Rick Long's Stories
April 20, 2005
Of Strats and Strads
By Rick Long
Music has been an important part of my life since early childhood. I started my path to professional drumming at
age 3 on my grandmother’s knee when she taught me to clap in time while she played church hymns on the
piano. While it is my work in nursing that that contributes more to society and sustains my family financially, my
degrees in music and psychology broaden my scope and give me interesting things to talk about over dinner
with friends and family.
There are two instruments, besides the drums, that bring for me an emotional connection to music. One is the
electric guitar and the other is the violin. This might seem like a diverse pairing but in reality, both are lead
instruments for their respective musical styles. Both in the hands of a master can fill a large auditorium with
sounds that will bring an audience to its feet.
There are many different brands of guitars and violins. I’d like to take a moment to tell you what I know
about two in particular: the Stratocaster and the Stradivarius.
The Stratocaster is a type of electric guitar made by the Fender Corporation, headquartered in Corona,
California. Leo Fender was an early pioneer in the development of the electric guitar. He began making
instruments in the middle 1900s when television was newly born and satellites were first launched into space.
These scientific breakthroughs were the inspiration for the names of his two most popular guitar models, the
Telecaster and the Stratocaster.
The Telecaster guitar has a bright tone that cuts through the sound of a band well. Many Country music
guitarists today still prefer the sound of a Telecaster because of its ability to produce that certain twang that sells
records and sounds good through a television speaker.
But for rock guitarists, the Stratocaster is the more accepted model. The Strat, as it is commonly known, has a
bright, full-bodied sound that has brought many a guitarist to fame and fortune. Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix
are the most well-known of all Strat players but my favorite has always been James Young of the rock group
Styx. I’ve been a fan of this group since my early teen years when their first hit record, “Lady,�
began to play on the airwaves.
Styx hailed from Chicago and would often come down south to play at college gymnasiums for $5.00 or
$10.00 a ticket. I distinctly remember sitting on the gym floor at A & M College in Montecello, Arkansas,
listening to James Young play that Strat with a precision to the notes, the timing, and the sound that was like
none I’d ever heard. He still has that ability, and though we are both a bit older now, I remain a loyal fan.
Rock music and the many hit records that Styx would eventually produce are great when you are trying to wake
up in the morning, driving to work, or out having a good time with your riding friends. But there are times, at
night when the stars begin to twinkle and the moon is rising with it’s bright orange glow shining full in the
sky, that my thoughts turn to music that is a bit more conducive to love. Yes, it is sad but true that your lady-
friend is unlikely to ever ask you to play more Styx music when it’s time to turn out the lights.
I suggest that these are the times when a violin is the instrument of choice. My personal favorite is a young
player named Joshua Bell. His father was one of my professors at Indiana University where I received much of
my psychology training. I worked for Dr. Bell for a time and he would tell stories about Joshua, who still lived at
home back then. Joshua, from the time he was a pre-teen, could play the violin like an old master. He was
indeed a child prodigy, a truly gifted lad who could read through a piece of music one time and it would be
committed to memory.
You think you’d like to have a gifted child like that too? Dr. Bell would tell you that it isn’t all it’s
cracked up to be. First of all, you are going to have to pay for lessons from the best violinist in the world
because that’s the only person that knows more about the instrument than Joshua. That's not cheap.
Second, Joshua was often hired to be a guest violinist with the great symphony orchestras of the world. Since
he was under age 18, he had to have a chaperone accompany him on the many trips overseas. World travel is
great if you don’t have to do too much of it. Dr. Bell and his wife would take turns spending their weekends
in Paris, London, or Berlin. Exciting and exotic? Maybe. Tired and wore out? You bet.
These days Joshua is old enough to travel on his own and Mom and Dad get to rest. He is the violinist you hear
on the soundtrack of a wonderful movie called “The Red Violin.� He just released another solo CD
called “Romance of the Violin,� which is a collection of his favorite romantic melodies, some of which
were originally written for other instruments and transcribed by Joshua for the violin. This is the one I highly
suggest for “lights out.�
And what is his violin of choice? A Stradivarius. Called a Strad for short, Stradivarius is a term used to describe
instruments made by Antonio Stradivari, born in 1644, who ran a musical instrument manufacturing business
from 1666 to 1737. He made harps, guitars, violas, cellos, and violins. In 71 years, he managed to produce
1,100 instruments. Around 600 of them are known to survive today.
When it comes to violins, Strads have a sound like none other. They have been sought after, copied, cherished,
stolen, and otherwise revered over the two and a half centuries since the last one was produced. Their warm
tone, superior construction, and ease of playability have yet to be successfully duplicated. There are many
theories about Stravidari’s manufacturing techniques but no one knows exactly why these instruments sound
and play the way they do. They just do.
A recent story on National Public Radio featured a cellist playing a Strad that is owned by The Smithsonian
Institution. The musician made the comment that, “When you play a Strad, you always feel like the
instrument is capable of more than you are able to pull from it. You feel like if you needed to play louder, that it
could always play louder. You feel that if you could play faster, that it would play the notes faster.�
The connection to motorcycling here involves a rider I met from New Jersey who was talking to me about his
Ducati. “It compensates for your mistakes,� he claimed. “If you come into a corner too fast, just lean
more. The bike will go around the corner. I you need to stop quickly, the ABS will scrub off speed without a
skid. If you need to power out of a situation, just twist the throttle a little further. There is always more power.â
€�
There must be something about those Italians. They sure know how to design and manufacture things well. Iâ
€™ll never own a Strad and if my wife has her way about it, I’ll never own a Ducati (That’s another
story). But when you see me riding down the road with the little wire going from the instrument panel up to my
helmet, you might pause for a moment and wonder if I’m listening to the sound of Strats or Strads.
By Rick Long
Music has been an important part of my life since early childhood. I started my path to professional drumming at
age 3 on my grandmother’s knee when she taught me to clap in time while she played church hymns on the
piano. While it is my work in nursing that that contributes more to society and sustains my family financially, my
degrees in music and psychology broaden my scope and give me interesting things to talk about over dinner
with friends and family.
There are two instruments, besides the drums, that bring for me an emotional connection to music. One is the
electric guitar and the other is the violin. This might seem like a diverse pairing but in reality, both are lead
instruments for their respective musical styles. Both in the hands of a master can fill a large auditorium with
sounds that will bring an audience to its feet.
There are many different brands of guitars and violins. I’d like to take a moment to tell you what I know
about two in particular: the Stratocaster and the Stradivarius.
The Stratocaster is a type of electric guitar made by the Fender Corporation, headquartered in Corona,
California. Leo Fender was an early pioneer in the development of the electric guitar. He began making
instruments in the middle 1900s when television was newly born and satellites were first launched into space.
These scientific breakthroughs were the inspiration for the names of his two most popular guitar models, the
Telecaster and the Stratocaster.
The Telecaster guitar has a bright tone that cuts through the sound of a band well. Many Country music
guitarists today still prefer the sound of a Telecaster because of its ability to produce that certain twang that sells
records and sounds good through a television speaker.
But for rock guitarists, the Stratocaster is the more accepted model. The Strat, as it is commonly known, has a
bright, full-bodied sound that has brought many a guitarist to fame and fortune. Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix
are the most well-known of all Strat players but my favorite has always been James Young of the rock group
Styx. I’ve been a fan of this group since my early teen years when their first hit record, “Lady,�
began to play on the airwaves.
Styx hailed from Chicago and would often come down south to play at college gymnasiums for $5.00 or
$10.00 a ticket. I distinctly remember sitting on the gym floor at A & M College in Montecello, Arkansas,
listening to James Young play that Strat with a precision to the notes, the timing, and the sound that was like
none I’d ever heard. He still has that ability, and though we are both a bit older now, I remain a loyal fan.
Rock music and the many hit records that Styx would eventually produce are great when you are trying to wake
up in the morning, driving to work, or out having a good time with your riding friends. But there are times, at
night when the stars begin to twinkle and the moon is rising with it’s bright orange glow shining full in the
sky, that my thoughts turn to music that is a bit more conducive to love. Yes, it is sad but true that your lady-
friend is unlikely to ever ask you to play more Styx music when it’s time to turn out the lights.
I suggest that these are the times when a violin is the instrument of choice. My personal favorite is a young
player named Joshua Bell. His father was one of my professors at Indiana University where I received much of
my psychology training. I worked for Dr. Bell for a time and he would tell stories about Joshua, who still lived at
home back then. Joshua, from the time he was a pre-teen, could play the violin like an old master. He was
indeed a child prodigy, a truly gifted lad who could read through a piece of music one time and it would be
committed to memory.
You think you’d like to have a gifted child like that too? Dr. Bell would tell you that it isn’t all it’s
cracked up to be. First of all, you are going to have to pay for lessons from the best violinist in the world
because that’s the only person that knows more about the instrument than Joshua. That's not cheap.
Second, Joshua was often hired to be a guest violinist with the great symphony orchestras of the world. Since
he was under age 18, he had to have a chaperone accompany him on the many trips overseas. World travel is
great if you don’t have to do too much of it. Dr. Bell and his wife would take turns spending their weekends
in Paris, London, or Berlin. Exciting and exotic? Maybe. Tired and wore out? You bet.
These days Joshua is old enough to travel on his own and Mom and Dad get to rest. He is the violinist you hear
on the soundtrack of a wonderful movie called “The Red Violin.� He just released another solo CD
called “Romance of the Violin,� which is a collection of his favorite romantic melodies, some of which
were originally written for other instruments and transcribed by Joshua for the violin. This is the one I highly
suggest for “lights out.�
And what is his violin of choice? A Stradivarius. Called a Strad for short, Stradivarius is a term used to describe
instruments made by Antonio Stradivari, born in 1644, who ran a musical instrument manufacturing business
from 1666 to 1737. He made harps, guitars, violas, cellos, and violins. In 71 years, he managed to produce
1,100 instruments. Around 600 of them are known to survive today.
When it comes to violins, Strads have a sound like none other. They have been sought after, copied, cherished,
stolen, and otherwise revered over the two and a half centuries since the last one was produced. Their warm
tone, superior construction, and ease of playability have yet to be successfully duplicated. There are many
theories about Stravidari’s manufacturing techniques but no one knows exactly why these instruments sound
and play the way they do. They just do.
A recent story on National Public Radio featured a cellist playing a Strad that is owned by The Smithsonian
Institution. The musician made the comment that, “When you play a Strad, you always feel like the
instrument is capable of more than you are able to pull from it. You feel like if you needed to play louder, that it
could always play louder. You feel that if you could play faster, that it would play the notes faster.�
The connection to motorcycling here involves a rider I met from New Jersey who was talking to me about his
Ducati. “It compensates for your mistakes,� he claimed. “If you come into a corner too fast, just lean
more. The bike will go around the corner. I you need to stop quickly, the ABS will scrub off speed without a
skid. If you need to power out of a situation, just twist the throttle a little further. There is always more power.â
€�
There must be something about those Italians. They sure know how to design and manufacture things well. Iâ
€™ll never own a Strad and if my wife has her way about it, I’ll never own a Ducati (That’s another
story). But when you see me riding down the road with the little wire going from the instrument panel up to my
helmet, you might pause for a moment and wonder if I’m listening to the sound of Strats or Strads.