Folks, I hope y'all have the last Saturday in August marked on your calendars for the annual worldwide celebration Play Music On The Porch Day! Here at our house, we are practicing the one we think we'll play for PMOTPDay. 
worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day
I played on the balcony for awhile Saturday morning. Realized that was roomier than the front stoop! I played "Wondrous Love," "Nottamun Town," and "Cluck Old Hen," tuned in DAG Dorian.
I posted a video to Instagram, but they cropped it to a square and you can't see the dulcimer! (I didn't know till friends commented.) Ah well! I may not wait a year to do another one.
It's so nice to see and hear about folks playing music outdoors. Thanks for sharing, everyone!
--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator
As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
I am glad you were able to be outdoors with your guitar and your McSpadden, Lisa! Hope you get lots of chances to play outdoors during your "bonus vacation"!
updated by @robin-thompson: 08/29/21 07:32:41PM
I was fortunate here (a Seattle suburb) to have Goldilocks weather yesterday afternoon (not too hot, not too cool, not too breezy, not too still, not too humid--just lovely). And no smoke at this time. Took out my acoustic guitar and my McSpadden and had a great time. Played all sorts of things on both. Then just improvised on the dulcimer for a bit while the grill heated up for dinner. Didn't think to try to photograph or film myself. Oh well!
So nice to see all the posts of people making beauty and joy!!! What a great tradition...
I begin a month of "bonus vacation" on Friday of this week--a perk we get at my legal aid organization for every 10 years of service. I'm past 11 years, just getting around to taking the time off. One of the things I plan to do is get in whatever porch playing I can as long as the weather holds. Something extra special about playing outside!
Irene, you can see a video of me and five others playing in David Bennett's post below. The dulcimers I play in both posts are ones that I made.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Friends, it has been so good to see the videos and accounts of PMOTPD-- thank you for sharing them!
Here is the little movie Mark & I made yesterday:
Here's a video Dave Holeton put together and posted of six of us from the TTAD Zoom group playing "Red River Valley" for Play Music On The Porch Day
Here's my little video from Play Music on the Porch Day down under.
First I'm thankful to have a porch to pick on, although it needs a coat of paint. The day was cool and cloudy with a nice breeze.
Lately I've been playing my Galix dulcimer that I neglected for a couple of years. If you never played a Galix, you don't know what your missing.
I played the quintessential Galax tune Fly Around My Pretty Miss. Tater patch, Groundhog, and a favorite of mine although a bit unconventional for Galax style St Anne's reel.
I was hoping it would rain so I could play a little longer but it didn't so I had to get back to work picking sweetcorn instead of my dulcimer. I hope everyone had a nice day. If not we'll then play your dulcimer and things will get better...Robert
updated by @robert-schuler: 08/29/21 12:17:20AM
Dusty, I'm sorry for that terrible fire in California. here in Nauvoo, Illinois, I live on the Mississippi, we hardly see the sun go down in pure bright color, but it gets caught up in the smoke all the way here. boooooooo. And Ken, I was looking for your video....but cute photo anyway and I like the deepness of that dulcimer. I got out on my porch this evening and had a granddaughter take a video of me on a dulcimer I made.......... on my phone. Still I don't know how to load it on this site. I'll go to FAQ and see if I can figure it out. aloha, irene
I shared music with others in my monthly dulcimer club on zoom today (mostly English country dances), but nothing outdoors. The smoke from the wildfires up the Sierras has blown down into the valley and the air quality is unhealthy. No outdoor music today or outdoor anything for me. I put on an N95 respirator mask just to turn on the sprinklers.
I hope others have been able to share music with their communities.
--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator
As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
I was busy in the morning and didn't have time to play. It started raining just as I was getting ready to go out on the porch so I stayed inside and watched the Little League World Series. After the games, we had a short respite from the rain, so I went back outside and played a couple of tunes. My wife took this photo of me. I played Lincoln and Liberty, Fishin' Hole, Old Joe Clark, Cripple Creek and, Liza Jane. I use one of my dulcimers I hadn't played on in quite some time. I has a double melody string which I am no longer comfortable playing. It was tuned to DAdd which I have not play in quite some time as I've been concentrating on 1 - 5 - 5 tunings to play noter/drone. I did have a good time playing though.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Yes, it is tomorrow.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
@carla-maxwell & @ocean-daughter If the weather's fit, we'll all be able to play a tune or two outdoors!
For the places on Earth with drought and fire/threat of fire now I hope they get the opportunity to be playing indoors on a rainy (not flooding) day.
Happy strumming, friends!
ocean-daughter:
We have more of a front stoop than a porch, but I'll figure out a way to be out there.
That's the spirit of it! Good on ya! It's been cold and raining here in Daylesford, AU, for weeks and my fingers are crossed that the weather is good enough to be outside that day.
We have more of a front stoop than a porch, but I'll figure out a way to be out there.
Robin Thompson:
Friends, the international day event called Play Music On The Porch Day is always the last Saturday in August-- not far away. Do you have your tune chosen yet? If not, you have plenty of time and can even decide on a tune at the last minute. :)
I don't have a tune picked out, but I'm looking forward to international Play Music on the Porch Day. PMOTPD was a beautiful day last year and a lot of fun to be a part of the worldwide event.
@don-grundy So glad you were able to make music outdoors!
June 21 is also Worldwide Make Music Day. 3 of us played our dulcimers together on the Liberty, MO square.
Friends, the international day event called Play Music On The Porch Day is always the last Saturday in August-- not far away. Do you have your tune chosen yet? If not, you have plenty of time and can even decide on a tune at the last minute. :)
updated by @robin-thompson: 06/21/21 07:38:17PM
Robin Thompson:
David, I watched your movie on YT yesterday-- well done!
Thanks Robin!
David, I watched your movie on YT yesterday-- well done!
EXCELLENT! Thank you.
That's right, it's more about the doing of it, not the recording of it.
You did good playing for your friend, Irene. 
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
@irene, in my book, you did play for PMOTPD! The fact that you don't have a good recording is just a little thing.
Been finishing up dulcimer #48 and at the end of the day, remembered. Grabbed my dulcimer and headed into Nauvoo to play for my friend that is going into a big cancer operation and we're all praying that he makes it. I called and said he could stay inside and I play on his porch. So I started my phone to record it, and handed it to his wife that was outside to take a photo. hrumph. All I got on the phone was a 2 second record playing that I was on......repeat. ha ha ha. but my friend and his wife enjoyed me playing for them. A perfect day here as the sun went down on the porch. Maybe NEXT YEAR, I'll be able to get my whole act together and have someone else record it. or at least take one photo.....I'm grateful I got to do this for my friend. He requested old 60's songs and yeah, I know those too. aloha, irene
@don-grundy I'm sorry you got rained out! You'll get to play a make up game now. :)
It rained most of the day and then we ran errands.
@gordon-hardy I watched your video yesterday and enjoyed it!
Worldwide PMOTPD had so many participants this year-- more than ever, I imagine. Thanks to all who participated and to all who watched videos!
@don-grundy, did you get to play on your porch?
Any friends want to tell about your adventures with music on PMOTPD? (We had a tech problem of some kind and it took well over an hour to upload our little film to YT.)
Another great dulcimer video!
World Wide Play Music On The Porch Day!! Here is my submission
So, you'll be all ready to celebrate the day, @don-grundy ! Happy strumming!
I have my T-shirt from last year.
Friends, worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day is always the last Saturday in August. So, 29 August is the day! Mark & I have been practicing the song we will do on the holiday and hope our friends will make homemade music on the day, too:)
updated by @robin-thompson: 06/29/21 03:43:21PM
