About Me.....
Mark Shiner.
This is
not always the easiest bit to write but
I think it is important to know who is making your instrument because
it is an intensely personal transaction. After all, handmade
instruments are expensive compared with factory produced pieces so what
makes the difference?
When I made my first harp, using the skills and techniques I had learned from my mentor I was genuinely surprised to find that these carefully applied ideas and that extra thought that no factory has time for, made a real, audible and significant difference.
I have been tinkering with, and repairing instruments since the late 1980's however it was not until 1990, when I decided that I wanted to build a harp, that my education in instrument making really began.
I was introduced to luthier, artist and musician Gordon Davey of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. A skilled, creative and enthusiastic maker of fine harps, classical guitars and renaissance instruments, he gave me a year of his time. He taught me huge amounts both technically and around the more philosophical side of instrument construction and design. So many instruments are over-engineered and bulky; he worked to make instruments light, taking inspiration from such ultralight traditional instruments as the Paraguayan harp, and the classical violin. I learned that acoustics is a real fusion of art and science, a fascinating way to work. Gordon passed away soon after and I realised how lucky I had been to spend this time learning from a real artist.
In 1999 I went part time in my day job to design my range of harps and in 2001 instrument making became my full time occupation. I now make a range of instruments as well as carrying out repairs and set ups for stringed instruments - and the odd harmonium!
Instrument makers should never stop learning and I am very interested in the work of practical acoustic engineers such as Roger Siminoff who make theory apply to practice. New techniques need to be researched and take their place beside old traditional methods. It never stops.
I am also a performing musician, which I think is important when you design and build instruments for musicians. On the rare occasions that I get out of the workshop, I love doing stuff with my family, riding my classic motorbike and sailing my boat. At the moment I am learning about traditional sail-making.
Life is too short to stop learning...
When I made my first harp, using the skills and techniques I had learned from my mentor I was genuinely surprised to find that these carefully applied ideas and that extra thought that no factory has time for, made a real, audible and significant difference.
I have been tinkering with, and repairing instruments since the late 1980's however it was not until 1990, when I decided that I wanted to build a harp, that my education in instrument making really began.
I was introduced to luthier, artist and musician Gordon Davey of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. A skilled, creative and enthusiastic maker of fine harps, classical guitars and renaissance instruments, he gave me a year of his time. He taught me huge amounts both technically and around the more philosophical side of instrument construction and design. So many instruments are over-engineered and bulky; he worked to make instruments light, taking inspiration from such ultralight traditional instruments as the Paraguayan harp, and the classical violin. I learned that acoustics is a real fusion of art and science, a fascinating way to work. Gordon passed away soon after and I realised how lucky I had been to spend this time learning from a real artist.
In 1999 I went part time in my day job to design my range of harps and in 2001 instrument making became my full time occupation. I now make a range of instruments as well as carrying out repairs and set ups for stringed instruments - and the odd harmonium!
Instrument makers should never stop learning and I am very interested in the work of practical acoustic engineers such as Roger Siminoff who make theory apply to practice. New techniques need to be researched and take their place beside old traditional methods. It never stops.
I am also a performing musician, which I think is important when you design and build instruments for musicians. On the rare occasions that I get out of the workshop, I love doing stuff with my family, riding my classic motorbike and sailing my boat. At the moment I am learning about traditional sail-making.
Life is too short to stop learning...
BACK TO MAIN PAGE