Forum Activity for @strumelia

After providing a service for many years, sometimes you just need a break.

Well they were days all right.  

Oh this is indeed sad news. Thanks for letting us know, Ken.

Well stated Ken.

Wishing all the best for the folks involved. Times have really changed profoundly. Sad to see this worthy magazine come to an end. What a noble run it had though!

Oh my, what a wonderful tale!  And how truly kind is @John-Gribble for making a dream come true.

There are two diff ways to add pix to a post- you can try either 'attaching' one, or 'embedding' one. Check out the little buttons available in the editing box when you are typing your post- there is one for embedding pix or media.

CGB = cigar guitar box? 

Dumb question maybe, but what is CGB?

What an amazing body of work you and Wayne have produced.

You look as though you haven't aged a day, JP.   

Yikes! What year was that?

Yes.

@erthling - yes you certainly can play a chromatic dulcimer exactly the same way you would if it had no 'extra' frets at all. Many people however will find it visually hard to know which fret is which at that point- this is exactly why many chromatic stringed instruments (banjos, guitars, mandolins) have a few fret markers of one kind or another, to help them get their bearings when playing. 

That's strange, Ken! I thought us New Yorkers were supposed to be rather rude, but almost everyone here says ThankYou when you hold a door open for them. Or they wave thanks when you let them into traffic in front of you when driving.

Those sound like positive developments and omens, Leo.
I was surprised to see a huge bald eagle flying over my village a few weeks ago. They sometimes hang out at the Hudson river which is near to us, but are seldom seen actually in our village. I saw one in a corn field here about 15 yrs ago while riding my bike. Snowy owls are equally majestic! I think i read there was one in NYC's Central Park last year.

I'm wishing positive new things for all FOTMD friends for this new year!

This is a wonderful thing to practice for the new year- both on your dulcimer and in real life!
There's an interesting lady I know who will be at our small knitting group this weekend, and i have been planning to exchange contact info to get to know her better. She came to this country during the pandemic and likely does not have many friends. She has many fascinating stories to share!

Another crude workaround way of doing this is to make many copies of the pdf and name each for a different included tune. Then open each one and delete the pages of all but the desired tune page, then save.

Gwen had a membership here on FOTMD as well- there are a few of her music and videos she posted here
https://fotmd.com/gwen-caeli

List 3-5 things you are grateful for right now. 🙌🏻  🎄  💕

I'm talking about your chord chart. What tuning is being used when following your chord chart?

(and you should probably make a note of it on the chart itself, since dulcimers use various tunings)

That's correct.

What dulcimer tuning are you basing your chord chart on?

Just a little reminder that this site costs money to keep running, and for 14 years it has survived thanks to the thoughtful donations of members.

Rather than always being the same few people who donate regularly... are there any members out there who enjoy using FOTMD but have perhaps never made a donation? We could use a little monetary boost before the end of the year, to cover server costs etc. 

Today I'd like to appeal especially to members who have never donated before.
To make a donation, use the Paypal donation button at the top of the fotmd Home page. (you don't need a paypal account to do it, just a credit card can be used).

Any amount is appreciated, no matter how small. But if you donate $35 or more, a "Patron" label is applied to your profile page.

Thanks so much, Friends!   

wmacky, you said:
"For example fret space 13/ 14 is smaller than fret 15/16. Shouldn't the opposite be true?  Also look at fret space 6/7. the spacing is smaller than 7/8?  I believe those fret are 1/2 step apart right? Shouldn't  the frets that are a 1/2 step apart be getting closer as you approach the bridge?"

First of all-
From frets 6 to 7 is a whole step. (From frets 6.5 to 7 is a half step.)
From frets 13 to 14 is a whole step. From frets 15 to 16 is a whole step. From frets 7 to 8 is a whole step.

The other confusion here is that you seem to have posted pictures of two different dulcimers, both of which are similar to each other. One seems to have normal-ish spacing, the other seems a bit 'off'. For discussion purposes, we need to be clear as to which dulcimer is which, and which picture we are all commenting on.

I agree, chamois cloth works well and is less ugly than rubber shelf liner. Buy it cheaper at a car parts section, because people use it to polish/dry their cherished cars with.

Thank you for that link Robin. I had not seen that video of Jean's family gatherings before. 🎄

Whaaaat?? I didn't think they showed picture clues on that show! Seems crazy.

That's actually pretty impressive!  Especially also considering that "mountain banjos" are actually a defined type of banjo.

@dtortorich , you can find a few additional Christmas carol videos if you do the same thing but use the search term "holiday".

Hi there!  I just now went to FOTMD's Video section and typed "Christmas" into the search window there, and this popped up:
https://fotmd.com/search/results/jrVimeo,jrYouTube,jrVideo/1/25/search_string=Christmas

Oh i love it! 🧀

Hugs to all who are missing their sweet furry companions...

Look at that sweet little babe!

Yes I like "River lute" as well. This is part of a topic that usually inspires some debate. But yes technically a mountain dulcimer is defined as type of zither (box with strings going over the top, and no real neck). Lute family is broad and includes guitars, and lutes all have necks. Yours can be most accurately described as a (mostly) diatonically fretted guitar.

@fharlm , the ones in your link are all pretty big. I had a personal sized indoor rebounder for a year or so. I liked it at first, but eventually found it made me a little dizzy. I occasionally have bouts of vertigo, so that's not the greatest fit. If not for that it might have been fine. I do suggest you get one that is made specifically for one-person fitness use and not for multi-kids fun use. And pay attention to the weight limit suggestions.
I switched over to having a rowing machine in my living room, which seems to suit me way better. 😃

I have always like 'mustached' dogs. They remind me of my very first dog Facha, and my big sweet mixed breed dog Jasper.

Here is a working link to Ken's article:

https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group_discuss/2316/ken-hulmes-i-just-got-a-dulcimer-now-what-article

Leo, in my prior post I said the hoya "Krinkle 8" flowers smell just like chocolate covered cherries! Most hoyas release more intense scent at night because they are primarily pollinated by moths.
My hoyas are kept inside my house, in partly-sunny windows.

Hoyas don't like excessive watering, and they tend to have tough thick leaves. So in a way they are a bit like succulents. The potting medium is important- they like a pot that is not too large for them, and orchid mix that has chunks of bark and maybe some perlite or sphagnum in it. They grow on trees in the wild and can be found all over the world.

Some varieties do and some don't Dusty. You have to do some research on that. My hoya Krinkle8 did not drip nectar. I think my hoya wayetii did drip a little. I agree that would be annoying.
You can get cuttings or young started plants on Etsy. I got 2 Krinkle8 young plants and potted them together in a hanging pot... that gave me a nicer bushy young plant to start with. Now a year later it has grown to twice the size.

They are epiphytes, like orchids. So they like airy soil that has lots of drainage and bark chips.. like chunky orchid potting mix soil. They do not thrive in typical potting soil that has little aeration.

Here is the first bloom of my Krinkle 8, a year after i potted the young plants together... there are now two other buds forming:

@Fharlm - that's a lovely spider plant! It's been decades since i had a spider plant, but I agree they give back a whole lot in return for a little considerate care.

I've had several of my indoor hoya plants bloom for me in the past two months. The most exciting one was my hoya Krinkle 8. The spherical umbel of pink blooms smelled exactly like chocolate covered cherries!

"If you habitually wear slick polyester slacks, then a shelf-liner is useful."

I think if you wear slick polyester slacks, it's probably best that you not venture out in public anyway.