Forum Activity for @john-w-mckinstry

:"Heavenly Blue Moment"

The other day I walked up the upper deck stairs in search of small tomatoes. When I turned the corner, I was given a "Heavenly Blue Moment".  Just ahead of me was a beautiful six inch blossom of this morning glory.  We have been waiting for two years to see one.  One year there was too much shade. This year I chose a sunny location. All my others morning glories have been in blossom for over a couple of months now. I had just about given up when, in this first week of October, I was given this "Heavenly Blue Moment"!  I was worth the waiting.

!

Sally's Story (an old wooden cane)

Our great grandchild was visiting and the thing he liked most as he walked around and explored was my wife's cane. He went over to it and picked it up and walked around proudly with it as we smiled and clapped.  My wife then told this story about the old wooden cane. "The cane's name is Sally", she said. And then she continued," When your grandmother was four years old she saw her grampa sitting with this cane on the stairs to the front porch. The four year old said to her grampa, "Grampa does that cane make you feel important?"  To which her grampa replied, "No, Janet, I am important!."  Seeing that she loved the cane so much, we were all surprised when he gave it to her as a present. Our daughter came home proudly with the cane and announced that it's name was "Sally" .Sally, the cane, has become a prized possession of our daughter's and she has kept it by her bedside all these years.  One day, my wife needed a cane and our daughter said. "Here, mom. I'll lend you Sally."  God works in mysterious ways and it seems to me that the caring and support of that old cane, Sally, is still living on.

Hi, I have a new story for "The :Positive Thread".

I am not quite sure how to post it.? John McKinstry

Thanks for the support, NATE

THANKS DUSTY

thanks GORDON.

Thanks Ken

Thanks John!

Hi Everyone,  A couple of days ago I just got back from a six day stay at the hospital with pneumonia.

I am glad to be in rehabilitation now at home. Thanks for your prayers and support. John McKinstry

A  poet-friend, Val Coleman,  once sent me these lines:

"There is no storm

When the dulcimer sings.

Hatred and hurricanes

Wait in the wings."

As a dulcimer player I always have an appetite for something new. My latest is called: "Ala-Mode" !

:Hi Stumelia, I tried looking for "Sweet Hour of Prayer" and my prayer was answered. Thanks!

I havde an HP Laptop  computer and use Chrome for my browser. At this point any title from the videos says Forbidden. As an example I tried looking for Down in the Valley, and Sweet Hour of Prayer. I am not sure quite how to show down the browser and start again.

 When I go to search for past videos I get a message that says: Forbidden You don't have permission to access this resource. Apache/2,456 (Debian) Server at fotmd.com port 443  Do you have suggestions as to how to remedy this situation?

Thanks Benjamin and Dusty for your response.  Talking about seeing wild birds, I had a new bird come to our feeder a month ago: it was a male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.  I had seen them in bird books but to have a visit by a real one was a great treat!

Every morning before breakfast I look out at my whiskey barrel planter with a fuchia plant in it. I have been waiting for humming birds to discover it.  I am glad to announce that two came this morning for the first time. I now call this exciting moment: "Whisky Before Breakfast".

I just came across an old hymn by Mrs. Frank M. Breck entitled: "Help Somebody Today".          We used to sing it in Sunday School in the 1940"s and its message is as relevant today and makes a good New Year's Resolution. Here is the first verse and chorus: "Look all around you and find someone in need, Help somebody today. Tho' it be little a neighborly deed Help somebody today! (Chorus: Help somebody today Somebody along life's way. Let sorrow be ended the friendless befriended. Oh help somebody today!.)  I'm planning to share this hymn in a video on FOTMD soon but until then: Happy New Year Everyone

Things I am grateful for:

I am thankful for the many friends I have met through  the Friends of the Mt. Dulcimer website. They have sent me many touching messages of encouragement that I cherish.

 I am also thankful for the mountain dulcimer itself which produces such sweet, soothing music.

I am also thankful for family who take time to record my videos and encourage me to enter this larger world of sharing.

What a blessing to have found such a community that offers such peace, joy, and encouragement!

Here are Daffer & Annabell, pets of a friend. She says that they are giving a green thumb's up to my most recent video:

"Tutorial, Simple 3 Chord Sing a Long"  where I tell of singing Home on the Range" to my goats.

 Goat Test 2.jpg - 507KB

Hi Richard,  Six months ago I started wearing hearing aids and I also noticed that my dulcimers don't have that sweet quality sound I am accustomed to when wearing them. I too, either take them off, or use my remote to shut them down when I play. I am glad I am not they only one with this problem. 

Glad you liked it.  It sort of comforting in a day when otherwise we are dependent on electronics to harken back to simpler times. Speaking of which, I just found out that you can dial an app. on your Smartphone called, Cleartune. You then place the phone on your dulcimer to tune it.  Needless to say, I am not a techie and will stick with my Korg Tuner or the old reliable, "Do you hear what I hear?"

Responding to Royb and others looking for a simple way to tune to DAa or DAd, I found the suggestion of Joe Collins, a noted dulcimer teacher, very helpful. In his book: "Dulcimer Basics, A Mt. Dulcimer Primer",he suggests that in the sung phrase, "Do you hear what I hear.." in the Christmas carol, are the notes or intervals needed for DAd or DAa.

"Do you"=D (bass string);  "hear what"=A (middle string); "I"=d (melody string for DAd) and "hear"=(a)meldody string) DAa.  Used with permission from Joe.  Hope this is helpful. John

I like the dulcimer instruction book by Anne Lough, which came out in 2011: "Welcome to the Mountain Dulcimer, Instruction and songs for beginners", Although she uses a noter, you can use your fingers if you wish.  Her songs are mostly familiar to dulcimer people. She covers three different modes and also includes  chord charts. It comes with an accompanying CD.  

That's an original, Dusty, except from the quote of Vocabulary.com.

By the way I have painted a turtle to go along with this and I will post it

under photos soon!  Take care, John

To "Dusty Turtle" & all of my friends at FOTMD:

"Like the turtle may you float in the hard times

and bask in the good!"

"To bask in something is to take it in, receive

its warmth, or bathe in its goodness."

Vocabulary.com

February 17th is Ash Wednesday and I have been looking over Lenten hymns. One that  I particularly like is "When Jesus Left His Father's Throne" by James Montgomery.  It is in the Aeolian mode and is set to an  Old English melody. You can find it in  The Dulcimer Hymn Book" by  Bud and Donna Ford.  I plan to do this as a video on  FOTMD closer to Palm Sunday:"  I particularly like the verse in   "When Jesus Left His Father's Throne":

"When Jesus into Zion rode  The children sang around;  For joy they plucked the palms and strowed Their garments on the ground..."

Good choice, Gordon.  I wonder how you tuned your dulcimer to accompany with voice?

I'll start off this thread by mentioning one of my favorites:  "What Wondrous Love Is This?" or shortened to "Wondrous Love" Hymnary.Org says the author is Anonymous. It appeared in "Southern Harmony" and is in 221 hymnals. I found tabs for it in "The Dulcimer Hymnal" by Bud & Donna Ford, and in "White Spirituals and Folk Hymns" by Anne Lough.  Recordings of it can be heard on FOTMD Videos.  Search for "What Wondrous Love is This?"  by myself, John W. McKinstry, or "Wondrous Love" by Brian G.   I am sure that there may be other tabs to this and other recordings too but this is a start.

Do you have some favorite Lenten Hymns and further could you share where we might find the Mt. Dulcimer music for them or hear recordings of such hymns?

I like the idea of setting up such a thread but I am not sure how to go about it. Could you run me through the process?

Great idea Gordon.  Look forward to hearing and seeing your video and others who may join the Lenten theme.

I noticed in the calendar that Ash Wednesday is February 17th, the beginning of Lent and so I have been looking at Lenten hymns. To mark the beginning of Lent I have chosen a  Spiritual: "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me". This video will be posted on February 15th.

Hi Jill,  Good to hear from you.  Yes, I have posted "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in the video section of FOTMD.  I take comfort in playing the old hymns and often play them as a personal meditation time. 

Thanks Strumelia for seeing my cleverness. All joking aside, I wanted to share this with others for it took me a long time to discover how to do this. For those who may be interested in the three chords I use: F, Bb.& C my fingering for them is as follows:  Starting with the top string and with the  capo on the third fret:  F= 3 3 3 or 5.3 3  Bb= 6 4 3  C= 4 3 4.   btw I found that fingering the F chord on the dulcimer is a lot easier than on the guitar.  I am afraid arthritis is catching up on and that is one more reason I am thankful for the dulcimer.

I am working on the hymn: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". Hymnals have it in the key of F with one flat which puts it in a good singing range. I put my dulcimer into F by capo-ing on the 3rd fret while the strings are tuned C G C. I have worked out the three basic chords F, B, and C to accompany my singing of this hymn. I'll do the video of this hymn for FOTMD soon for you to hear and see what I have done.

Sometimes I have found that reading dulcimer tabs can be confusing. If you use three lines to represent the three stings and say you are in a 1-5-8 tuning your lower notes may be on the middle of top line. This is the reverse of regular musical score.  I have found that if I use my chromatic tuner (Korg) it tells me what note I am sounding on the dulcimer so then I can translate this into regular musical score. It makes it easier to tell which note is really up or down. I know that there is something in Table Edit to help you here and there are probably templates that can help in translating tab to musical score or vice versa. I have found that  using the chromatic tuner is a simple way for me. Perhaps others have other suggestions?

Thanks Richard for playing this hymn for these difficult times of Covid.   Pastor Martin Rinkart's  city of Eilenberg, Germany  had suffered from plague, famine, and fear.  He brokered the peace to settle this "Thirty Years War", and then wrote this hymn of thanksgiving.

"A Taste of Jam"

Recently I rediscovered the "Athens Dulcimers" website. They offer: "Beginner Tunes", and "Basic Jam Tunes".  They play by ear in these videos, but through research I came up with tabs to help me at first with these tunes.  My goal now is to play by ear like they do too. Now I have a taste jam before joining the real thing. 

Hi, My daughter has had trouble posting a video of mine that she put on You Tube to FOTMD.

I think the problem is that I have forgotten the password.  Can I get a new pass word by 

going to the settings and entering a new one?  Can one just use numbers in the password

or if I use letters and numbers is there a certain length that they should be?

Hi D, I am glad you asked that question for I have wondered about this myself. I understand the total size of the dulcimers is the same. I think the advantage would be in the fact that the frets would be slightly closer together which would help in playing chords.