Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

CD, I'm thinking Rod is playing some of the Sacred Harp tunes he put together in the months before he died. . .And when we would have our online potlucks here at FOTMD, Rod could be counted on to bring Mountain Dew. :)
RIP, Deputy Mo.

Hi, Graham--So good to have you become part of FOTMD. You have fine musical instruments! It is hard to imagine having 50 dulcimers all in one place. :)PS- I went to grad school in Roanoke. Pretty country!

Terry, I hope your journey with the mountain dulcimer is a fun one!
updated by @robin-thompson: 02/17/16 10:27:27AM

Theresa,McSpadden dulcimers are favorites of many players. Fingerpicking produces some very relaxing sounds and the act of doing it can be soothing, too.It's good to have you become part of FOTMD!

Before and After

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

That is a neat picture, Bob-- your fat- waisted dulcimers are beauties!I am glad I was required to take wood shop & industrial arts, art, and cooking & sewing in Junior High School.

Question about keys and modes

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hi, Tumbleweed! I'm a by- ear player and am not good at "talking" music. That said, you may not need to switch keys yet may wish to try the same key with a different tuning. For example, for noter/drone play you can re- tune from DAdd to DAAA or DdAA and remain in the key of D with your key note at fret 3.I experiment with different tunings to work out how to get a tune to lay out well on the fretboard. Not everything lays- out well. :)Hope this helps!

Kristi, the event and the company sound delightful! (That was a great photo of you & Stephanie!) Though I'm most grateful such measures were not needed, I believe Steph would have found a way to get to this year's fest no matter what. ;)

PS- DAA and DAd are both the key of D yet just different tunings out of which to play in the key.

Pam, I play out of DAA lots. Go with what's in your book and, over time, you will learn the ins and outs of playing the mountain dulcimer.

Eppinette, Scheitholt, and Kantle player "Orange Kantele"

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Thanks for the tip about Orange Kantele, Gregg. I checked out a couple of his pieces and subscribed!

Hi, Eric! Page two of this thread may be of interest to you regarding playing melody on the middle string: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/themusictheorycorner/forum/topics/a-theory-about-keys?commentId=3745489%3AComment%3A681001&xg_source=activity&groupId=3745489%3AGroup%3A22445
updated by @robin-thompson: 02/12/16 03:17:26AM

Yay!PS- I enjoy my Blue Lion Jean Ritchie model.

I'm sorry about this, Kristi, and have my fingers crossed for a happy ending to your story!

Dulcimers and their sound - makers

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Have you ever heard a Probst?

If You Don't Somebody Else Will

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks so much for the kind comments, friends! My favorite dulcimer players in the whole world can be found right here at FOTMD and y'all are among them! :)

Since noter play is all I can do, this little observation may be off- base. . . Yet, here goes! :)
It seems that some styles of dulcimer play can be approached more on a note- by- note basis (with both the right and left hands) while tunes played with a noter are more easily approached by working with phrases, series of notes. And a noter player has to know a tune well enough in order to decide how to create good phrases-- when to strum/not strum and how to use slides-- to best emphasize the tune. Sometimes, I'll record myself and notice I haven't strummed enough in a passage and expected too much from the sounds got from the slides to convey the melody. There are also times I strum too much and don't use slides to the best effect. And sometimes I need to let there be space-- not a rest, necessarily but a little breathing room. . .

As Randy indicated, some slides are harder to get clear tone out of than others. I've been working on Fisher's Hornpipe this summer and the A part is hard for me to play cleanly consistently to phrase it just the way I want to. There are plenty of challenges, fun challenges, in sliding a stick along a string to help make sounds!

PS- I, obviously, don't know correct musical terms to explain things musical. So, if what I wrote above makes half sense or no sense at all, please feel free to keep on scrolling. :)

If You Don't Somebody Else Will

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Steph, I can't take any credit for Billy since it's a trad tune. :)Randy's fantastic flat- picked version is a YouTube favorite of some players here in Ohio who are familiar with the tune. They know the skill required to do what Randy did with the piece!The tricky part for me of playing Billy with a noter is that run up the fretboard in the first section of the A part. I can only get it to sound half decent about half the time. ;) It's a timing thing that I can't think about too much or rush too much. Too much thinking is bad for my health, anyway. Haha!

Geekling said:

That couldn't have been easy to play--I know I certainly couldn't! I'm particularly partial to Ridin' the Zigzag and Wobble Railroad. It's both fun and traditional-sounding, and it has a great title!

If You Don't Somebody Else Will

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Randy, you are the first and, I'm thinking, the only person I ever heard play Billy in the Lowground on MD. Since you flat- picked it and it's got lots of notes (Mark flat- picks it on guitar) I thought it was a tune I could never manage on dulcimer. Once I got rid of that droning fifth (by going with the CcG tuning), it worked for me. I played this with a fairly stiff quill-- it sounds different yet with a more flexible quill or one of my big homemade plastic picks.

Y'all are so nice to take the time to listen and comment, friends. I'm going to even risk seeming sappy and let y'all know that I have great affection for my music friends, many of whom I've never met in- person.

Do your pets enjoy your playing?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Our dog can take our music or leave it. There's no accounting for her tastes in music. :)

I really enjoyed your old- timey Appalachian sound, Gordon.

Though I have all my digits, I have physical problems with my hands. For picks, I cut large ones out of plastic lids and use quills, too. Both of these give greater points of contact with the hand than smaller picks of whatever type. The more points of contact my hand has with each type of plectrum, the better it is for me physically.

I'm happy to see you're going to explore further options, Julian!

Oh, Julian, I am so very sorry and hope your healing is progressing well!Though I do not wish to presume anything, there are various styles of dulcimer play which could, perhaps, be managed if you wished to explore options for playing mountain dulcimer.Again, I'm sorry about your accident! Take care.

There's nothing like getting to play music on your porch! Enjoy, Donna!And Kate has located information on Mr. Dunkle. It's always special to learn of the builder.
updated by @robin-thompson: 02/16/16 11:48:13PM

I'm a by- ear player. Some Appalachian old- time tunes I may listen to 100 or more times to get in my head and to figure how to make the banjo or fiddle piece fit on a lap dulcimer (meaning discovering what tuning works and sounds best).

Enter FOTMD's 5th Birthday Pickled Dulcimer CONTEST!

OFF TOPIC discussions

Yay, FOTMD! I <3 this place!

Enter FOTMD's 5th Birthday Pickled Dulcimer CONTEST!

OFF TOPIC discussions

Yay, FOTMD, and congratulations to the winners!Happy strumming to everybody here!

... ain't skeered ... <:)

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hey, I neglected to make clear in my earliest response that I assumed Sam's intent is to play the melody on the string closest to his body!

Yup, what folkfan said!

Someone needs to put mittens on me before I ever attempt to answer a music question! :)

... ain't skeered ... <:)

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

You're welcome, Sam! Just know that even I wouldn't take anything I say about music as gospel. ;)Hugs to you and yours!

... ain't skeered ... <:)

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

In DAd, you start open. So, to play notes below that d melody note, you catch them on the middle and bass strings (as opposed to beginning at fret 3 out of DAA, a tuning which has a bit of real estate under the melody string below the third fret.)DAC is a great tuning, too, for that haunting sound.I shouldn't even be trying to answer any music questions, Sam-- I'm no good at all at explaining music!

... ain't skeered ... <:)

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Yup, Sam, one octave above your bass D. Go for it, with a light enough string gauge and eye protection. There are plenty of ways to play out of D and it's fun to try- out any of them you think you might want to try. :)

My preference is 3 strings. As others have indicated, though, it really is just a matter of personal taste for any number of reasons.

Common Dulcimer Jam Tunes

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I'd say you've got the bases well covered, Dusty, and I'm sure it'll be a fun jam!

Leah, I own several dulcimers and each has its own sound. I hew to the idea if it sounds good to me, it is good.

Leah Crosley said:

I daughter's think my dulcimer's sound is reminicent to a harpsicord. Is that good?

phil said:

my newest dulcimer is called Ol' Hickory it's made from 99% reclaimed Indiana hickory. has a high sweet voice.

I've seen where some folks name their dulcimers, Kitty. Mine all answer to "Hey, you!" :DAlliefair is a nice name; I'm guessing it's tied to Jean Ritchie some way?

You're ready to testify, for real! :)

John Keane said:

I have no recollection of any of this.

Robin Thompson said:

Hey, Carrie, I'm glad you got back to Ol' Pal! If you ran into a certain J.K. there, I trust you made every effort to avoid that troublemaker. LOL! I've heard wonderful things about the Wright's fest and might just make my way to TX some spring to attend.

Hey, Carrie, I'm glad you got back to Ol' Pal! If you ran into a certain J.K. there, I trust you made every effort to avoid that troublemaker. LOL! I've heard wonderful things about the Wright's fest and might just make my way to TX some spring to attend.

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

As I wrote before, I think the skills of the original builder were decent-- and "decent" is likely an understatement-- it's got some very nice touches. For me, sound is everything and looks a bonus. You've got both here!

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I could well be mistaken. . . It seems the original builder may have had decent skills yet those who made changes to the instrument later were not expert.
Happy strumming!

I'm glad you posted-- I, too, enjoyed the piece! Nice, indeed, G.S.!

5,000! What I'm most grateful for. . .

OFF TOPIC discussions

I don't know whether I would've stuck with playing if not for FOTMD. Though I have fun with the lap dulcimer, learning new things and sharing music here helps keep things fresh.Oh, and the number of luthiers who are either building replicas of old instruments and/or drawing heavily from old ways of building is great to see. I don't own any that are new yet look old. . . Not yet, anyway. ;) I've gotten to see and hear some of these beauties here at FOTMD and I'm grateful for that, too!

5,000! What I'm most grateful for. . .

OFF TOPIC discussions

John, how glad I am you've been favoring us with your wonderful instruments and play! Your instruments are family heirlooms, treasures.Ken, our in- person meeting was far too brief. I hope our paths cross again and that we can share some tunes!