Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

About the Psalm 1 Violin

The completion of the Psalm 1 Violin was an immense personal achievement, to say the least. Here I was, at the beginning of my journey, having made the decision to pursue a violinmaking career, dismayed yet enthralled all at once by the challenge, the romance, the impossibility, the beauty, and the mystery of it all. On top of everything, I would have to start the journey alone, without anyone to personally guide me every step of the way.

I knew it would be a hard road because to become a master violinmaker, one must have a master teacher, or one who can at least point the way towards mastery. I was not content on building decent violins, they would have to be great violins, at least in my own eyes. I had found a method to becoming a violinmaker, but instructions for making a violin can hardly replace the value of actual experience trying to make one, or the experience of an instructor.

On the road to completing Psalm 1, there were other violins that never became anything other than shaped blocks of wood - partially constructed violins deemed not worthy enough to be called violins. I wanted my first instrument to be at the very least, satisfactory. The level of detail and attention that goes into the violinmaking process to make a good, or even great, instrument, must be at a very high level. It’s a craft where one can spend their entire life improving upon one’s skills, to no end.

After finishing the first violin, I decided to revarnish it, and for several reasons. One being because I wasn’t completely happy with how it turned out - I thought it too opaque originally. Looking back at it, it was a great looking instrument just the way it was. The other more important reason for revarnishing it was because I wanted to inscribe the first Psalm onto it, an idea which didn’t come until after the first one was varnished and finished. Therefore I decided to remove the varnish so I could inscribe the first Psalm directly onto the wood of this violin. For practice, I thought I’d give it a go at antiquing while I was revarnishing. I realized though that I actually would prefer that my instruments look their true age should people come across them in the future.