Musical Space

This year’s NEA Big Read book is Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, and you’ve probably heard about all the local celebrations of this botanist’s memoir. The book drew me into Jahren’s joy of uncovering secrets and finding connections with plants. As a musician, this is a subject dear to my heart — Lab Girl underscores how the music world relies on the diversity of tree species. I wouldn’t have a decent double bass if it weren’t for a bizarre array of woods and a history of people who discovered how to use them. The top of my instrument is of red spruce from the Fiemme Valley of the Italian Alps, a unique climate that produces timber that rings like a bell. The back, sides, and neck are made of Bosnian maple, prized for its strength-to-weight ratio and unique figuration. The wood for my fingerboard is Indian or African ebony, one of the only woods tough enough to withstand the constant abrasion of the metal strings. My bow is of Brazilian pernambuco, very strong and so dense that it would sink