Forum Activity for @dusty

I think there are two points of confusion here.  One is that dulcimers and guitars have traditionally had different construction. Whereas guitars clearly have both a bridge and a saddle, dulcimers sometimes have a saddle inserted directly in (or on, if it is floating) the extension of the fingerboard, and sometimes there is a single wooden piece (which may or may not be braced) with a broad bottom and a much narrower top, functioning as both a bridge and a saddle.  And recently many dulcimer luthiers have indeed been opting for guitar-type construction with a clear bridge and saddle.  Because of this variation, many people, myself included, almost never use the term "saddle" and just refer to the bridge regardless of whether we are referring to the part attached to the soundboard or the part with grooves through which the strings lay.  But I've been corrected by more than a few professional luthiers when I've used the term "bridge" instead of the more precise "saddle." 

As long as they understand what VSL I want and how far apart I want the strings, they can call it bubble gum and I don't care.

Interestingly, over the past 2 weeks I've had three people whom I had never met contact me to take online dulcimer lessons.  None of them are within 2 hours of me, and one is in another state.  Perhaps people are becoming more comfortable with distance technology or perhaps people are just deciding that they might as well learn an instrument while sheltering at home.  I don't know the reasons, but it's nice to be able to share music at this time.

@Cindy-Stammich, we've been buying groceries for my mother-in-law, too.  She tells us what she needs and we leave it outside her door.  Once or twice, just to get out of the house, she has driven over to our place for the pickup, and yes, it is so hard not to hug her, but she is so vulnerable that I would never forgive myself if she got sick because we were careless in our contact with her.  I want her to be around when we get a vaccine, or enough tests for everyone, or however this ends.

There are two different reasons for pick clack. One is the sound of the pick flipping as it strikes a string.  That sound is much more pronounced with thinner picks than with heavier ones.  And some pick material also makes less noise than others.

The other sound is the pick hitting the fretboard.  But that is why people talk about technique.  Your pick should not be going so deep into the strings that you hit the fretboard. Rather, you should be gliding along the top. Addiitonally, angling the pick so it is not parallel to the string but only hits it on the side (for righties, that means the left side going out and the right side coming in) also reduces the noise the pick makes and helps avoid getting in between the strings to hit the fretboard.

Personally, I enjoy heavy picks that allow for much greater timing accuracy, so I have little problem with that first sound.  And when I record or perform I use a ridiculously expensive pick that someone gave me which produces almost no sound at all.

But I still sometimes get sloppy with my picking and hit the fretboard, especially if I get to playing pretty fast. That's one reason I like my McCafferty with the extended strum hollow since I don't have to worry about my less-than-perfect strumming technique.

There's nothing wrong with adding some percussive sounds as we play, but it ought to be on purpose, and as Irene says, we might not want it on every song we play.

Terry McCafferty makes what he calls an "extended" strumhollow.  Bascically he cuts off the fretboard a few frets early to creater a longer and more usable strumhollow.  How many of us actually fret those little tiny frets above 14 anyway?  Take a look at his instruments and you'll see what I'm talking about.  I love playing with the extra long strumhollow.

It might be that @Natebuildstoys saw Stephen with one of Terry's dulcimers.  He's been playing them a lot the last few years.

I've been concentrating recently not on a single song but a whole bunch of songs from the American west around the mid-19th century: Strawberry Roan, Lorena, Billy the Kid, Green Grow the Lilacs, and The Maid of Monterey.

@Richard-Streib, I don't know where I heard this, but supposedly the "Buffalo" in "Buffalo Gals" was originally whatever town the band was playing in, so it might be "Albany Gals" or "Charlotte Gals" or "Montpelier Gals" or whatever.  The song was often sung as the last song of the night and was an invitation to the ladies in the audience to hang out with the band after the show.

It's crazy that parents would let their kids run around with other kids, as though there were no social consquences to those kinds of interactions.  Some people just don't get it.  I've been going for a short (and slow) 3-mile jog with my daughter most days.  We jog to a large park and in the park do indeed see other people out and about.  But for the most part people are respectful about keeping their distances.  When other joggers approach from different directions they both move off to the side to ensure sufficient distance between them.

On Sunday my neighbors invited me to play music with them in their front yard.  I brought my own chair and my own water. We sat about 10 feet apart and even wore masks.   We did talk about the fact that since we were far enough apart the masks weren't necessary, but we wanted to model behavior for our kids.  It was fun, and my first real (in-person) interactions with non family members, although it was hard to hear the vocals underneath the masks.  We did a few John Prine songs for obvious reasons, an old Ray Price tune to which Ian & Sylvia Tyson added some French lyrics, and one of my favorite Iris DeMent tunes, "Sweet is the Melody."  It was fun, but also sad.  Barbeque season is starting and we won't be able to have those neighborhood parties with people grilling food, kids running around, people grabbing ice-cold beer out of coolers, a handful of musicians keeping the melodies floating around, horseshoes, water balloons, and watermelon seed spitting contests.  Now I'm getting nostalgic for the innocent pre-virus days.  It's hard to hug people when you meet in Zoom. In fact, that last sentiment is a line in the DeMent tune I just mentioned: "An arm's just an arm 'til it's wrapped 'round a shoulder."

I joined initially mainly out of curiosity, but have not been too active there. I miss the old site, but just because this place has the same name and basic organization of content doesn't mean it's the same.  What made the old site was the people there, not the name of the site.  And most of the more active people there are interacting here.  I do think it matters that the administrator is anonymous, especially when he/she participates in discussions (which is often).  I also have mixed feelings about his (or her) having just appropriated the domain name instead of coming up with something new. 

Jan, I'm glad your test came back negative. At least there's that.  It really seems like your friend is in a tough spot.  As for cards, I honestly find it so time-consuming to pick out a pre-written card that's right (male cousin, mother-in-law, step-grandson, ARGH!, then Valentine's Day, Birthday, Get Well, Condolances,  ARGH!) that I just have a collection of cards with pretty phogrphas (close-ups of flowers, a peacock's feathers, autumn leaves reflecting on a lake, etc) and nothing written inside.  I prefer those to the pre-printed ones that try to idenitfiy the event and the relationship of the recipient.

Funny song, Lois!

Amidst all the horrific news of increasing infections and increasing mortality, it is indeed heartwarming everyday to see people looking out for one another, a testament to the caring nature of the human spirit.

I braved the grocery store today for the first time in a couple of weeks and was so glad to see the shelves filled with eggs, meat, and bread.  Those three items had been hard to get for about a month, so maybe the panicked buying (that was causing me to panic) has subsided. 

What a great way to start, with a smiling Robin and her bright and melodic dulcimer! You can even hear the birds chirping outside their open window.

@Lois-Sprengnether-Keel, feel free to contact me directly for questions about the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering. We are on the verge of officially announcing the virtual version, and when that happens I'll update the event listing here .  The original plan for the virtual event was to do all the same workshops.  We're working on revising things (and reducing the price) for on online gathering, so check back with me later on and I should have more definitive information.

I think the hammered dulcimer workshop was only on Sunday and everything on Saturday is for the mountain dulcimer. 

It's too bad so many dulcimer festivals and concerts are getting canceled.  We are going to try to do the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering entirely online.  Let's see how that goes. That bad part is that we won't be able to all gather together.  The good part is that people from around the world could join. Maybe it will be a new way to get together that we'll want to continue even when sheltering in place is no longer necessary.

What a cool guitar, @lisavb. I've been eyeing some guitars recently, but since I hardly play the ones I have it's hard to justify another purchase.

For the record, I also cut my own hair recently, which is why no one will be seeing any pictures of me sans hat.

They were the strong, dominant alfalfa sprouts that like to take command, known colloquially as alphalpha sprouts.

Late last night or early this morning, I received my bi-weekly delivery of fresh produce from the farm-to-table service I subscribe to.  Everything is grown within a 200-mile radius of my home, and it all arrives super-fresh. I just prepared a salad for lunch, with red-leaf lettuce, radishes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and alphalpha sprouts.  I added some cold sliced beef left over from dinner last night and made a nice vinaigrette highlighted by some fresh-squeezed meyers lemons from our tree out back. I haven't even eaten it yet, but it looks so yummy!  The beef came from a delivery service, too, so I was able to put all this together without leaving the house.  Now where's my fork?

I feel a bit guilty for living so well while this viral cloud has shut down nearly the whole world.

@Tom-g, our schools here closed just around that time, too. It's great that you are able to use this time on such a rewarding project.  Action on older dulcimers was often high because those playing with a noter don't need the action as low as those of us who use our fingertips.  The dulcimer sure looks lush and beautiful in the picture!

Last night I had a virtual happy hour (the beer was real) with a few friends from college.  We were spread across three time zones but got together online to chat for a little while.  It was nice to catch up with them and their families and to share some laughs and nostalgia.  Under normal circumstances we would not have done this, but it's a good example of how collectively confronting this pandemic can bring people closer together even while we engage in social distancing.

What a cozy-looking cradle to raise some cute little tomato seedlings.

Here's a little tongue-in-cheek silliness.  I put new lyrics to the old blues tune "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride" and came up with "She Caught the 'Rona and Left Me in Quarantine."

There's some tab from the old Everything Dulcimer website available at www.dulcimertab.com.  Just look it up alphabetically.  I can't vouch for it, though.

hummingbirds, bluebirds, and bees

frolick among my citrus trees.

were it not for these

and the fresh spring breeze

I'd be panicked about

this dreaded disease.

That's pretty good, David.  I had a similar idea.  I put new lyrics to the old blues song "She caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride." My version goes "She caught the 'rona and left me in quarantine."  I played a few verses at the virtual version of my local dulcimer group last weekend.  I originally intended a serious song, but there are a lot of funny words to rhyme with quarantine and I just had to include them, so it ended up pretty silly. If I get a chance to make a recording I'll post it here.  

I have a medium-sized bottle of Purell which I would gladly give someone if they came to my house to cut my hair.  We could just do it in the front yard.  If you see me wearing a hat, it's not for style; it's just hiding the gray jungle underneath.

I've been doing whiskey in a quart jar.  Oh . . . wait . . . I meant to post in the Unhealthy Living Forum. 

Seriously, I'm a fan of sprouts but have never grown my own.

That's very touching, Butch.  Thanks.  Even though you don't sing the words, the music is so soft and sensitive that it fully captures the spirit and mood of the song.

I'm glad you were able to get tested, Jan.  Good luck!

I felt like a conquering hero when I returned home this morning with a couple dozen eggs and some chicken.  Neither had been available anywhere nearby for some time.  I got the last of the eggs and the grocer admitted that he was having trouble getting them.  Doesn't make sense. Restaurants are closed or only serving take-out and the farmers' markets are all closed. You would think there would be plenty of eggs available for retail sale.

You're correct, @Tom-McDonald, you can't really jam using any of the teleconferencing software since the feed is not immediate and different attendees have different upload speeds as well.  But it does appear to work on your end if you mute your mic and play along with someone else. What I'm planning is just a circle in which we take turns sharing a tune or two. 

Yeah, the Zoom version of my local dulcimer group scheduled for Saturday already has 15 attendees, which is too much, I think, but I didn't have the heart to turn anyone away. After this first time I might do a couple each month but cap them at 10.  

My family and I do not appear to be infected yet. My wife and I still have our jobs.  We haven't run out of toilet paper yet. I feel pretty lucky.

You know your dulcimer has a hold on you when . . . you are obliged to cancel your monthly dulcimer club because of a global pandemic and you offer to host a Zoom meeting so everyone can still share dulcimer music!  Yep, that's what I'm doing.  Five people have already confirmed attendance. We meet next weekend!

Yes, it is discouraging. I feel the same way about the California group.  The regional groups in general have little activity.  However, if you post something there the members will probably get an alert, so it's worth a try.  Over time you'll find that there is lots of activity here in other places, especially the Beginner Group and the General Mountain Dulcimer Forum. And hopefully you'll start to notice people who are not far from you.

By the way, where in NH are you? I went to high school in Boston and drove a delivery truck for a few years throughout eastern New England. I had one regular NH day each month.  Of course, that was a long time ago, when I had more hair and less belly.

@Don-B, I would also encourage you to join the Northeastern US Group and post a discussion looking for folks from NH.  I am a member of the California Group, and you would think a state as big as ours would have lots of activity.  But I have to confess once I posted to alert everyone to an annual event and found that the last post was mine from a year earlier doing the same thing!  

The groups often get started with the best of intentions but then interest sags.  Most of us find our interests in a few of the biggest groups and some Forum discussions, and the proliferation of groups merely makes it harder to find materials later.  It fact, it might be time for us to cull the proverbial herd of Groups here.

In the meantime, you might try to contact Paddiwhack , a couple from southern New Hampshire (Manchester, perhaps) that plays dulcimer-centric music.

Just yesterday afternoon as I was cancelling my monthly dulcimer group, county officials issued a stay-at-home directive.  We're allowed to shop for groceries or go to medical appointments, but everything else is on hold.

@Dan, you're one of the few among us whose work is genuinely necessary right now.  Keep on trucking!

For those of you traveling like @Irene and @Norm3206, I hope you get home quickly and pass through as few crowded spaces as possible.

I certainly applaud your efforts, @Carla-Maxwell, to postpone festivals and decline gigs at the moment.  

@Jan-Potts, one tip you might try if you have trouble getting groceries.  One of the closest supermarkets to our house offers a curbside pickup option.  You order food online, they give you a pickup time, and they bring the bags right to your car.  Aside from being able to avoid crowds, my wife discovered that this option gives you access to food that has not reached the shelves.  So inside the store there is no bread or chicken on the shelves, but she was able to order both online for pickup.  Some of you might investigate that option for replenishing your larder.

For years I've been using a farm-to-table delivery service for fresh vegetables and another for frozen meat.  I'll be expanding my use of both of those for the foreseeable future.

Stay safe, people, but keep playing music!

@UserNo4, that sounds like life here in Northern California.  I have been working from home for about 10 years, so my work is not affected. But otherwise . . . The schools are closed, although my daughter is already working with her teachers in Google Classroom.  The churches are closed and offering some services online, but that doesn't help elderly, tech-ignorant folks like my mother-in-law.  My wife is working (mostly unsuccessfully) from home as are most other state workers. Bars and cafes have been closed. Restaurants have been asked to reduce capacity by 50 percent, but most are closing as few people feel safe in such establishments.  Many retail shops have closed, including some music stores.  Gyms have all closed.  My daughter's soccer club has suspended all games and practices. 

It had been raining for the past few days, and I'm happy to see some sunshine today, for at least we can get outside for a stroll or some yardwork.

I think I have no choice but to cancel my monthly dulcimer club. The music store where we meet is trying to stay open, but since we have been told to hunker down in our homes, I don't want to give conflicting advice and suggest we all gather together.

"Coronstipation" and "Skip by the Loo" -- y'all are too funny!

@dmvtatter, what a coincidence that you retired right at this moment.  Congratulations!  I work from home about 90 percent of the time, so my work life has not changed. But schools have shut down so my daughter is home every day, and my wife was just told that she will be working from home, too, which will be a big change for her whole office.  The house will be busier than normal, and the dog will just love it!

I, too, am expecting to play a lot of dulcimer during this down period, although I think I have no choice but to cancel our monthly dulcimer gathering.  I could easily configure our space so that we were not too close together, but I would never forgive myself if someone got sick because of our group.  

Perhaps some of you have seen some of the videos of Italians quarantined at home singing from balconies (like this one with encouraging videos from China as well).  All around the world people are facing challenges dealing with and trying to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.  How is it affecting you?  Are you still going to work?  Children and grandchildren home from school?  Dulcimer festivals closing?  

Please do not offer 1) any political commentary or 2) any medical advice.  We want to ensure that FOTMD remains a space free of partisan bickering and never offers false or misleading medical information.

I think the point of the original post was not to give up and think you can't do something, but to accept that you might not be able to do it "yet."  That is certainly good advice.

I've told this story before, but when I was first starting on the dulcimer I bought some tab from Tull Glazener to learn a song I had always loved, but there were some chords in the very beginning that I just could not play.  It seemed I could not force my fingers into those shapes. I got frustrated, tossed the tab up in the air and walked away.  I didn't give up on the dulcimer, but I just gave up on playing that song.  About 6 or 8 months later I was cleaning up a bit and moved a book case to clean behind it.  A piece of paper had fallen there, and I picked it up to see that it was the tab I had tossed in frustration.  I sat down to try to remember what it was about the song that I was unable to play, and you know what?  I was able to do it!  What had once seemed impossible was, some time later and with no conscious effort, now fully do-able.  I'm so glad I didn't decide initially that I couldn't play the dulcimer or couldn't play chords or whatever.

So if you find a technique or a chord beyond your abilities now, don't fret ( ). Just keep playing and you'll see that over time your skills (and the muscles in your fingers) will develop and you'll improve. It might take a while, so be patient and find joy in what you are capable of playing even while you hope one day to be able to play more challenging stuff. About five years ago I realized that my pinky was really weak and near useless.  So I developed some exercises and some songs that emphasized the pinky.  I worked on that stuff regularly, but it took a long while.  About two years later I was playing a tune and realized that my pinky had become just as strong as my other fingers.  I now find chording fairly easy and natural, but it was certainly not that way at the beginning.

If you join a gym with the goal of running 5 miles on a treadmill, you wouldn't decide on your first day that because you tired out after 1/2 mile you were incapable of running 5. You would understand that it takes time to develop the skills and abilities to reach your goal. The same is true of playing music.

The real trick, I think, is to avoid letting the frustration overwhelm the joy we get from playing music.  Learn to play the simple stuff well, even if you still have ambitions to play more challenging material.

Now that we're all likely to be staying at home more than usual, I think musicians will have an easier time than most.  At least we have a hobby that you can do by yourself and from which we derive immense pleasure.

Supposedly Robert Johnson was a lousy guitarist and was forced out of a bar where he was performing.  He returned six months or a year later the best guitarist anyone had ever heard.  The myth holds that he made a pact with the devil, selling his soul in exchange for his superior musicianship.  I think he just practiced scales and licks for a year. 

That's what I'm going to do. Practice my dulcimer, learn some new tunes, maybe develop some material to teach beginners, and I'll come out of this a better musician. A lonely musician, yes, but a better one.