SPECIAL ADDITIONS

What string playing accessory could you not do without? The Strad asked six players and teachers to reveal their favourite little helpers

GERHARDT PHOTO KAUPO KIKKAS

THE SOLOIST

ALBAN GERHARDT, CELLIST

For about 15 years I have worn earplugs whenever I perform, on the recommendation of my good friend, the pianist Steven Osborne. I used to use only custommade ones by ProGuard (bit.ly/38r66pS) but now use cheaper foam ones, although these do cut out much more of the sound. Earplugs can protect your hearing, but I use them to even out the sound so I experience more what the audience hears when I perform. In a dry acoustic, string players, and especially cellists, can feel lost and start to force the sound. But in a good acoustic we may relax too much and revel in the wonderful cloud of sound around us without realising it’s not what the audience is hearing 10 or 15 metres away.

I only used to wear earplugs for practice until one day –I can’t remember why –I left them in for a performance. It was Haydn’s D major Concerto, and from my point of view it sounded terrible! I would probably never have tried wearing earplugs in a performance again if the concert hadn’t been recorded for radio broadcast. When I listened back, to my surprise it was one of my better performances of the piece, and musically more interesting. I realised that by cutting out the distracting acoustics of the room, both good and bad, as well as those annoying little sounds the bow can sometimes make, it made me more focused, as well as forcing me to play more creatively.

":I USE EARPLUGS TO EVEN OUT THE SOUND SO I EXPERIENCE MORE WHAT THE AUDIENCE HEARS WHEN I PERFORM"

My other favourite accessory is a super hotel mute by the Spanish company WMute (bit.ly/39jnDB5) – it is both good-looking and very effective.

THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PLAYER

HARRIET RAYFIELD, VICE-CHAIR AND FIRST VIOLIN, LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

There is a small, humble item that all musicians need and would never be without. It’s often borrowed, left forgotten on a music stand, regularly lost and found… the pencil hardly warrants a mention here, but my Blackwing pencils are aesthetically comforting and feel reassuringly professional. They write with a firm, dark mark, which is always good for updating bowings and the conductor’s directions, and they have an excellent small rubber attached (essential for the constant changes of the above). I love my box of Blackwings that I bought in New York a few years ago and keep the pencils in my case at all times as my faithful writing tools (bit.ly/3rRhKl2).

I have only recently discovered the app ForScore,(forscore.co) recommended by a violinist at work. It is brilliant for reading, annotating and practising music sent as a PDF. Our concert schedule often requires learning five or six pieces a week, so the librarians are quite used to scanning all the parts and sending them to us by email to practise.

With the ForScore app, you can erase markings already there and add your own, then file the score away for future use. It also has a metronome and tuner incorporated, as well as many other handy features.

RAYFIELD PHOTO RANALD MACKECHNIE

"WITH THE FORSCORE APP, YOU CAN ERASE MARKINGS ALREADY THERE AND ADD YOUR OWN, THEN FILE THE SCORE AWAY FOR FUTURE USE"

THE FREELANCE MUSICIAN

MARK LIPSKI, DOUBLE BASSIST AND TEACHER

"WITH THE BASS BUGGIE, THERE IS VERY LITTLE PRESSURE ON THE ENDPIN UNIT, SO IT’S BETTER FOR YOUR INSTRUMENT’S LONG-TERM HEALTH"

One of my favourite accessories is my bass cape. This is a large square of material that hangs off the back of the bass, and is primarily there to protect the instrument and its varnish from metal belt buckles or jumper zippers. It also has pockets, which I use to store all my other accessories, such as pencil, rubber, tuner, rosin, earplugs and mute. The storage capacity is useful because our higher stool means we can’t pick up a pencil from the floor without a song and dance. Bass capes or bibs are available from some specialist shops, but I made mine myself with the assistance of my mum’s sewing machine.

When I need to get to and from a gig, the DBL Bass Buggie (below) is the way forward (bit.ly/3OAW71X). Carrying a bass on your back or shoulders is a sure-fire way to a career-halting injury, so some form of wheeled carriage is crucial. The old-fashioned way is a simple wheel, attached to a shaft which goes into the endpin hole, but this has disadvantages: the constant juddering of London’s flagstones may eventually damage the endpin unit and/ or the structure of the instrument holding it in place; it puts a lot of the weight of the instrument on to your shoulder; and when you get on the Underground you have to put the bass down, take the wheel out and replace it with the endpin, and pick it back up again, and then do this in reverse at the other end.

LIPSKI PHOTO SOUTHBANK SINFONIA. BASS BUGGIE PHOTO ADAM HAGERMAN

The new version is the Bass Buggie. Imagine a Segway without the handle; then strap this to one side of the bass, near the bottom of the lower bout. With the Buggie, there is very little pressure on the endpin unit, so it’s better for your instrument’s long-term health. More of the weight is on the wheels, so it’s better for your own long-term health. And for logistical efficiency, the endpin stays in the bass so you don’t have to replace or adjust anything when getting on or off the train. If you adjust the straps right, the bass will even stand up by itself (not recommended by the manufacturer).

THE TEACHER

H ELEN NEILSON, SUZUKI CELLO TEACHER AND HEAD OF STRINGS AT LATYMER UPPER SCHOOL, LONDON

For a teacher, there is little more important than establishing good postural habits with cello students right from the start.I find MiniMax Adjustable Telescopic Stools (below right) invaluable for achieving healthy sitting heights for students across a range of ages (bit.ly/3OEUOyW).Used in combination with a Stentor Cello Anchor spike holder for the younger ones, or other options for older students, they can be used for children from the earliest ages – three or four – and with a maximum sitting height of around 45cm they suit some adults too. They also collapse down so that they can easily be taken around to group lessons and events, offering the most portable solution on the market. I take my own whenever I go away so that I always know I have something of the correct sitting height for my own practice, wherever I am.

Playmobil Jungle Set Monkeys are another of my favourite teaching tools in my studio. These tiny toy monkeys just happen to fit perfectly on the stick of most bow sizes, from about 1/16 size upwards. They can be used to help a student visualise elements of bow planning. They can be used on violin, viola or cello bows. As well as adding an element of fun, they are also an important visual learning aid when used either in the context of individual or group lessons. They offer a significant practical improvement to the more commonly used stickers or tapes, for the simple reason that they are movable on the stick and can then be taken off once the concept is understood. While I more frequently use them with my younger students, we always joke that you can never be too old for the monkeys, and many teenagers request that we get them out from time to time.With their little smiling faces and curly tails, they rarely fail to capture the heart of anyone who encounters them!

NEILSON PHOTO ELVI BERNARD-HILTON. MONKEYS AND BOW PHOTOS HELEN NEILSON

"I FIND MINIMAX ADJUSTABLE TELESCOPIC STOOLS INVALUABLE FOR ACHIEVING HEALTHY SITTING HEIGHTS FOR CELLO STUDENTS ACROSS A RANGE OF AGES"

THE STUDENT

INIS OÍRR ASANO, VIOLIST, UNDERGRADUATE AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC

When gigs and projects started up again after Covid restrictions eased, I realised there was a new problem: some organisations were asking to quarantine sheet music before handing it to the musicians! Straight away I bought myself an iPad, which I use with the app ForScore, my initial aim being to have something that I could have scores emailed to me for reading whenever I wanted. This opened up a new world to me: it was possible to read almost any score, at any time, and to keep it forever. And even before sheet music quarantining days, parts, which are often heavy and impractical to carry around, had to be borrowed or bought in advance, and returned within a deadline.

Additionally, I would recommend buying a pedal page turner (below) (bit.ly/39jNjxp).It solves the problem of missing the last bar of the page because of a bad page turn. Combined with the iPad, I can now even read from a 30-part score, as long as my foot can keep up!

As a travelling musician, I have another recommendation: the BAM viola case hoody (above) (bit.ly/37If1n3). If I’m struggling to know whether to pack a winter coat or a T-shirt, it probably means that my viola will also not know how to adjust to the destination’s climate. Often, I arrive in a new country and for the first hour of the rehearsal, I spend all my time tuning the instrument because of the temperature difference between outside and indoors. The hoody, which is like a fitted jacket, adds a lot of thermal protection and shields your case from the rain. I like to think that the viola is happy with the extra wrapping!

THE PASSIONATE AMATEUR

ALAN THOROGOOD, VIOLINIST AND VIOLIST, AND RETIRED POLICE OFFICER

Playing in orchestras or chamber groups can sometimes be complicated by sheet music that spreads beyond the usual two pages in width, as you end up shuffling additional pages or struggling to read music that is hanging over the edge. Finding the König & Meyer ‘Robby Plus’ stand (bit.ly/3vmvyGq) was a life-saver, as the desk is expandable to take up to four pages in width. It is also robust enough to cope with a stand light and heavier music, such as opera parts, without wobbling. While the stand weighs a little more than others, it’s still collapsible and comes with a carrying case, so it’s no less convenient to use than flimsier counterparts. My musical friends are often impressed by its capabilities and it makes me a useful desk partner too!

During lockdown, I really missed playing music with others, so I was delighted to find an app called PartPlay (apple.co/3EOXEx9). Professional ensembles (including the Maggini and Coull quartets) have recorded chamber works and users can mute the part they want to play, so they can be involved while hearing and seeing the other musicians. Functions and available works are limited on the free version of the app but the premium subscription enables additional features, such as playing at a slower tempo without tuning being affected, or selecting an extract to play on a loop. There are obvious limitations to playing along with a recording but it’s still a useful learning tool and it’s the only opportunity many of us will have to play with such illustrious musicians.

ASANO PHOTO IOPHOTOGRAPHY