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One of the most easiest ways to get through this is just to re-evaluate yourself, trace back where you made mistakes, make changes with your program and most especially set a more concrete goal. |
Added tip: Focus on your program and always keep yourself motivated. |
2. Excess Water weight |
Water plays a major role to your body, an average adult body consists around 55-60% of water and as you progress on becoming more leaner, the water percentage would increase due to muscles consisting more water compared to fats. |
This is where patience is needed, our body naturally flushes out water in a timely matter and so meaning we just need to wait! Based from my experience, since I started drinking a gallon of water a day this was one of the main reason that Plateaus occurred. I lost a lot of body fat, and stopped losing weight then all o... |
Added tip: Sleep more! less sleep leads to food binging which affects water retention. |
3. Meeting new caloric needs |
This is a very common phase that anyone could face. When we start to lose weight the lowered daily calories we intake would start to become our maintaining calories and a way for you to get through this is just by simply adding more intensity with our workouts (ex. increase weight or just adding more intensity) or by l... |
One of the tools that I really suggest when undergoing this phase would be the myfitnesspal app (you can also visit the site: https://www.myfitnesspal.com ) Track your calories! It really does play a major role in a weight-loss program. |
Love yo'self! |
Love yo’self! |
Added tip: It is okay to get comfy to the weight you have just progressed to, it is okay to slow down on your diet once in awhile. |
It is normal to have a Plateau once in awhile and it also just means that you should just continue what you are doing. Losing weight doesn’t just happen overnight, it would normally take months to years before you meet that body you have been dreaming of. Having patience and persistence is important! |
Feel free to visit http://www.facebook.com/RiseUpPh for more weight-loss insights! |
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Agony and Ivory: The Ultimate Guide to Ivory for Musicians |
“Help! I think I have ivory on my instrument/bow! What do I do???” |
This is a question I’ve been asked several times since the US Fish and Wildlife Service implemented rules dictating African elephant ivory importation last year. Don’t fret; if you have ivory, you have options! Ivory for musical instruments is most prevalent on older (around pre-1980s) string bows, guitars, bassoon bel... |
Is this ivory? |
It’s fairly easy to distinguish ivory from plastic. Ivory has tiny cross-hatching lines called Schreger lines. Here is a picture of elephant ivory with clearly distinguishable Schreger lines: |
Schreger Lines on a piece of ivory |
Schreger Lines on a piece of ivory |
Note that other types of ivory (mammoth, walrus, muskox, etc) have different angled lines. Here’s a close up of a bassoon bell ring with elephant ivory: |
Bassoon Ivory on a Heckel Bassoon |
Bassoon Ivory on a Heckel Bassoon |
If your instrument/bow looks like this, you have ivory and need to deal with it if you intend to travel internationally. |
What are my options? |
If you have ivory and you don’t intend to ever take it in/out of the US, don’t worry about it. No one from the government is going to break into your apartment/house and take your grandmother’s piano. If you are going to travel, you have 3 options: |
1. Do nothing |
2. Get a CITES Musical Instrument Certificate and use it every time you travel internationally |
3. Have the ivory removed |
I know some people who have opted for option 1 and I highly discourage it. These instruments are many of our livelihoods and Congress has given the FWS the authority to seize property that contains undocumented ivory. This is no idle threat and we have seen instances of ivory being confiscated. |
The Fish and Wildlife Service has created a workaround for musicians: the CITES (pronounced SIGH-tees) Musical Instrument Certificate (Passport). |
CITES Musical Instrument Certificate |
My CITES Musical Instrument Certificate |
This is a multiple-use document used at the beginning and end of an international trip. Every time you leave the US with your instrument, it’s considered an export and every time you re-enter, it’s considered an import. You must have the ivory inspected each time, but more on that in a bit. Here’s how to obtain and use... |
Step One: Gather your documentation |
I contacted the maker of my bassoon, Heckel, with my serial number and asked for a letter confirming the year of manufacture. They happily obliged and emailed me and mailed me this: |
Letter confirming the ivory's production date |
Letter confirming the ivory’s production date |
You need to prove that your ivory was produced before February 26, 1976. This is considered “Pre-Convention” and will allow you to get the passport. If your instrument was produced after this date, your only options are to either remove it or not travel internationally with it (Unfortunately Heckel continued to use ivo... |
Next, you need to fill out a 3-200-88 form (the permit form for multiple border crossings). |
Tip: The scientific name for Elephant Ivory is Loxodonta Africana. |
The passport is valid for three years and requires a $75 processing fee to create or renew it. The processing time for the passport takes around 60 days (however, if it’s urgent, they can get it to you much quicker; I received mine in about a week after overnighting documents both ways). |
Step Two: Using the Instrument Passport in the US |
Now for the tricky part: actually using the permit. |
In order to not get charged for the inspections, you must travel through one of the “designated ports.” Here is the most recent list of designated ports. |
The 18 designated ports in the US |
The 18 designated ports in the US |
Fortunately you don’t have to originate from one of these ports, it just has to be your final stop before flying out of the country. For example, if you were flying from Denver, Colorado to Zurich, Switzerland, you would have to stop in one these designated ports to have your ivory inspected before leaving the country.... |
You have to fill out a 3-177 form, which is the Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish or Wildlife form, and email it to the appropriate FWS office 48 hours prior to your arrival. Here is my filled out form from that trip: |
3-177 8-15-14 |
Leaving the country |
And here is the form for the importation when I arrived back in the US: |
Re-entering the country |
Make sure you bring multiple copies of it for your inspection, just in case. Here are some tips on filling out this form: |
3: If you’re leaving the country, it’s an export; if you’re returning, it’s an import. |
4: Port of Clearance code. This is a 2-letter code that designates the port you’re leaving/entering. The designated ports’ codes are: AN (Anchorage), AT (Atlanta), BA (Baltimore), BO (Boston), CH (Chicago), DF (Dallas), HA (Honolulu), HN (Houston), LA (Los Angeles), LO (Louisville), ME (Memphis), MI (Miami), NO (New Or... |
5: Purpose code. This is Personal, so put “P” here. |
7: Name of carrier. Put the airline that you’re flying on. |
9: Transportation code. Put “P” again, this time it stands for “Personal accompanying baggage.” |
13a: Put down your personal home address in the US. |
14a: Put down the address in which you’ll be staying in first (hotel, host home, etc). |
16: The scientific name for African Elephant Ivory is Loxondonta Africana. |
18a: For the description code you can put either IVC (Ivory carving) or UNS (Unspecified). |
18b: “P” here stands for “Pre-convention specimens.” |
20: This is the country where the ivory was taken from. I spoke to Heckel about this and they told me that they used to use a supplier, so they’re not sure what the exact country of origin was. “XX” is sufficient here. |
Now for the BAD news |
Inspections are only done at no-cost during business hours (typically 8am-4pm) Monday through Friday. If you’re traveling through the designated port outside of these hours, you’ll need to pay a $105 overtime fee to the inspector. You can see that I got hit with this fee for arriving at 5:30pm in Miami on a Friday on t... |
$105 fee at the bottom |
$105 fee at the bottom |
I had already booked this flight before I knew about the ivory rules and it would have cost more to change my flight than this fee. The wildlife inspector will either meet you in their office or at the airport, inspect the ivory, and stamp your certificate and 3-177 form. It’s definitely a good idea to call them ahead ... |
A downside to using the certificate is that it’s incredibly expensive if you travel through one of the non-designated ports (which is most of the country). You would need to fill out a Designated Port Exception Permit, which is $100. Plus, the inspection fee is not waived: it’s $238 each way. If you notice on the map a... |
Step Three: Using the Instrument Passport Internationally |
Ok, so you successfully used the CITES certificate and are on your way to an exciting, foreign land. Now what? |
After landing in the foreign country that you’re traveling to (connecting flights do not matter), you need to track down the customs office. Be cordial with the customs officers and explain that they need to inspect the ivory and stamp your form. This is the second page of the Musical Instrument Certificate: |
My CITES "Stamp Page" |
My CITES “Stamp Page” |
For my first trip last May, I have a stamp leaving Miami, arriving in Frankfurt, leaving Frankfurt, arriving in Paris, leaving Paris, and arriving in Miami. The second line is unnecessary, and I could have gotten by with just a stamp entering Frankfurt and a stamp leaving Paris. While you have to have an appointment se... |
Why I Had My Ivory Removed |
This was a difficult decision and one I had thought about for a long time. I intend to continue traveling internationally with my instrument quite a bit and didn’t appreciate that my itineraries were being dictated by which airports were designated ports. There are approximately 162 international airports in the US, bu... |
My bell on the lathe before having the ivory removed |
My bell on the lathe before having the ivory removed |
I had my ivory removed in April 2015 and even though I resisted it for a year, it has put my mind at ease. In November I was playing with an orchestra in Ontario and borrowed another bassoon to not have to deal with these impossible ivory laws while crossing back and forth by car. I took an audition in Canada last year... |
Here’s a video of the lathe removing the ivory. |
My repairman did a fantastic job removing it and the plastic ring that he created looks almost identical to the original and has had no effect on the sound. I’ve seen bassoons that have “gone under the knife” have their ring replaced with either plastic, wood, or a metal ring (which actually requires adding wood to the... |
New Plastic Ring |
New Plastic Ring |
Which of the three options you choose (doing nothing, getting the permit, or removal), dear readers, is up to you. |
If you do choose to have it removed, make sure you receive a Manufacture’s Affidavit confirming the ivory’s destruction and replacement. Here’s a copy of mine: |
Letter confirming ivory destruction |
Letter confirming ivory destruction |
If you have any questions about these laws or the process of getting/using the Musical Instrument Certificate, PLEASE ask below! There is a lot of misinformation being spread. Please also forward this article to anyone you know who might have ivory on their instrument and subscribe on the right/like us on Facebook to b... |
10 thoughts on “Agony and Ivory: The Ultimate Guide to Ivory for Musicians |
1. Trent Reply |
It is important to note that while all of these steps are fine, it is NOT possible to obtain any of these documents if you purchased the instrument after the new legislation went into effect. If you bought the bassoon after 2013, you won’t be able to get the certificate. I don’t remember the details, but I believe ... |
You might as well get the ivory removed. |
• Joey Post authorReply |
February 25th, 2014 is the cut off date for purchasing an instrument/bow with ivory. If you can prove both that the ivory was taken from the wild before February 26th, 1976 and that you purchased it before February 25th, 2014, you can get a CITES permit. You can legally sell an instrument with ivory to someone, t... |
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