Friends, Saturday 30 August, is the date for worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day. Please, feel free to post here about your PMOTPD adventures! Happy strumming!
@dan I hadn't thought that far ahead. :) I can start a thread.
@ken-longfield I hope you both have a delightful 56th anniversary and happy strumming!
@dulcinina It's one of the best holidays-- a day for all to celebrate the joy music can bring to our lives!
This coming Saturday, 30 August, 2025 is worldwide PMOTPD!
I have this album and like it ever-so-much! If you are musically curious about mountain dulcimer as a primary instrument in the world of classical music composition, this is a recording you'll not want to miss!
@salt-springs Such a lovely way to honor the life and legacy of David Schnaufer!
I've read Pluck a couple times-- so much to learn about modern mountain dulcimer history! Linda Paulus's work combined with Robert Force's autobiographical writings have taught me so much about how the mountain dulcimer traveled here in the U.S. and abroad.
Worldwide Play Music On The Porch day 2025 edition is two weeks away-- 30 August 2025!
If it's in your heart to go outdoors and make some music, I hope you'll have a lovely time!
Alex, we were out in the car today and listened again.
My knowledge of classical music is next-to-nothing and the poet & novelist Amy Levy was completely unfamiliar to me. So, I am not equipped to give a proper review. I know enough, though, to know I like your recording lots! Your work on mountain dulcimer offers surprises and suits so well paired with Victoria Vargas. Ms. Vargas's voice-- Brava!-- has a lovely timbre.
Y'all have made a wonderfully unique contribution to classical music!
Alex, truly, you have a groundbreaking work here! I listen to cds in the car and, today, listened to this impeccable work.
If memory serves, many songs in the Ritchie family came from "Uncle Jason" and Jean wrote of this in Singing Family of the Cumberlands .
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2015/06/jean-ritchie-1922-2015/
Here is a link for the Jean Ritchie group here at FOTMD:
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group/24/fans-of-jean-ritchie
I'm glad I asked and appreciate your response lots! A fan of drones here!
Though Jean learned on a 3-string dulcimer, for her second instructional recording (Homespun), she played 4 equidistant strings and noted one string. For accompanying her vocals, she often strummed with her thumb instead of a turkey quill or plectrum fashioned from a plastic coffee can lid.
Very nice of you to listen to my music!
Ah, it's curious noter-drone style has been an influence on what you do! I'm wondering whether a particular style(s) of play in the noter tradition influenced you to some greater degree (for example, was Jean Ritchie a big influence or field recordings of players in the Galax tradition, etc.)?
Oh, so uncommonly good, Alex! I've ordered a couple of your cds and look forward to hearing them!
I only knew of Carol (I believe she was connected to the Smithsonian some way) so it is good to know about the work she and Mark did together. His instruments are beauties!
@ken-longfield Elements of the instrument remind me of a Mize-- what do you think? I'm wondering whether a highly skilled woodworker built it based on Bob Mize's piece in Foxfire and/or patterned this one off an actual Mize instrument. The tuning pegs look to be nicely hand-carved (and Bob Mize's carved pegs were lovely). I could be way off track with this line of thinking, though.
@peter-harklau Hey, Re-Pete! Good to see you. I still have one of the t-shirts you designed. 
@strumelia We were happy she learned the little tune and made it a little cello tune. 
(a very little cello emoji haha)
Lots of modern mountain dulcimer history and David's connections to so many players and places-- loved it! I think I've read it twice.
Way cool, Dan. I like the KY hourglass shape lots.
I've been whipped by a string before-- it smarts.
I re-tune a lot and would, once in a great while, break a string. What I noticed, finally, is my string breaks occurred when I was tuning a string down. What was happening: the string would stick at the nut, so, when tuning down, the string was "pushing" against where the string was stuck in the nut, causing the break. Now, when I re-tune, I put downward pressure on the strings between the tuning pegs and the nut-- -- no breaks.
@terry-jaye The scale in the little video sounds pretty good to my ear. Happy strumming!
@jennifer-landry I'm glad you were able to acquire that pretty Bill Berg instrument-- enjoy!
Scroll to the bottom of this page on Terry McCafferty's website for a little information:
https://www.mccaffertydulcimers.com/frequently-asked-questions
Though I'm not sure, I think Mr. Gallier is no longer building.
Jamie, I used to whack out a few Appalachian Old-Time fiddle tunes. Mostly, I play slow stuff these days.
@matt-berg The main reason I could identify the tuners is I have 8 of them here in my house.
I can vouch for the quality of this type of Schaller tuner-- they were on a Blue Lion I came by used several years ago. As has been suggested, the tuner screws on these rarely need attention.
The tuners in the photo @lilley-pad posted are of very nice planetary-type tuners and are not inexpensive. In the photo, they're on what I'm pretty certain is a Blue Lion dulcimer. The type of tuners pictured can be seen here on a Blue Lion: https://www.bluelioninstruments.com/Dulc.pix/IIW.jpg
What a lovely instrument! Made by a very skilled woodworker, for sure. No 6.5 fret and not a reproduction build of some kind. It's very cool.
@frank-dudgeon It'd be fun to try it as a trio yet our niece lives in another state and we don't often see her. We're happy you love our little tune!
@john-petry @dusty @macaodha @frank-dudgeon I'm happy y'all enjoyed the cello version of a mountain dulcimer & guitar tune! I thought it would sound neat on cello, so the last time I saw my niece I talked to her about whether or not she'd be interested in learning the tune so I sent her our SoundCloud link.
For anyone interested in comparing how the tune was translated from our duo tune to a cello tune, here's a link from here at FOTMD for comparison:
P.S.- @steve-c You may well know the location where the long-gone Peony farm was located-- roughly, behind old Unioto School just outside Chillicothe.
@steve-c She grew up in SW OH! (Music degrees, though, from Ohio and Butler universities.)
One of our nieces is a cellist and, by my request, learned one of our mountain dulcimer/guitar duo tunes to play on cello.
You have a treasure there-- happy strumming!
@lilley-pad Don passed away a few years back.
While I'm thinking about it, John Henry was, to my knowledge, our elder participant in IADD. And he met Jean Ritchie many years ago on one of her trips to the UK. Also, Val Hughes noted some time ago that it was Jean Ritchie who introduced the mountain dulcimer to Ireland. Val contributed audio recordings here at FOTMD for IADD.
I'm willing to Zoom yet don't know that I have much to add.
@dusty I, too, like that juxtaposition! Yes, all embraced the worldwide aspect wonderfully! 
@ken-longfield My apologies-- I never meant to imply anyone was against "International". I just remember my thinking at the time was it would be helpful for it not to just be "National". Again, my apology for creating misunderstanding!
I haven't yet looked at the threads to refresh my memory. I recall when we were kicking around thoughts, I wanted all FOTMD members to feel welcomed to participate in the day, so advocated for "International".
