Alex_Lubet

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Location: St. Paul, MN
Country: United States

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Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 14 hours ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Jean Ritchie and her ballad repertoire":
"Thanks, John, very insightful. I listened to her rendition of Barbry Allan this morning and was taken by her ending every verse on scale step 2.  I kept..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 15 hours ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "Jean Ritchie and her ballad repertoire":
"Hi, A good week to you all. I've been doing a deep dive into Jean Ritchie lately, for the dulcimer of course, but also for the words of the ballads.  What..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "A Farewell":
"Thanks!"
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "A Farewell":
"Good to know, thanks so much.  I think much of what I do is grounded in being entirely self taught (on dulcimer), at some distance from the mainstream..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "A Farewell":
"I usually play with four equidistant strings these days and use many different tunings.  But I really enjoy tuning three or even all four strings to low D...."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "A Farewell":
"I would say Jean Ritchie.  It's more obvious in other pieces.   But I would say it's really the drone and not the noter that has been the influence, as I..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "tambourin à cordes":
"Hi All, A medieval instrument that looks a lot like a dulcimer but serves a very different role as accompaniment only to melodic instruments, sort of like a..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "A Farewell":
"I enjoy your work, too.  I really appreciate the noter-drone style.  It's been an influence. Best,"
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "A Farewell":
"That's so kind of you to say.  I really appreciate it.  I also appreciate the great contributions you make to this community.  This is not just a great place..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 days ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "A Farewell":
"Hi All, I hope everyone is well and enjoying life. This is,  A Farewell , a song I composed for my friend and colleague, mezzo soprano Victoria Vargas.  The..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one week ago • comments: 6
Posted a new Comment on Alex Lubet At a Place Far Away:
"Thanks.  Much more (including a few other instruments) on most of the major streaming services and a new album (with operatic mezzo soprano Victoria Vargas)..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "New album":
"Hi All, This is the ad for my new album on Neuma Records.  I'm not trying to sell it (although I wouldn't object), I just like the ad a lot.  It should start..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "Teaching":
"Hi All, Greetings from Minnesota and a good week to you. Mostly for curiosity, I'm asking those of you who teach dulcimer whether it's generally easier to..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Lefties":
"Very interesting contributions, thanks so much. For the most part, we declare ourselves right or left handed depending on how we write.  The only other such..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Lefties":
"Thanks, Nate.  I couldn't agree more.  It's one of the things I love about the dulcimer world is a sense of choice that differs so much from the classical..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Lefties":
"According to published research I've read, when the right hand plucks and/or bows, it's doing the more difficult task.  That may well seem counter-intuitive,..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "Apologies":
"Everyone, I think I now understand how to post to the General Forum.  My apologies for the confusion."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Lefties":
"Thanks.  Forgive me, but I'm fairly new to this group and confused about how to post on the General Forum.  Please advise, thanks."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 0
Created a new forum topic "Lefties":
"Hi All, I'm curious about folk who, like me, are lefties who play right handed.  Do you think it's affected your style?  Has it held you back in any way? I..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 4 weeks ago • comments: 4
Posted a new Comment on 4 versus 3:
"I'm confident others will find this odd, but I like playing with four equidistant strings and tuning the bottom three to low D.  It enables me to play fast..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 4
Posted a new Comment on 4 versus 3:
"Very interesting, thanks.  I'm especially intrigued by the 5 equidistant strings.  "
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic":
"I have looked at and joined groups, thanks, and I'll check out Joellen Lapidus. I'm interested in the idea of "advantage" that Lapidus brings up.  Igor..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 4
Created a new Group discussion "4 versus 3":
"Hi All, I hope you are well and I wish you a good week. For about the past year, I've been playing almost exclusively on four equidistant strings.  I have..."
Four-Equidistant Strings
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic":
"Happy Sunday, all. May I respectfully and in friendship request more posts on chromatic vs. not chromatic?  There has been a great deal of interesting..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic":
"My musical background and approach to the instrument are, I think, pretty different from others in this group.  One thing I find impressive is how nice and..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 6
Posted a new Comment on Alex Lubet At a Place Far Away:
"Thank you so much.  New album dropping shortly."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic":
"Thanks, Randy.  That's actually one of the easier listening pieces in the set.  There are some that folks may find scary, as I use some tunings that invite..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic":
"It seems we can all agree that the etymology of the word "dulcimer" relates to sweetness, but etymological origins have only a limited relationship to the..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • one month ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic":
"Hi All, I hope you're doing well. I'm personally more interested in the chromatic dulcimer question than the "what is a dulcimer?" question.  I would observe..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 months ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on Waves by Iris Shiraishi:
"Thanks, Robin, more to come."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 months ago • comments: 2
Created a new Group discussion "Waves by Iris Shiraishi":
"This piece was composed for me by my wife Iris Shiraishi, who joins me on percussion.  The percussion is optional, but the piece is much better with it."
Rockin' in the Free World
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "New to the group, several questions":
"Thanks again, Nate.  The tunes I've posted actually use pretty standard tunings, DAc and DAD with a first fret capo.  I'll be sending some others with more..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "New to the group, several questions":
"Thanks again, Nate.  I have three dulcimers, one of which cost me $20, is on loan, and I may never see again.  I keep three strings on one, four on the..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "New to the group, several questions":
"Thanks, Nate.  With only one exception, all the tunings I've used go low to high, which would eliminate some of those possibilities.  The only exception was..."
Alex_Lubet
@alex-lubet • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "New to the group, several questions":
"I had to look up Galax tuning.  I use all-unison tuning sometimes on both 3 and 4 strings and it's indeed powerful. I spend a lot of time exploring..."

Latest Group Discussions

  All
Alex_Lubet

4 versus 3


Hi All, I hope you are well and I wish you a good week. For about the...
@Alex_Lubet one month ago - Comments: 4
Alex_Lubet

Waves by Iris Shiraishi


This piece was composed for me by my wife Iris Shiraishi, who joins me...
@Alex_Lubet 2 months ago - Comments: 2
Alex_Lubet

Gunung Singgalang


Hi All, This piece was written for me by one of my former students,...
@Alex_Lubet 2 months ago - Comments: 2
Alex_Lubet

Alex Lubet At a Place Far Away


Hi All, I suspect this is pretty unusual, as is everything I do...
@Alex_Lubet 2 months ago - Comments: 6

Latest Audio

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Latest Videos

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Comments

Alex_Lubet
04/18/25 04:56:46PM @alex-lubet:

Hi All,

I hope everyone is doing well.

I've done a lot of recording and, at the risk of hubris, gotten some good reviews, though these are from beyond the dulcimer community.  Here's a link to "At a Place Far Away," my take on a Chinese folk song that I wrote for a concert in China.  It's from my album, "Three Strings and the Truth:  New Music for Mountain Dulcimer."  Would love to discuss and share more music if folk are interested.

Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter to those who celebrate.


Alex_Lubet
04/13/25 05:14:26PM @alex-lubet:

Thanks for your kind words, everyone.  It's great to be here.

I think my dulcimer journey might be a bit unusual.  I started on guitar almost sixty years ago and have played most every fretted instrument in the American-Western European music sphere, largely self-taught.  I started on mountain dulcimer about ten years ago and it's now my main instrument for playing and composing.

But I'm also a classically trained composer and have taught composition at the University of Minnesota since 1979 (and will retire next year).  For a long time, I've mostly composed for instruments of American folk music, which I play myself.  I got seriously into dulcimer when my wife Iris Shiraishi composed a work for her Japanese music fusion group, Ensemble Ma.  Dulcimer was the closest she could come to an instrument we didn't have.  Since then, I've performed in China and South Korea, including works written for me by composers from those countries (and Indonesia).  Despite its distinctly non-Asian history, dulcimer lends itself to Asian aesthetics.  My Asian friends have really enjoyed it and few if any had ever seen or heard one before, which made it especially interesting.  I have to admit that another reason I love dulcimer is that it fits in the overhead bin on planes.  Traveling on planes with a guitar had been a major headache (plus foreign audiences all know what it looks and sounds like).

I've had lots of other influences as well, including Jewish music and even free jazz.  My entirely self-taught technique is quite non-standard and sometimes includes some unfamiliar, but totally acoustic, sounds.I've made quite a few albums (including earlier ones on other instruments.    They stream on lots of platforms and I'll be posting links in the Rockin' in the Free World group.  I'm pretty sure you'll find them unusual and I hope you'll give them a chance and might even enjoy them.  I'm not trying to sell any of my music, just share it, as well, of course, as listening to and learning from you.

I know this was a long post and I thank you for your kind consideration and time.  I'll be posting links to some music soon.

Happy Easter and Passover (and any other holidays I've missed).  Have a great week.


Ben Barr Jr
04/11/25 08:48:39AM @benjamin-w-barr-jr:

Hi Alex, and welcome to the wonderful world of the Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer.  It's a good place to come, spend some time, learn about the dulcimer, and to meet some good people.

Ben


Richard Streib
04/10/25 01:43:33PM @richard-streib:

Glad you joined Alex_Lubert. Welcome to Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. There is a lot of information here and a lot of great folks with much expertise and experience. I am sure you will enjoy being a part of our little family.


Ken Longfield
04/09/25 10:41:44PM @ken-longfield:

Welcome to FOTMD, Alex_Lubet. It's good to have you aboard. I look forward to your participation here.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."