2016 National Mountain Dulcimer Contest results
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Congratulations Mark.. well done!
Congratulations Mark.. well done!
Wow Strumelia that was brilliant and so very clever. Bravo!!
Steven and Charles, you crack me up..
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wow Wowdy Wow Wow! That is brilliant. Thanks for posting that link Jan.. a wonderful find!
Thats great that u r both going Jan.
I recently got the 1.5 and 8.5 frets mfor n the first time, and i love 'em both.
Happy New Year to you and your Mom Lexie. We miss you too.
Thank you Lisa.. Happy New Year to all FOTMD members out there, be well, be happy and enjoy the wonderful instrument we all share.
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 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.
So glad you girls got to go away together...now if only the walls could talk
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.
Cool ! . I get what u mean...i hear the difference if i hold my learners below the groove. Ta for the advice.
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...
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.
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.
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.
Fabulous Podcasts! Patricia and Wayne...really appreciated down here in Oz. Thank you so much.
It sounds like a good time was had by all. Jeff, it was great u ou could take your Dad.
She sounds wonderful Robert. Sure was worth the effort.
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
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.
A new instrument of any kind is always nice James. Enjoy!