/music that bobbins make. I remember acknowledging the pleasant click of the needles when one knits, and several people wrote to say their needles don't make a sound when they knit...that joy had escaped them, as they do. The sound and tons vary with wood content (densities vary), length and thickness, and perhaps to a lesser degree, shape. The latter is too much physics oriented and more subtle for me to comment on at length. Of course the way you throw them, how they hit each other, and the load of the thread and even it's type (content/thickness) also factors, as it is a "damper" which we also use to change tone in drumming. That can range from actually adding cloth or batt to the inside of a drum and all the various relations from placement, to degree of contact, and would be similar to the "thread factor." A hard wood will bring a clearer tone than a less dense one. I suppose you could compare it to wine glasses filled with water and running your finger over the rim (or when we tap a glass with a utensil or our fingernail). The volume of the water factors into it, but even more so, the content of the glass itself, as lead crystal provides a clearer sound that an inexpensive glass. Here too the shape can affect but one typically stays with similar shape as you control the sound with the liquid...adding other factors like glass shape and what composes the glass tends to make it all too complicated and more trial and error. It is one of the reasons that I love bobbin lace, and one can use the rhythm to help one relax and begin listening to the sound pattern as much or more than the process. A bit like knitting where one begins to get into the clicking of the needles and the pattern/rhythm of the lace pattern and when the sound is off, you know you have to go back and check for a mistake. Complicated subject, but one of the perhaps unconscious rewards of bobbin lace. Since I don't work with spangled bobbins, I am curious if the metal and beads tend to dampen the experience of the wood sounds. I would guess that would be true to a larger degree, as the wood doesn't get its full chance for a resonant tone. Working the same or similar piece of stitch with an ebony wood and another with jaspe or another, would still bring subtle differences. To many it wouldn't matter, but to some brings the ultimate refinement of the experience. Then one begins to consider if they are choosing bobbins not only for price, but for looks (preferring those with a certain look) verses the sound they make. I think we tend to choose things for visual reasons as most of us dominate in visual, but some are auditory and it is often secondary for most, which could help bring this awareness to the forefront. When I choose new drum sticks in the store, I choose certain types of woods as I know they will provide better sound and control (and some are stronger woods). I also roll them across a glass counter to see if they are straight, which nowadays amuses the the sales person as they have no idea what I am doing. Then I have to explain it all and they suddenly stop laughing as it is harder to execute what one wants with a stick that isn't completely straight, and the sound is clearer or more resonant. You can also hear the wood sing as it rolls, which indicates even if it has a defect (which isn't good near the neck close to the tip). Of course I don't go into that as they would probably think I was crazy, but these are all things that we unconsciously note, and some choose to bring to the conscious mind for insight and fulfillment, so we can better execute or express our gift. Happy lacing! Susan Reishus - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
