Forum Activity for @strumelia

There are many players these days however who look for and love the traditional style of dulcimer and dulcimer playing style. Personally, I hope this beautiful dulcimer remains just the way it is without being 'modernized' (geared tuners installed and extra frets added). There will be someone to cherish it and play it in the old way.
Jud, if you are thinking about your kids dealing with it, consider tucking in a little note with the instrument explaining a few things about it that you have learned. Just a paragraph or two, would be so helpful to your kids in the future, and would help steer the dulcimer in the right direction in the future.

Susie, I never really knew Donna. When FOTMD and Donna's Psaltery forums were both on Ning servers, Donna and I compared notes once or twice, many years ago. I'm sorry you are having trouble contacting her or getting her forum to work. I wish i could do more, but alas.

Hi Susie,

I see on that site of Donna's that there are events listed from late 2023, so maybe its stil active.

I see links at the bottom of their home page to contact the owner directly- have you tried that?  Also, you can try creating a new account in oder to get in. (you could always get the admin to delete a duplicate account later once you are activated). And also- I've had trouble in years past with logging in on places online by using my Google account. Is there another choice besides using Google when logging in?

Also, you can join the builders' group here on FOTMD and get lots of help from our members who build a lot of dulcimers:
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group/11/dulcimer-making   They are always happy to help out with advice.

-Note, you have to JOIN the group before you can post there or see all the discussion replies. And joining and Unjoining groups is as easy as clicking a button.

I've removed a few escalating personal attack posts going back and forth here, and I've locked this thread.
Folks, please stay civil and let it drop. Thanks!

I just wanted to share this lovely video to enjoy and inspire us all...
https://youtu.be/o4OlL0OpbW8?feature=shared

It's lovely! I'm amazed that it is in perfect/new condition after over 40 years. I'm thinking it deserves a case, if even just a cheap cardboard or padded gig case.

The height of the bridge and nut slots can also adjust how high or low the string action is from the frets.

It should be noted that there are members of the zither family which have raised fretboards but which are not mtn dulcimers, for example concert zithers.

Big thanks to those members who have made donations to keep this site up and running.

This is great news. Thanks for posting it Ken, and for the photos!

Expressing my deep gratitude to those who have made donations recently.
I rarely solicit donations here on FOTMD, but I'm making one more request to hopefully get a few more people donating. So far enough has been donated to run the site for about 5 months. I'd really love to not worry about it at all for at least 8 months, so.... 
If you have never donated to this site before, would you please consider making a donation to help out in keeping things running?  The Paypal donation button is on our Main/Home page, and you don't need a paypal account to donate, just a credit card.
Thank you, friends!!  

On what may have been the last warm day yesterday, I got all my lily bulbs planted, along with three types of flowering allium. A whole lot of digging and mixing in compost, planting, and mulching in the 3 areas where I planted bulbs. 
I am sore all over today!  But I'm lucky to not have a bad back like so many folks do, so it's just muscle soreness that will pass.
It will be SO exciting to see lily and allium shoots poking up through the mulch next Spring!  The first year most of them will likely bloom but not be full size plants yet, but they should be awesome in the many years following that.  

I've been slowly converting some of my vegetable row spaces in the fenced garden to perennial flowers. Planted some poppies during the past two years, their flowers have been so uplifting to me. We just don't need so many vegetables like we used to, and veggies require more digging and work... which I definitely like less of nowadays. lolol
The cold snaps have reminded me that i've wanted to order some Fall bulbs of a certain type of lily for some time now. You can't buy or plant them in the summer. So I ordered a bunch which are on their way now. I have some compost and mulch ready as well, get them planted. I'm just barely getting this done before it's way too cold.
They are Martagon lilies, also known as Turk's Cap or Turban lilies. Very old fashioned, with hanging flowers with recurved petals, in mixed colors. They like a bit of shade, so I'm planting them in the row space that passes near the apple tree, which gives some dappled shade during part of the day. They will be small plants their first year, but hopefully will grow to adult size the second year and typically multiply on their own. My goal is to be able to gift blooming stems of these beautiful lilies to my friends and neighbors.
Has anyone else planted some new Fall bulbs this year?
Here's a somewhat idealized photo from online:

Thank you so much to those members who have sent in a donation to FOTMD so far. It is so much appreciated! 

Greetings FOTMD friends!   

This is a gentle reminder about the cost of keeping this site up and running for over fifteen years now.

There have been very few donations during this past year.  I'm sure it's because folks were busy traveling during the Summer and Fall, or just rising prices of all things creating issues for everyone...    But I must continue paying server and hosting fees every month regardless, and the dwindling rate of donations is often not enough to pay the site bills.

Please read the below posts on various ways you can help, and thank you for finding it in your heart to help keep our site running.  

This song popped into my head this morning for some reason. Brian Jones really hit it out of the park with this- terrific playing, syncopation, and vibratto, -and great bass accompaniment. I remember going out of my mind over this as a teenager..

It is interesting to note in Cecil Sharp's 1917 English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians... that of all the 274 ballads he and his assistant collected from rural singers, Barbara Allen was the ballad with the largest number of distinct regional variations included in his book.

It is a tribute to the many folks who are helping and working hard to get assistance to Florida after Hurricane Milton that there have been relatively few deaths, considering the power and destruction of that storm. I also think it's amazing how residents evacuated to safer areas in time to save more lives.
I know we all wish those effected a strong recovery from these terrible weather events.

@john-w-mckinstry , that is something I can really relate to-  I have not planted morning glories by the side of our sunny garage door in about five years. Have not seen hide nor hair of them in that time.  Then, just three mornings ago, Brian and I were surprised to see two giant Heavenly Blue blooms there near the ground, looking much like your picture. It surprised us as well!  Seems like an omen of some sort?  We could all use some good omens these days i think. If i see more blooms before the frost puts an end to our brave little survivor plant, i will think of you John.  

The destruction from Helene and the subsequent flooding has been horrific. So many of the effected communities are completely isolated because of roads destroyed and all communications and power down. It's a challenge to get the massive amounts of aid needed to people under such devastating conditions- shelter, water, food, power, medical help... my heart goes out to all the families suffering. I read today that some folks are using pack mules to get help to some isolated places.
To now hear of a new hurricane forming and churning its way towards Florida, that's so awful. Is this going to be a hurricane season worse than any other in US history? Let us hope not.

I especially like the "hoy hoy" at 2:13  

Ok, time for something a little different (and for full effect, be sure to keep watching past the halfway point of 2 min 30 seconds)...

https://youtu.be/d1J3NLNWAPU?si=rUK3CAMCXvPqfEwI

@Beth-t , that's wonderful!  I really look forward to hearing you play some of the old traditional Welsh folk tunes that you love.  

Hi John!  The positive thread in in the Forums section. 

Go here: https://fotmd.com/forums/forum/off-topic-discussions/11758/the-positive-thread#r46686

and depending on whether you are on a laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone, you may see different ways to make a post. See if you can go there (follow my link) and look for a place where you can type in a reply and post it there. Let us know if you are having trouble, and if so what device are you using and what you see or don't see when you try to post.

I used to have some cassettes of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee that I just loved listening to.  

They must be a total weirdo.

Wow. That's pretty pathetic to leave multiple nasty messages on your videos. It feels icky, but sometimes we just have to say "I'd sure hate to have to BE that person!". I had a nasty online stalker once do that on my YT videos too, and on my blogs. I had to shut down my comment features for a year. I think they must have just shriveled up and blown away by now, it happened quite a few years ago.
I'm glad you have lots of good and positive friends here Nate!

Not sure exactly what time period we are talking here- during or before before Jean's time (b.1922)?  Remember that the earliest mtn dulcimer so far that has been accurately dated was from the 1830s- actual mtn dulcimers may not even have been 'invented' before 1800.
I've always been doubtful about the conjecture that mountain dulcimers were commonly played for social dances or in church. I've never read any verified references of it, and it seems unlikely to me. On the other hand, many churches and most grange halls had a piano. And guitars, fiddles, and (to a lesser extent) banjos... were pretty widespread among the communities.

For the past 25 years I have had two mtn dulcimers that are good players- my Keith Young maple teardrop, and my cherry Galax by Ben Seymour. I have a finicky old kit dulcimer someone gave me from their closet yrs ago, but I don't play that one. So I consider I have two mountain dulcimers.
But I also have two epinettes, a langspil, and a hummel, which are all dulcimer-like instruments. It feels pretty well rounded. My wallet has kept me in line a little over the years. I have 8 banjos last i counted. Each one is very different from the other, for example my gourd banjo.

@steve-c so cool.... but all I can say is  

@maddie-myers , one day years ago, i got it into my head to change the strings on seven of my banjos at once. 35 strings, took hours. I don't know why i did such a crazy thing, but i vowed Never Again.   I'm normally pretty cheap about strings and only change them once in a while, not 'regularly'. The only strings I actually notice that 'die' over time are wound strings. The great Margaret Barry once said that in hard times she stripped wire from window screens to string her banjo with.

That display looks beautiful!

Is it you getting married?- a big congratulations to you!!  

It kinda makes sense to me that many of the 'traditional style' modern built dulcimers would fare better in bad weather, because they tend to be more slender and often made with slightly thicker wood and hardwood. As you get into instruments with larger soundboxes and thinner walls, i'd think the wood would be more affected by heat or dampness.  KenH- good point about the zither pin tuners.

@Nate , speaking of polyurethane... when i was attending early banjo/reenactment banjo gatherings, most of us played fretless 1800s-style repro banjos, with real calfskin heads that are very thin and large diameter. Those heads really reacted and stretched/sagged with the heat and humidity. One good trick we used beforehand was to lightly spray two coats of old fashioned Aquanet hair spray on both sides of the calfskin. That particular hairspray was very good at sealing out moisture- they didn't call it aqua-net for nothin'!  hahah  It made the thin calfskin much more stable in fluctuating weather conditions. 

Tell us what you do when you have to bring a dulcimer for playing outside in iffy weather.  Whether you are camping, at a festival, lots of car travel, or have an outdoor gig/jam... in hot/humid/rainy, or cold conditions. Which dulcimer do you pick to bring along so that you don't have to worry as much about it getting damaged? What's your dulcimer choice or your strategy when facing adverse conditions?

What a great story Nate!  Nice thing to read in starting my day.  😊

If/when you do order more nylon strings, keep in mind that depending on what note you are aiming to tune to, the thickness of nylon strings suitable for a given note won't be the same thickness as for metal strings... so you may not want to order solely by gauges we commonly use with metal strings. But I'm sure the maker has advised you on the nylon strings needed for its current setup.

I have to say that i personally enjoy the occasional squeak of a wound string. I listen to a lot of classical lute music and I like that about it- makes it feel more alive and richly textured, like the musician is sitting right there with me while playing.

Dusty, Nylgut brand (sort of imitation gut strings but made of nylon) strings for banjos have some sets with thick nylon bass strings that are solid nylon, with no outer winding. They never seem to break for me, and have a wonderful resonant sound. I prefer them on my nylon strung banjos. Banjos have basically the same length strings as dulcimers, so you could check out a set from them. I know of three types of banjo sets Nylgut makes- Minstrel (for lower tunings, slightly heavier), Classic (thinner, work well for higher tension oldtime tunings), and they also some sets with 'red' strings that some folks really like but i have never tried those and don't know what advantage they might have. I highly recommend Nylgut strings. Long ago I used classical guitar nylon strings on my banjos, they were quite heavy and broke much more often than my nylguts.
Once I bought a used banjo that had Nylgut strings on it that had not been changed in over 10 years. I figured I ought to put a fresh set on, but when i played it, the old Nylgut strings sounded just wonderful and i played on them for two more years before i then sold that banjo... with the same strings still on it of course.      Just sayin'!

@jerry-posner - do you mean Bernard Krause the bioacoustic soundscape musician/artist?

Just had to relate a very cool thing in my little town today. I was at our knitting group at the local yarn shop on Main street, and suddenly the sound of Scottish Highland pipes drifted over the town. We rushed to look out the door and there was a fellow in full regalia and kilt just standing on the sidewalk in the middle of Main St playing the bagpipes. It wa almost 5pm, and there were few people on the street and the sun was low, which made it feel more profound in some way. After a couple of tunes, a young boy joined him, playing a traditional style drum hanging on his belt. After only 20 min or so they were gone. It was really lovely.

My guess is they were coming home after some event where they had performed, and decided to stop on our old fashioned village street and play for a bit, perhaps while picking up something to eat on the way.