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
Folkfan! May not be able to make the celebration on time. Any chance of sending a portion of tunnel cake across the pond? You state that it may be carried................, cherry for preference!
JohnH
folkfan said:Michael, For you all also bring my raspberry tunnel cake. It's a sour cream white bundt cake made with a tunnel of raspberries in it, and served with a large dollop of whipped cream. If I need to carry it some place, I cover it in a layer of cool whip and fill the center and edge of the platter with a couple of cartons of fresh raspberries. Or if you enjoy cherries, the tunnel is made from cherry pie filling (the expensive type with more cherries than sauce) then covered in cool whip and the center filled with another can of cherry pie filling dribbling over the sides and down and around the cake.
Michael Vickey said:folkfan said:Death by Raspberry. I've found out that too much chocolate can trigger a migraine, so I modified my Death by Chocolate. A foundation of raspberry meringue, topped with fresh raspberry sorbet, mounded with raspberry whipped cream and a drizzle of raspberry syrup and a handful of fresh berries tossed on. Sprig of mint for a bit of color.
Oooohh! Red Raspberries - my favorite all-time food.
You can have my portion of the Evil Shrimp bits and Evil encased-olive Jello Salad, but save me a double portion of that raspberry dessert.
C'mon 600.
Michael
folkfan said:Death by Raspberry. I've found out that too much chocolate can trigger a migraine, so I modified my Death by Chocolate. A foundation of raspberry meringue, topped with fresh raspberry sorbet, mounded with raspberry whipped cream and a drizzle of raspberry syrup and a handful of fresh berries tossed on. Sprig of mint for a bit of color.
Oooohh! Red Raspberries - my favorite all-time food.
You can have my portion of the Evil Shrimp bits and Evil encased-olive Jello Salad, but save me a double portion of that raspberry dessert.
C'mon 600.
Michael
Does it have to be published? I have a little song that I sing to Tigger to lull him to sleep.
He's a Tigger, he's a Tigger, he's our little Tigger boyHe's a Tigger, he's a Tigger, He's our pride and our joy.I love my Tigger, love my Tigger, I love my little Tigger catI love my Tigger, love my Tigger, though sometimes he's a brat!Several other verse along this line, sung to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine. Tigger has been known to fall asleep in my arms while being sung to.
Right now, I've got fiddler Rayna Gellert's Old Yeller Dog Come Trottin Through The Meetinghouse playing on my iTunes. Neat tune.
folkfan, I don't know all the words to Sweet Betsey from Pike so am glad she took her dog. Of the words I know, she only had her husband Ike with her.
Aeolian Notes
A Mode is an octave (8 note) scale in diatonic music. Tonal music uses a 12 step scale.Modes are divided into two groups major and minor. Ionian mode is the Major Scale in tonal music - no sharps or flats. Aeolian mode is the Natural Minor Scale in tonal music. Compared to Ionian, its 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes are flatted.Modes are defined by the pattern of Whole steps and Half steps in the scale, not by the actual pitches (notes) used.Aeolian Mode (W-H-W-W-H-W-W)Aeolian mode is referred to by many people as the minor key. Aeolian intervals create the same feel as many modern blues songs. Songs in Aeolian mode have a strong sense of sadness. The final note of an Aeolian scale feels resolved in a completely different sense than the Ionian. If Dorian mode sounds melancholy Aeolian mode reeks of despair.Dorian Mode (W-H-W-W-W-H-W)Dorian is most commonly heard in Celtic music and early American folk songs derived from Irish melodies. Dorian mode sounds a little melancholy because the final note (re) doesn't quite resolve itself. The song may be over, but the singer is still unsettled.Each mode starts on a different fret:Mixolydian starts at the Open and 7th fretAeolian starts at the 1st and 8th fretLocrian starts at the 2nd and 9th fretIonian starts at the 3rd and 10th fretDorian starts at the 4th and 11th fretPhrygian starts at the 5th and 12th fretLydian starts at the 6th and 13th fretThe Keynote (A-G) depends on the note to which the open Bass string of the dulcimer is tuned. Each mode has a "traditional Keynote" (low 'do') associated with it:Aeolian A traditional tuning AEGLocrian B typical tuning Bb F GIonian C traditional tuning CGGDorian D traditional tuning DAGPhrygian E typical dulcimer tuning E Bb GLydian F typical dulcimer tuning F E BbMixolydian G traditional tuning GDgSince so many people have become D-sensitized (all puns intended) to the traditional keynotes of the Modes, here are the key of D Modal tunings:Ionian.........DAA...1-5-5Locrian.......DAB...1-5-6Aeolian.......DAC...1-5-7Mixolydian...DAd...1-5-8Lydian........DAE...1-5-2Phrygian......DAF...1-5-3Dorian........DAG...1-5-4Only Locrian and Dorian are left in their traditional keynotes.If youre tuned in Ionian mode and are tabbing out a song... If the first note is on the third fret, but the last note is on 1 or 8 then play the music in Aeolian Mode. If the first note is on the third fret but the last note is a 4, play it in Dorian.
I edited my post to correct the relationship between Dorian and Aeolian. Dorian is a 1-5-4 tuning so in D would be DAG which puts the d at the 4th fret. Aeolian, a 1-5-7 tuning, which in D would be DAC which puts the d at the first fret. In both the note that the melody string is tuned to is considered in the octave.
folkfan said:The notation for the mode indicates the key that the mode is being played in and the mode itself by way of the relationship of the notes to the start of the scale being used. So Dorian in D would DAG as Dorian is a 1-5-4 tuning putting the d at the 4th fret. The Aeolian note relationship is 1/5/7 as the first note of the octave scale is D, the fifth note of the octave is A and the 7th note of the octave is C. The C is still considered in the first octave of the D scale. In DAd the d is both at the end of the first octave and the start of the second. The smaller d is frequently, but not always used to indicate that the melody d is an octave higher than the bass D.
The definition of octave means a run of 8 notes in a particular scale pattern, such as D major, or Bflat minor. The note of the scale patterns starts and stops the octave.
Hello folkfan - What you call Ionian in this last post is actually Aeolian. Ionian would be 1-5-5 (eg. DAA).
The notation for the mode indicates the key that the mode is being played in and the mode itself by way of the relationship of the notes to the start of the scale being used. So Dorian in D would DAG as Dorian is a 1-5-4 tuning putting the d at the 4th fret. The Ionian note relationship is 1/5/7 as the first note of the octave scale is D, the fifth note of the octave is A and the 7th note of the octave is C. The C is still considered in the first octave of the D scale. In DAd the d is both at the end of the first octave and the start of the second. The smaller d is frequently, but not always used to indicate that the melody d is an octave higher than the bass D.
The definition of octave means a run of 8 notes in a particular scale pattern, such as D major, or Bflat minor. The note of the scale patterns starts and stops the octave.
Hi Stephanie,
How would you pronounce Sithiche? I have no problems with Hebrew at all which is supposed to be so difficult but for some reason Gaelic just throws me. I guess being written in English characters I fall into my own pronunciation a little too easily. Gaelic rules are convoluted and those are my peoples!
There are tons of studies out now on music and healing and health. They have found that certain music can lower the blood pressure, lower the heart rate, change your mood, heal faster, recover faster, make babies and adults rest better, block pain and many other new applications. If your put in music therpy or music healing you will see hundreds of sites . Very interesting to me. I think God gave us this tool and we have no idea how powerful it is. Lots of hospitals are hiring stringed instrument players to assistat the bedside, recovery and even in surgery. They have surmised that the vibrations of the strings also play a part. Have a great day. LB
Stephanie Stuckwisch said:"Where harmony enhances health"!? Does that mean we're all going to live long lives? Or does it mean that those of us declared without talent will have surgeon general health warnings placed on our dulcimers?
Carol, The possum board with a leg is mine and was made for me by Dave Lynch. He's known as Harpmaker on the discussion because he also makes those as well as dulcimers. You can reach him through his web site Sweet Woods Instruments or go directly to harpmaker (at) sweetwoodsinstruments (dot) com or at 660/ 747 8618
carol anderson said:
I just came across this thread; and wondered if the possum board w/leg is available to buy somewhere, or if it was made by the owner of it?
I'd really like to get one!
It's funny, but I don't think of DAd and DAA as different tunings so much as different fret numberings. The scale notes are the same except for the 7th note using the 6. They're exactly the same using 6+. So DAd and DAA can play together in the major scale just fine. Never could figure out why people go nuts when someone else is playing the same note but on a different fret.
Judy, It lays across my lap flat down. Since the back has a large area covered with the no slip rubber shelf liner, I can angle it just like I angle my dulcimer and it doesn't move. Neither does the dulcimer as I've never lost a dulcimer off of a possum board.
Be a traditional player for awhile and tune the instrument to itself. Either start on the bass string or melody and choose a good pitch. The dulcimer will play fine without being at a 440 A exactly. 
And I hope your SNARK is found or that another arrives quickly. I love my tuners too.
A couple of dulcimer stands I have will hold a notebook when I'm playing but not the book and the dulcimer at the same time. It's a pain to have to take the notebook off to put my dulcimer down, so I designed a stand that will hold my music and hold my dulcimer at the same time. And it all folds down into a bag. Then I found this really light weight metal music stand so I designed an attachment that goes on it that holds my dulcimer. I really like dual purpose things.
The idea of a bag to hold an dulcimer on the back of my chair wouldn't be difficult to do though. I posted a picture of the canvas chair I take places with me. I could easily sew a velcro attachment system to the back. That way I could carry more than one dulcimer and know it would be safe. Thanks for the idea. Now back to the drawing board.
If I got one order, it would be for more than I could handle. The trick to the bag is the flat plastic skirt hanger I use for the top which goes over the closet door. It doesn't have any effect on the opening and closing of the doors. It is, however, the type of skirt hanger that has a metal over the rod hook which rotates and I only have 4 of them. hehehehe. So I can make the 4 bags I'd need but wouldn't be able to do anymore until I could find a steady source for something that would function as well as these skirt hangers do and still be at a reasonable price. I got them for free with some slacks I bought.
Recently I've been trying to figure out how to keep some of my instrument in my computer room without hanging them on the wall. I've tried hanging 4 of them from a closet door, but I don't really like hanging instrument by their peg heads, especially if they are being hung with pressure on the tuning machine heads. Also though I don't use the closet that much, when I do open the door the backs of the instruments sort of clatter on the wood. Not a good idea. So here's a picture of a prototype of a hanger bag for hanging on the door. It's just roughly done as my good sewing machine that I'd use to finish off the edges is broken at the moment.One instrument is hanging from a skirt hanger, but by it's peg head. The next one is hanging on an over the door hook with the cord through the scroll and not pulling on the tuners. The third is cradled in a quilted fabric bag and doesn't bang or clatter when the door is open. I'm going to make up 4 nicely finished bags on this pattern and get my dulcimers off the floor. And if things go as they have been this picture will be sideways. I'm not sure how to turn them.
Thanks. Here's an accessory I made for my brother, Dave. He is a luthier and does music festivasl and uses my quilts for table cloths. This one is long and narrow and made completely of hand dyed and batik fabrics.
Vicki Miles said:
Excellent idea and beautiful quilts!
Well I've shown you my favorite pickin' chair for at home, but I will admit to finding it difficult to put in the car. So here is my favorite chair for festivals or for just going outside and sitting on the deck. It's a wooden director's chair that I cut the arms off of so my dulcimer wouldn't be always bumping into them. (Picture 1) However, the lack of arms made the back unsturdy and I used it as a stool for awhile with just the arms down. (Picture 2)But since I wanted to keep the use of the back, I added some wooden braces. (Picture 3). For extra back support I throw a small quilt over it and add a pillow for a more upright sitting angle.(Picture 4)
My dulcimer teacher just introduced me to the folding foot stool made by Lee Felt (aka the Dulcimer Bag Lady). It fits just right for my stumpy little legs. I'm ordering one tomorrow. It'll be easier than sawing the legs of a chair (how does one get them all even?).
Wow after looking online those quilt stands are very pricey so it is not likely there will be one in the goodwill shop. Looking at it though I think some pine shelving and boards will do fine to make one with my jigsaw and drill. I think I will put a slant on it too so they won't fall off. Oh the wheels are turning!!!!
Thanks again Folkfan.
Wow after looking online those quilt stands are very pricey so it is not likely there will be one in the goodwill shop. Looking at it though I think some pine shelving and boards will do fine to make one with my jigsaw and drill. I think I will put a slant on it too so they won't fall off. Oh the wheels are turning!!!!
Thanks again Folkfan.
I would have to say my fiddle is my favorite accessory. Does that count? :)
