2016 National Mountain Dulcimer Contest results
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Congratulations Mark.. well done!
Forum Activity for @helen-seiler
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Tabor Pipe and Drum
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Wow Strumelia that was brilliant and so very clever. Bravo!! 
Help! (dulcimer acquisition disease)
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Steven and Charles, you crack me up.. 
Tabor Pipe and Drum
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Wow! i just looked up a Youtube clip.. what a great sound. Good on you guys having a go at learning it. This one is way beyond my coordination skills.
Help! (dulcimer acquisition disease)
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
You're so right Colleen.. the lay away plan is a beaut... an a great temptation. I am a hopeless saver but i am good at paying special things off and a new dulcimer is very special to me.
Help! (dulcimer acquisition disease)
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Ken you are spot on... its pretty wild out there. I could hold the Coober Pedy dulcimer festival underground.. its to darn hot for a dulcimer outside.
Help! (dulcimer acquisition disease)
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Gee, i am not reallly trying with just 8 then. I never thought of having one for each day of the month... i need a bigger house! I just ordered a new baritone from Ron Gibson... there is nothing like the smell of a new dulcimer in the breeze. My sister asked what would i do when the time came to go into an Aged Care home where i had just one small room. I told her 'Easy! Just pack all my dulcimers and 20 pairs of underpants and i am good to go'... oh and all the music books... and the banjo... and.... hmm, might need to rethink that plan.
Amazing marble music machine
OFF TOPIC discussions
Wow Wowdy Wow Wow! That is brilliant. Thanks for posting that link Jan.. a wonderful find!
Dulcimer U in Cullowee, NC this July - anyone going or have gone?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Thats great that u r both going Jan. 
Extra Frets
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I recently got the 1.5 and 8.5 frets mfor n the first time, and i love 'em both.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FOMTD MEMBERS!
OFF TOPIC discussions
Happy New Year to you and your Mom Lexie. We miss you too.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FOMTD MEMBERS!
OFF TOPIC discussions
Thank you Lisa.. Happy New Year to all FOTMD members out there, be well, be happy and enjoy the wonderful instrument we all share.
$10 Dulcimer Stand Conversion Project
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Great job Susie and very cleverly thought out. I do something similar but in a very lazy way. Using the same sort of stand, I stretch a wool beanie hat across the normal bottom prongs and let the bottom of the dulcimer sit in the soft cradle the beanie makes, then i make sure the top bit of the stand is extended to it full secure height.. it seems to take all but one of my dulcimers, that is a bit longer. Most of my dulcimers have approx 27.5" vsl.
Hello and a little info
OFF TOPIC discussions
Hello Dana, so sorry for your loss. I am very glad you got away with the girls, what a lovely trio! Welcome to the next chapter of your life, may it be filled with love, music, good health, friends and plenty of fried Spam! We have missed you.
Hello and a little info
OFF TOPIC discussions
So glad you girls got to go away together...now if only the walls could talk 
Playing the Bones
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Am making good progress on running triplets... can even use ungrooved end of my beginner bones now. I have ordered a pair of hickory and a pair walnut standard (grown-up) bones from Elderly this time, as I have discovered my left hand can play better than I ever thought possible...whether both hands can play together... well?? I guess I will find that out. Will post a clip when/if I get going on both hands. I find it very relaxing to practice...a bit like noisy worry beads.
Playing the Bones
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Cool ! . I get what u mean...i hear the difference if i hold my learners below the groove. Ta for the advice. 
Playing the Bones
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I was so inspired by Lisa's bones playing that i ordered a maple beginner set. Although they are curved, they cheat by having a groove cut in them to make sure they sit in the right position between your fingers. They arrived yesterday with the short instruction dvd i ordered and i love 'em....i am totally hooked. I managed The Snap first go and after a while started getting triplets happenning now and then. I can see how hard it would be without the grooves....hopefully i will graduate to a regular set later on. I only ordered one pair because i thought my left hand was so useless but to my surprise it can do a bit too. So i might order another pair at Christmas time. I just need to decide on what timber to get to contrast with the click tone of the maple. Thanks for the inspiration Lisa....now if i could just borrow Brian... 
Playing the Bones
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
My beginner set of bones are due to arrive from Missouri any day now. I've apologised to my neighbours in advance. Thanks for the inspiration Lisa.
Positive game-changers in your progress
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Great summation Jan and i think this is one of the best (and for me, most useful) discussions we've had. Thanks Dusty re the chord info...i will put that to work. Robin, you are so right about rhythm being so important....i have just finally got the metronome out and am working on the exercises in my Techniques book and Bing' Blues book. Boy it is hard but i am gonna stick it out. Was at a jam last night and although i could finally match a couple of chords, i was hopeless at matching the rhythm of the squeezebox and guitar player. Thats another game changer for me. I have started to learn the chord and note names that i play. I never bothered when i learnt...just followed the tab or my ear. I recently set myself the task to learn 2 chord names a week. I can also put a few other game changers brought up in this discussio into my own playing. Its great so many of us have contributed on this one. Hope we get more.
Positive game-changers in your progress
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Great discussion topic Jan. For me the arrival of my first bum-diddy made a very big difference to my playing tho i am a bit of an addict now...bum'diddying all over the place. It really freed up my playing.
A new podcast about the mountain dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Fabulous Podcasts! Patricia and Wayne...really appreciated down here in Oz. Thank you so much.
FSofM or Folk Society of Midland Festival
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
It sounds like a good time was had by all. Jeff, it was great u ou could take your Dad.
dulcimer finds its voice
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
She sounds wonderful Robert. Sure was worth the effort.
Hello and a little info
OFF TOPIC discussions
You are a legend young Dana...well done! ... and I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I hope u get the big hug i sent your way this week via another member. Helen x
Possum board question: pros and cons
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Yep, it has two ajustment bars but the board itself is a rectangle about the length and width of a standard dulcimer.
Possum board question: pros and cons
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
I have a possum board made by Dave Lynch of Sweetwoods dulcimers. It increases my volume by about a third. Not flashy to look at but cleverly made and very effective....inexpensive too.
Tenor guitar players?
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
A new instrument of any kind is always nice James. Enjoy!
I just ordered a Didgeridoo!
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I will try to do a quick clip today Strumelia.
I just ordered a Didgeridoo!
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
My didgeridoo arrived in one piece and I was thrilled to get a drone out of it straight away (quite similar to the tuba playing I did many years ago). I am getting good variation in tone but struggling with getting my voice into some animal sounds but it is coming very slowly. The beginners dvd I got with it is great and I got a month of free online lessons too, they will cover circular breathing in about ten days time. The great thing about playing a didg is that u need to be relaxed to get a good drone and the warm up exercises help with that. It is amazing to feel the connection the didg gives u with long ago. Its the oldest woodwind instrument in the world. I have a double Native American flute on its way from High Spirits (on special for Oct ) and it drones too. So with dulcimer, didg and double NAF, I am surrounded by drones. Great for me, maybe not so great for my neighbours. No John Henry, bagpipes are not next.......lol.
I just ordered a Didgeridoo!
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Thanks guys, my biggest fear is that all I will manage to do is blow my dental plate thru it at a hundred miles an hour ...lol. I am hoping that my brass instrument, harmonica and NAF experience might help in some way. It comes with a tuition video and a month of free online lessons....that cover lots of stuff, including circular breathing. Sadly there is no Friends of the Didgeridoo site.
I just ordered a Didgeridoo!
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I am not sure on the pitch of the beginners model. I think u need to spend a lot more to pick a key. I did see an adjustable acrylic Didge that could play in three different keys depending on how it was adjusted. But acrylic just doesn't seem right to me. I have seen a guy perform with two. I know the length affects the pitch. Shorter ones have a higher pitch than longer ones. This company sell small, medium and large. Mine is a medium with a beeswax mouth piece.but given my coordination is barely dealing with me playing dulcimer and a foot tambourine on Old Joe Clark, I dont like my chances of managing dulcimer and Didge. There's a challenge for John Keane. I bet he can do it.
I just ordered a Didgeridoo!
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
After receiving my lovely Scheitholdt last month I have been strumming up a storm. As an aussie I have always enjoyed listening to Didgeridoo playing (an instrument of the indigenous Australians). Recently I found an Aussie website www.didgeridoobreath.com -they sell all sorts of didges and ship them all over the world. They even have special beginner packages that include a medium Didge and a lesson dvd plus a month of free online lessons for $99 plus shipping. I ordered a starter package that will be here in a week. So there could be some interesting noises coming from my house soon. Wish me luck.
updated by @helen-seiler: 03/02/19 07:43:45PM