Forum Activity for @strumelia

Rebec

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Woo-hooooo! Ok...My little soprano rebec arrived today and I love it !

I had some nagging worries about whether it would be even playable, considering it was made in Pakistan and I bought it from a big Ebay re-seller. But it arrived exactly as advertised, in a sturdy overbuilt hard latched case and seems halfway decently made for an entry-level rebec. Three gut strings, and a bow included.

Happily for me, rebecs are tuned in 5ths, just like violins, mandolins, cellos. And since I used to play the cello in middle school and high school for 6 years, this was not totally alien territory for me...though the last time I touched a cello was about FORTY TWO years ago. =8-o

At first I tried holding it in my elbow crook as is suggested for rebecs, but that was incredibly awkward with the bowlback. It just seemed sooo much like a tiny newborn cello to me that I simply propped it between my knees and tried playing it the same way as cellos and bowed dulcimers. Yay!- that felt immediately and totally right to me somehow, with an underhand bow grip. It has a dainty VSL scale length of 12 1/2"....which is 1/2" shorter than Brian's fiddle.

Fooling around on it, I was thrilled to find some of my creaky cello skills still not forgotten, and I somehow knew how to play a few rudimentary melody patterns on it from the start. This was very very different than my jouhikko experience, which has been a very steep learning curve.

I think i am going to take to this little rebec very well! My goal is to play some simple old folk and medieval/renaissance tunes on it.

It feels really, really good to have a bowed instrument again, especially one that I understand and seem to have a little head start on already!

Wheee!

Rebec

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Well, I sold one of my two jouhikkos (to a fellow FOTMD member who was anxious to try one), and I used the money to order an entry-level rebec to try out. I've been wishing I could try out a rebec for years now. I hope the one coming is at least decently playable- we shall see in a few days when it arrives!

I hope to play some medieval and renaissance tunes on it, and perhaps some old hymns or shape-note melodies. I have not figured out how I will hold it yet- folks can variously play it under the chin like a violin, or against the shoulder, chest, or crook of the arm like a fiddler, or even in mini-cello position also like a bowed dulcimer.

Fun!

Rebec

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Ken, sadly, the closest thing I ever to wooden clogs were my old disco platform shoes....and some rubber gardening clogs that gave me blisters. LOL

Rebec

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I absolutely LOVE the sound of the rebec! (I also love the vielle)Here is my favorite little youtube rebec clip:

Diane in Chicago said:

Thanks for the link, Strumelia. I don't hang around ED much, maybe I should!

Well I'm certainly not trying to shoo you away! LOL! But both FOTMD and ED happen to be great sources of dulcimer information and help. :)

Diane, there is: a recent thread over on Everything Dulcimer forum that has been discussing some of pros and cons of using a double melody string. It might contain some additional nugget of wisdom that would help you in addition to the discussion here. :)I would definitely advise against putting any rosin on your fingers or the fingerboard though. =8-oI assume you are bending notes a lot?- this might entail pushing the strings at an angle, which might well cause the pair to tangle together so to speak.If it were me I would try out playing with a single melody string to play blues. Perhaps just one gauge heavier than the double pair was. Can't hurt to try, but remember, every new takes a little trial period to get used to.

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

Yes looks great to me too. You can always do some fine tuning to the group later.Go for it! :)

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

Randy Adams said:

fwiw this can be done.

Yes, we tested it earlier in this thread:{{I posted to this discussion and clicked on "Upload file" under the text box for my new post. There, I was able to point to an MP3 file residing on my computer, and it uploaded to the discussion and clicking on it brought up my Quicktime program which played it no problem. You can do that in any post within a group as well. If anyone wants to test that themselves, feel free to test it in a group or here and then delete it after you see if it works ok.So, equally do-able in either a forum or a group. Youtube videos can just be embedded as usual.}}

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

It looks pretty good to me!Things might get pretty messy if folks accidentally start posting their songs to the group's comment wall and then others start responding to them. So perhaps it's best if they are guided towards re-posting their clips to the discussion area. The comment wall will get full of questions and unrelated comments anyway. I doubt it will happen often enough to be much trouble.A couple of minor points-{{If you're posting your version of a song that has already been posted, please post it as a comment on the discussion for that song.....If someone else has already posted a "Shady Grove" discussion, post your version of Shady Grove to that discussion.}} -- avoid the suggestion of posting a song as a 'comment' as this might confuse people as to the Comment Wall again. better to just say "please post it in the discussion thread for that song."{{Please post a link to an audio or video clip when you post your song. See the HOW-TO document [ hot-linked ] for information on posting a link to your song. If you have trouble posting a link, please post a question to the comment wall.}} -- I think it'd be ok to 'embed' a youtube video clip in a song discussion as opposed to only posting a link to it. We sort of have to only 'attach files' of audio clips because that's the only way to do it in a discussion thread.One other thing we should keep in mind is that not all of Jean Ritchie's songs are public domain. ;)Ken, it looks good! Kinda funny all our fussing over starting a little FOTMD group. But I'm guessing it'll be rather high traffic.The main difference between the idea of this group and the FOTMD video and music lists already in place (where feedback often gets left by others as it is), is that multiple versions of the same song or tune can be easily compared and enjoyed, and there will be a centralized place for folks to comment on the versions and exchange information on them.Other folks' thoughts on Ken's overview...?

Challenges?

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Yes, of course no voting or judging...eeewww! =8-o ;DWe must realize that once a thread is started for a particular song or tune....then that thread will be there for good and someone new might contribute their new version like a year from now or more! Unless the discussion thread gets 'closed' by a moderator...but I can't really envision a reason for doing that.Another good reason for making it a group rather than just a forum is- the description of what it's all about and instructions on how to go about contributing can be laid out clearly in a big text box right on the group's home page. On a forum you can't really set up a 'forum home page'.

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

Strumelia said:

Ok, I just did a test.....

I posted to this discussion and clicked on "Upload file" under the text box for my new post. There, I was able to point to an MP3 file residing on my computer, and it uploaded to the discussion and clicking on it brought up my Quicktime program which played it no problem. You can do that in any post within a group as well. If anyone wants to test that themselves, feel free to test it in a group or here and then delete it after you see if it works ok.So, equally do-able in either a forum or a group. Youtube videos can just be embedded as usual.I like Vicki's "You Call the tune" name- sounds friendly and inviting.We need to keep it all public domain or traditional material though- I would need any copyrighted submissions to be deleted . Pain in the butt I know, but a "You Call the tune" group or forum would tend to accumulate a 'lot' of material over time, and i don't want FOTMD ever shut down for copyright violations.Personally, I think that since there is no technical advantage either way for group or forum....I think a group might be better organized if it had someone guiding it a bit. And it helps if people need to join the group before posting. Ken, I suspect this would quickly become one of the largest groups here on fotmd.I don't really want to have to spend extra time keeping watch for copyright issues there on a daily basis (I already do that on the video and music playlists), so I would ask the group leader/administrator to please make sure the submissions are always public domain.The other thing is that if it's a group, the group leader would need to require that people post a new song as a new discussion thread. Others posting their version of the same song would reply within that discussion, not start another new discussion for their version of the song. And some will post their version to the group's comment wall by accident- they'd have to be guided to post it in the proper song thread. Just some logistical thoughts.More ideas and opinions...?

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

Flint Hill said:

One peripheral but significant question is this: Is it possible to obtain a permalink to an individual song that has been posted to FOTMD? The best I have been able to do is to get a permalink to a player showing all of my songs, so someone would have to pop the player and then scroll down to find the song. It would eliminate a lot of potential confusion if it's possible to get a direct link to an individual song.

You are right- that would be a slight issue. There is no way to have a direct link to a tune on FOTMD's Playlists. You *can* have a direct link to a video, but not to a sound clip in anyone's playlist. the best you can do is go to their page and click on the specified tune in their playlist.Ok, I just did a test.....

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

Yes, it's great that we've been posting our various thoughts on this.Ken, I would go along with whatever you decide to do here.If you want to make it a new group, i think that might be a nice way to keep it organized.If you want to make it a forum- then I can add a new forum category and each song 'project' could be its own thread I'd think.You decide, and I'll support it. :)

Challenges?

OFF TOPIC discussions

Randy is that done within a "Sound Off" group, or is "Sound Off" a forum/discussion area?

Challenges?

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Ken I think this is a great idea. :)We'd have to figure out how to best implement it.I would heartily back it if you wanted to start a new FOTMD Group for this.But to avoid it getting confused with Vicki's group "Challenged Players" I'd ask that you name it perhaps "FOTMD Music Challenge" or something to that effect- that should make it clear enough.If you started such a group, as you say you would have to have some sort of control over people just posting challenge after challenge of all their favorite songs. Unfortunately I don't think there is a way for a group creator to review or moderate other group members' posts before they are submitted. So some form of challenge rules would have to be spelled out by the group creator in a text box right on the group's home page. You might want to have a separate group 'discussion thread' for each official challenge. In groups, people sometimes start posting on the group's Comment wall rather than in the appropriate discussion, simply because they don't know any better, so that would be a small issue as well.The other option as opposed to forming a Group is to just keep it as discussions on the main FOTMD forums. This might work if I set up a new FORUM CATEGORY for "FOTMD music challenges", and then folks could set up each challenge as a new discussion. Of course this would mean there'd be a whole bunch of challenges to choose from after a while, with really no control over it to keep it structured. Plus, there'd be a limited text description under that forum that no one would see if they went directly to each challenge discussion from the Latest Activity on the main page. There would be less control in a forum setting than a group setting, but less work as well.More input and ideas from everyone?.....

Do You Have A Favorite Irish Song?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

George Wentland said:

I think at the moment "Will Ye No' Come Back Again" is my favorite. Tho I am not sure if it's Scotish or Irish.

oh George, I used to LOVE playing and singing that song years ago. It's so beautiful. It does have kind of a 'Scottish-y' flavor to it, doesn't it?

Musical Traditions Dulcimer circa 1980

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Nice to see you Flint!

If you could only keep ONE of your dulcimers....

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

If you could only keep one of the dulcimers you own as the only dulcimer you'll have for the rest of your life, which of your dulcimers would you choose, and WHY?
(people with only one dulcimer can still tell us why they chose it) ;)

updated by @strumelia: 02/12/25 03:01:04AM

Ten Commandments of Jamming

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Here are a few additional random jamming etiquette lists I linked to on my blog a while back, while writing about proper jam manners: Jam etiquette List 1 Jam etiquette List 2 Jam etiquette List 3 Jam etiquette List 4 Jam etiquette List 5 Jam etiquette List 6 If you still have poor jam manners after reading all these, then there's really no hope for you! LOL

updated by @strumelia: 03/23/16 09:30:48AM

Folkfan,I would never be in sessions or jams that play 75% of those tunes either- it all depends on what kind of music you like to play and the groups you play with. Nothing wrong at all with all those tunes on that list, but there is a very high percentage of Irish/celtic tunes and the genres are spread all over the map. Obviously though, there must be sessions that play that whole list a lot.Different genres of music, different geographical areas, and people's tastes all make it fairly impossible to compile a list of 'tunes every jam session player should know'. So far I've never found a list that even remotely reflects what the people around me tend to play at jam sessions. Perhaps it's better to write down or ask about the tunes your local jam or club tends to play and work on those.

This week, my three favorite tunes are-Parson's FarewellBourre d'AuvergneSugar in the Gourd

Good one, Ken! LOL!

I'd like to mention that fotmd member CarolLynn Langley and her wonderful husband Gene do some marvelous call and response songs- usually with mtn dulcimer and autoharp. They do some of the wonderful old-timey ballad duets where the man and woman ask/answer questions back and forth- some are romantic old fashioned courting ballads, some are just plain funny songs with what I like to think of as cacklin' old woman vs.growlin' old man themes. lol!

I remember as a child in public grade school in NYC, they taught us all kinds of folk songs, music, and dances from various cultures. What a culturally rich curriculum it was!I remember Mrs. Mintz taught us to sing Silent Night in German. Mr. Shapiro taught us how to dance the Jewish Hora and also Polish polkas and American square dances. And Mr. Brown (a stocky man) and Mr. Smith (tall and thin), both black teachers, taught us to sing spirituals. Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith had us 6 year olds all singing with great enthusiasm and waving our hands in the air and stomping our feet....singing "Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham!", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"....and also "He's got the little bitty baby, in His hand!..." I also vaguely remember a song about Noah and the Flood.Oh we had a great time belting out the old gospel songs they taught us, and it didn't seem to matter whether we kids were atheists, Chinese Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, or whatever (and we kids were all those things and more, there in the melting pot of NYC)....So I will suggest those gospel songs which I particularly remember so fondly. But to do it right, they must be accompanied by much waving of arms and clapping of hands! ;D

Suzanne I moved this thread to the general mtn dulcimer forum, since i think it is of general interest to all players, and you could get more responses there. :)

How many dulcimers do you own... lets see the lists..

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

John Shaw said:

Yes, I'm sure it was meant for noter playing, Strumelia.

but of course you can play it any way you like!We want pictures! :D

How many dulcimers do you own... lets see the lists..

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

John, that is excellent! You are lucky to get that nice dulcimer in the UK!You know, high action might mean that that dulcimer was used for noter playing- that would be typical.

How many dulcimers do you own... lets see the lists..

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

1) Keith Young curly maple teardrop2) Ben Seymour cherry GalaxWish I had lots more. :)

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

My, all this heavy food! =8-oI am going to serve some Japanese green tea to lighten things up and help give us energy for the jamming ahead... sencha, anyone?

Party time :)

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Anyone wanna play Twister?

Party time :)

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Here don't forget my Jell-O mold!Robin, I'll take your 'eyeball olives' off your hands- no sense letting them go to waste!

Is Ken bringing his famous shrimp?

Party time :)

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YAYYYYYY!!!!!!!! who'd a' thunk?? :DPARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!Let's eat the first course then take a break for tunes! :D

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

folkfan said:

Consider a whole cake sent, John Henry. Sorry, but I'd have to use "Cool Whip" but it will be the extra creamy variety. Whipped cream just doesn't stand up very long. And cherry it is. Coming at you, now. FF

Party time :)

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Robin Thompson said:

Aw, Strumelia, come on! I was the 6th person to show up and I'm getting hungry waiting for the 600th! :) :) :)

LOL Well, ok, maybe some fries. But don't eat up Ken's gourmet shrimp before the others get here! ;D

Party time :)

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Robin Thompson said:

Would somebody pass me those fries, please? Oh, and ketchup, too! :)

Sorry, no nibbling until we reach 600.Mo, that tall burger is even more unsettling than my Jell-O mold!

Party time :)

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I'm gonna make some groovy 1950's style Jello-O mold salad....mmmmm....

Hmmm....are those cheese cubes in that jell-o, or..... PATS OF BUTTER!!! =8-O

Party time :)

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Ok, I'll start dusting and getting my place ready for the party...

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

WHAT THE HECK??? I thought I checked just a couple days ago and it was still 560 or so!? =8-oWho has time to play the dulcimer with all these parties going on??? LOL

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

There's a fiddle tune played by esteemed fiddler Edden (or "Edn") Hammons of West Virginia, found on the Edden Hammons Collection: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/hammons2.htm it has the rather indelicate title of "Old Black Cat S**t in the Shavings"....the title always make me laugh. =8-o LOL

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

And then there's "How Much is that Kitty in the Window?"Oh, wait a minute...maybe not..... :(