Today, we have a very special episode

with a very special guest

and of course you guys know this person is...

Hilary Hahn.

But today's episode is us reviewing...

Random Etsy...

Links with random violin related products...

- Yes. - Online.

So Etsy's a website I believe is...

Basically an online shop with a lot of people's creations.

As a kid a lot of people who knew that I liked

violin and was playing violin

would give me all these little...

Violin craft things.

As I tour now, people make their own things

and I think those are so cool.

So it's funny to see stuff being sold as kind of like

more official professional stuff...

That sometimes isn't as knowledgeable as the

crafts that people make as fans,

but then on the other hand,

there are some really amazing surprises on Etsy.

I spent numbers of hours there.

So I feel pretty authoritative about Etsy.

Okay, so this is the...

Led night lamp.

LED night lamp.

Oh yeah, LED, led.

Yeah.

Dude, that's actually kind of cool.

It is kind of cool.

You know, it's actually really hard

to get the number of strings right.

Yeah, I was gonna say.

The strings are right.

But it's cool and you can get your name on it.

- And you can fall asleep and wake up... - That is cool.

To...

Violin.

Instead of your name,

you should just engrave like "practice".

- Yeah, I was thinking, it should remind you to practice. - "Do your scales"

And just lights up.

That is cool though, I like it.

It's cool.

It's not the most accurate violin, but it's pretty good.

Yeah.

Oh! It's so cute!

It is so cute, like the grasshopper is so cute.

But then you actually look at the violin and you're like...

(Nani?)

That bow looks really interesting.

Is it like a baroque bow

- or is it like - It looks like a hacksaw. - I think so.

- Like a hacksaw. - Like a saw?

It's not a correctly formed insect either.

Yeah, that's true.

It's very cute though.

Oh dude!

It's got a little cape.

That side pose looks just like Heifetz.

Yeah. Oh...

Just jump to the next one.

Did you say - Did you say jump?

- Yeah, jump. - To the next one...

Walnut wooden violin and bow hanger.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I wanted to talk about this one because

I think it's an interesting...

Situation, like...

I've never seen a violin in a violinist's house,

like a classical violinist house on the wall.

Yeah.

- Right? You don't need... - Never.

You don't need to hang it up.

You don't want to hang it up.

You want to put it in the case...

Zip it, buckle it.

Put it on a shelf where

no one in the house is gonna bump it.

That said, a lot of...

A lot of people appreciate the look of a violin

and they might find a violin that...

Isn't playable but they like the look of it...

I don't know.

Yeah, it's almost like a...

Painting. Hanging up a painting.

- Mhm. - Right? Like an artwork.

It will be gathering dust, so...

Us, actual musicians will never do it.

Is that what the bow hairs are for?

Dusting.

Yeah...

It should be steady, but it's...

Just feels...

- Yeah, I'll be anxious walking pass it. - You feel a bit anxious.

Yeah, it looks so peaceful, but then it scares me.

Imagine you had like, you were given a...

- Ten million dollar Stradivarius. - Oh no...

But you're only allowed to keep it on that wall rack.

I think you need to like

hire a security guard to stand in front.

And all those extra padding everywhere at the bottom.

- Someone's like wiping it down. - You would have to do insurance.

- Wipe it down. Brush it down. - Brush it down.

So, I think this is a really common meme, right?

And they just put it on a shirt

or have you guys not seen this before?

I haven't seen this exact meme, but it's totally relatable.

Yeah, I've done it before with a pencil.

Yeah.

I've also brushed my teeth like that before.

- I just - - Really?

Yeah, I'll just be practicing this finger movement.

I don't know if that's how you meant to do it.

- But I'll just try to brush my teeth. - No, that's great.

- Yeah...With - - It's actually harder than bowing.

Cause you have to do - Sort of, lateral pressure?

Lateral up and down, circular.

Get the molar -

Molar teeth behind.

Any opportunity to practice.

- I love there's a wine bottle. - Yeah!

It's like why is there a wine bottle next to the

- t-shirt? - It's too sick, and there's

- sunglasses. - Yeah, right?

What's that about?

But you know that bow grip is really good.

- It's a lot better than a lot of movies we watched. - Neutral bowhold.

Yeah.

I just wonder what the point is?

Like I don't know what you're supposed to do with it.

I guess it's decoration?

Like a vase or something? Or...

Do you drink from it?

Oh, but then the paintings on it is really nice.

It's pretty. You can tell someone put a lot of effort into it.

Looks a little bit like a bass

when you go through the third picture.

Yeah, the proportions.

Yeah.

Bit clunky.

If I'm not mistaken, when I was a kid, my teacher

in her collection of...

Violin gifts that had been given her...

She had a bottle...

Shaped like a violin...

And there was something about Beethoven's fifth on it.

And I didn't know what a fifth was.

Uh... Still, I'm not entirely sure.

But I know it has to do with drinking.

You just have that bottle in your practice room...

Next to you while you're practicing

and every time you play out of tune, just take a shot.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Until you think you're playing in tune.

Soap dispenser, let's do the soap dispenser.

Okay, soap dispenser.

- Here we go. - I want to see

if you have the same reaction to it that I had.

That's kind of cute actually.

- It's kind of classy. - Proportionally it's so wrong,

but for some reason I like this one, I don't know why.

It's the viola and the violin.

So my first thought is, that's kind of cool.

My second thought is...

I think that would fall over.

You try to push down and the violin is not meant...

- It's not meant to... - Just tumbles... - It's like psssh.

Yeah...

Like it's never meant to be upright.

Like this photo right here.

Yeah.

When it's lying down.

- Photo... Yeah, the 6th one. - That's how it's gonna end up.

Ooo! They have different colors, that's cute.

I hadn't seen that and the cat!

It's got a tuning fork!

And it says Stradivari -

Strad - Oh.

Stradivarus.

Stradivarus.

But then I just feel a little cringy about...

Like the idea that the violin is filled with soap.

You never get any liquid inside a violin.

Have you ever heard stories?

Have you guys heard stories of people

accidentally getting liquid inside the violin?

Um...

I mean, I'm keen to hear your story

that you seem to be thinking of.

There's one time I -

So I was on vacation.

And I went camping and I was like I should practice.

I have to practice, what am I gonna do?

And it was a like a whitewater rafting trip.

So of course the rafts got soaked...

Snd so I brought a violin that was not a wooden violin.

It was an electric violin but I wasn't gonna plug it in.

I think it was wrapped in a trash bag inside a dry bag.

But...

They both leaked...

And...

So...

The bow and the violin both got wet

and the bow I took it to my bow maker

and had him put on...

Real horsehair in advance of this trip

so it could feel right

and I wouldn't be using too much pressure.

So the horse hair got wet.

And...

I thought, well, at the bow...

When I get my bow re-haired,

sometimes they use a flame...

To...

To dry the hair.

I was like, we have a camp fire.

So I was standing at the edge of the campfire

trying to kind of...

You know, move...

Move the hairs back and forth and of course,

this was very amusing for my fellow adventurers.

And I tried to put the hair -

The frog back on and the hairs...

Shrank so much,

I couldn't even get the frog to the groove.

And they didn't even shrink in the same size.

They shrink...

All haphazards, some were shorter, some were longer.

I looked at it, and I was like this is a mess.

Okay.

I guess I'm not gonna practice bow stuff.

I'm more impressed that

you took a violin onto a whitewater rafting trip.

- Yeah. - What? Like that - That's...

- Dedication. - That's so dedication.

Woah...

Whoa...

That looks like a legit vio - It is a legit violin.

- They did it on a legit violin? - What even -

$3700.

No...

Hey, I guess it's cool.

Probably doesn't sound very good, but...

The sound will sound very...

Metallic.

Imagine how heavy that is to hold?

- Oh no! - Ew...

Oh!

Your thumb would be shredded.

Ka-ching!

Every shift you do just cuts your hand.

The like your thumb and...

- This part too... - Oh...

Would be so shredded.

- Shredded... - Cause you have the edge of the middle

as you moved around.

I'm equally horrified and interested.

Yeah. Same.

It's like as a piece of art, that's really cool.

If you got gifted this...

Where would you put it in your house?

- Or what would you do? - The walnut hanger.

Yes!

That's what the walnut hanger is for.

Yes.

It's a combination set.