A Symphony of Strings

Andrew did not have traditional formal training in music, there was not a violin within 200 miles of the farm. He spent his early childhood listening to his mother play Grieg and Chopin during the day and his father playing Fats Waller and George Sharing at night with friends singing around the piano.

After leaving school, he had short stints working as a brickies labourer, a shearer and a surveyor. Although he joined a rock band at age 16, it wasn’t until his 19th year that he developed a serious interest in playing the Double Bass.

Luthiery, (the making of stringed instruments) also became a consuming passion for Andrew at that time when he realised he could not afford to buy his teacher’s expensive old instrument. Becoming a luthier was a natural progression, “My love of working with wood went back to when I used to carve little boats with my pocket knife as child on the farm. We would race them down the river for a cup of stick jaw toffee!”

In the mid 90’s a neighbour who was a chef, stained glass artist and sculptor encouraged Andrew in the building of his own workshop. “We influenced and inspired each other in the development of our craft”.

When it comes to the design process, sourcing the highest quality wood is where it all begins. Every two years Andrew travels to Sussex, in the U.K. to see his supplier. “He actually purchased an old church which is full, floor to ceiling with all different kinds of wood. The smell when you walk in there is fantastic! Luthiers in the old days would have to find their own tree, cut it down and season the wood themselves.”

Business has flourished with Andrew currently building two instruments per year and restoring/repairing precious old ones. All requests come via word of mouth, “Several of my colleagues have asked me to make instruments for them over the years. I enjoy working closely with professional musicians as they know exactly what they want.”

Andrew is also fascinated by the historical evolution of his instrument, which provides a unique insight into how and why the modern styles of both playing and making have developed. As part of his Churchill Fellowship in 2006, Andrew was invited to restore a range of instruments at the National Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome.

The instrument Andrew would most like to restore in the Rome collection, is a 400 year old Violone, believed to have been made by Giovanni Paolo Maggini around 1600, “You could say it’s the predecessor to the double bass”.

With the support of grants and scholarships, Andrew is able to travel to London every few years to study with Roger Dawson. In 2009 with a development grant from the Department of Culture and the Arts, Andrew was given a brief to go to London to design and build a five stringed Double Bass with Roger.

Nowadays Andrew enjoys teaching the art of luthiery to others, and while it would seem he would already have no spare time on his hands, he is currently building a Baroque Orchestra, “It feels like all of these threads of my life interests are beginning to draw together to create all these larger things, it’s very exciting.”

Andrew Tait will be speaking about his life as a luthier on Wednesday 26 June at a WASO Patrons and Friends event, more info at https://www.waso.com.au/support-us/waso-philanthropy/patrons-friends-events/

Originally published in Fabric Quarterly Issue #5