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I thought this was really funny -- it happened to me last night at
orchestra rehearsal.
I heard some noises carrying my bass around before rehearsal, and hoped it
was nothing unusual. But at break, when I laid my bass on its side, there
it was again -- the distinct sound of something metal sliding down the
interior wood surface of the bass. I peered inside the f-holes, and I
could vaguely see a metal ring. Yikes! Had the peg of my bass, which
penetrates from the exterior bottom, started coming apart on the inside?
Basses are hard and expensive to fix, and I've got a concert and a
recording session on Saturday, and I'm the only bassist in the orchestra.
I enlisted the help of the timpanist, and together we picked up the two
ends of the bass and held it in the air, back up, tilting it from side to
side and hearing the thing sliding around inside ominously. We started
gathering a crowd of musicians at this point. (Musicians are always
willing to be distracted from orchestra rehearsals, and bassists are the
comedians of the orchestra. ) They watched as I reached a finger into the
3/4" diameter circle at the end of the f-hole and hooked something. We
set down the bass and carefully I fished it out. The mysterious object
turned out to be my cat's leather collar, with metal ring & metal tag.
The concert master suggested we check to see if the cat was in there too!
I reconstructed the probable events leading to this: my cat Minerva loves
crawling inside dark, warm constricted environments (put a paper bag on
the floor, and she's right inside it, even if there's other stuff in it).
She must have pushed open the zipper opening of the soft bass case (it was
in its case all week because I didn't practice, bad bassist!), then
crawled inside on top of the front surface of the bass, underneath the
strings. Her rabies shot tag, hanging down from her neck, fell into the
f-hole. When she tried to get out, it got twisted and stuck in there.
She pulled her head out of the collar and left. When I picked up my bass
in the morning, I noticed nothing unusual -- the case was still on the
bass. In manoevring the bass around, the collar fell entirely inside the
bass. And that's why I nearly freaked out worrying that my bass was
falling apart a mere two days before the concert.
The moral of the story: cats are stupid. Ours certainly is. If you
scratch her post, she'll run over and scratch it herself. Her favourite
toy is the circular plastic wrapper that comes off the top of a Snapple
bottle. The most entertaining cat game we have to play with her is to
hold an empty paper bag in the air a foot or two off the ground, hole
towards her. With my thumb, I scratch the bottom of the bag. She peers
into the bag to see where the noise is coming from, and eventually leaps
up into the paper bag. We drop it at this point, and she ends up landing
on the floor, still in the paper bag, scrabbling around to get
whatever-it-is.
Lisa
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I thought this was really funny -- it = happened to me last night at orchestra rehearsal.
I heard some noises carrying my bass = around before rehearsal, and hoped it was nothing unusual. But at = break, when I laid my bass on its side, there it was again -- the = distinct sound of something metal sliding down the interior wood surface = of the bass. I peered inside the f-holes, and I could = vaguely see a metal ring. Yikes! Had the peg of my bass, = which penetrates from the exterior bottom, started coming apart on the = inside? Basses are hard and expensive to fix, and I've got a = concert and a recording session on Saturday, and I'm the only bassist in = the orchestra.
I enlisted the help of the timpanist, = and together we picked up the two ends of the bass and held it in the = air, back up, tilting it from side to side and hearing the thing sliding = around inside ominously. We started gathering a crowd of musicians = at this point. (Musicians are always willing to be distracted from = orchestra rehearsals, and bassists are the comedians of the orchestra. = ) They watched as I reached a finger into the 3/4" diameter = circle at the end of the f-hole and hooked something. We set down = the bass and carefully I fished it out. The mysterious object = turned out to be my cat's leather collar, with metal ring & metal = tag. The concert master suggested we check to see if the cat was = in there too!
I reconstructed the probable events = leading to this: my cat Minerva loves crawling inside dark, warm = constricted environments (put a paper bag on the floor, and she's right = inside it, even if there's other stuff in it). She must have = pushed open the zipper opening of the soft bass case (it was in its case = all week because I didn't practice, bad bassist!), then crawled inside = on top of the front surface of the bass, underneath the strings. = Her rabies shot tag, hanging down from her neck, fell into the = f-hole. When she tried to get out, it got twisted and stuck in = there. She pulled her head out of the collar and left. When = I picked up my bass in the morning, I noticed nothing unusual -- the = case was still on the bass. In manoevring the bass around, the = collar fell entirely inside the bass. And that's why I nearly = freaked out worrying that my bass was falling apart a mere two days = before the concert.
The moral of the story: cats are = stupid. Ours certainly is. If you scratch her post, she'll = run over and scratch it herself. Her favourite toy is the circular = plastic wrapper that comes off the top of a Snapple bottle. The = most entertaining cat game we have to play with her is to hold an empty = paper bag in the air a foot or two off the ground, hole towards = her. With my thumb, I scratch the bottom of the bag. She = peers into the bag to see where the noise is coming from, and eventually = leaps up into the paper bag. We drop it at this point, and she = ends up landing on the floor, still in the paper bag, scrabbling around = to get whatever-it-is.
Lisa
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