Every weekday since the spring, I've taken my lunch break in the park down the road from my office and brought along my fiddle. For the past few months, these half-hour sessions have accounted for about 90 percent of my practice time. Now that fall has arrived, these lunchtime sessions have begun to get a bit brisk.
The main problem is my fingers. Left exposed to the elements, my digits start to feel like icicles after a time. I had hoped learning to fiddle faster would keep them warm, but it seems I didn't account for the added windchill factor. One of those outdoor space heaters restaurants use on patios would be ideal, but not easy to transport. My only other solution is gloves.
The first image that pops into my mind is a pair of bulky mittens mashed against the fingerboard, the bow being gripped like an ice cream cone. That wouldn't work. Those gloves with cutoff fingers would be great if it weren't for the fact that the fingers remain exposed to defeat the whole purpose of keeping said fingers warm. Finally a solution arrived this past weekend.
Ever see those thin, little, stretchy gloves that are supposed to be one size fits all? They don't really do much in the dead of winter, but for my purposes they may be just what the doctor prescribed. They're thin enough where I wouldn't be trying to push through a thick layer of insulation to sound a note, but they would still provide protection from the cold.
Of course it's almost 80 degrees today, so conditions aren't suitable for testing. I'll find out soon enough.
How do you keep warm while playing music outside in the cold?
The main problem is my fingers. Left exposed to the elements, my digits start to feel like icicles after a time. I had hoped learning to fiddle faster would keep them warm, but it seems I didn't account for the added windchill factor. One of those outdoor space heaters restaurants use on patios would be ideal, but not easy to transport. My only other solution is gloves.
The first image that pops into my mind is a pair of bulky mittens mashed against the fingerboard, the bow being gripped like an ice cream cone. That wouldn't work. Those gloves with cutoff fingers would be great if it weren't for the fact that the fingers remain exposed to defeat the whole purpose of keeping said fingers warm. Finally a solution arrived this past weekend.Ever see those thin, little, stretchy gloves that are supposed to be one size fits all? They don't really do much in the dead of winter, but for my purposes they may be just what the doctor prescribed. They're thin enough where I wouldn't be trying to push through a thick layer of insulation to sound a note, but they would still provide protection from the cold.
Of course it's almost 80 degrees today, so conditions aren't suitable for testing. I'll find out soon enough.
How do you keep warm while playing music outside in the cold?
I take a fiddle or banjo with me when I know I may be waiting for more than a few minutes when picking a kid up from somewhere. In the colder months I play inside the car. Fiddle is trickier, but I find if I put the driver's side window down about halfway I can get the bow travel I need to play. I play banjo from the passenger's seat. Pete
ReplyDeleteI've thought about playing in the car. I'll see how these gloves work, but good to know some tricks if I do have to play behind the wheel.
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