Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

Skip,

I don't have a good grasp of modes; my ear is my guide. I only play noter/drone and, occasionally, get to jam with dulcimer friends who are chord/melody players and we blend fine.

I'm not sure I understand your last paragraph. (. . . can't you play a mixo tune in DAA [tuned DAdd] as long as you play the notes, not the fret numbers [TAB], and all of the notes are available? Am I forgetting the effect of the drones? )

I'll take a stab, though. As long as you have the notes available, I don't see why not. Give it a try and let your ear be your guide, bearing in mind the drone effect . Modern ears aren't used to the drone effect .

Skip said:

Won't some of this depend on the style of the player, xxx/chord vs xxx/drone? Most of the folks I play with chord or fingerpick the melody, a few fingerdance. A couple of them can do harmonies, in DAdd.

I don't think many of them, maybe a couple, even know what a mode is. I know, technically, what they are, but don't really understand them. Probably because I play the separate notes as shown in SMN [or TAB].

I suppose the only way I can find out for sure, with my group, is to try it.

I'm probably wrong, but can't you play a mixo tune in DAA [tuned DAdd] as long as you play the notes, not the fret numbers [TAB], and all of the notes are available? Am I forgetting the effect of the drones?

I think I meant something like that, Skip. I'm a by-ear player so anytime I go talking about what I'm doing things get dicey.

Skip said:

Robin;

I've been learning how bass players do their thing, so what you posted makes perfect sense to me. I'm assuming when you said 't he note that matches the key of the tune', you meant the root note of the key or indicated chord; D, G, or A in the key of D for example.

Skip, if what I wrote makes no sense, feel free to ask me questions. I'm not good at explaining things.

I've jammed with mountain dulcimer friends who use DAd as their home base tuning. (My home base tuning is DAA.) To me, the different voicings sound better than if everyone's tuned the same. Out of DAA, I'll re-tune to DGG, EAA; the keys of D, G, and A cover a lot of fiddle tunes. A Ddd or ddd tuning is really handy for covering 2 keys without re-tuning.

I love playing harmonies! When playing harmonies, remember that if a note doesn't sound right to your ear, you're only a fret away from a good-sounding note most of the time. To begin to learn to play harmonies, just play solid rhythm on the note that matches the key of the tune. More importantly, whether playing melody or harmony, it's the rhythm that holds things together-- it's not the notes. To practice good rhythms, put on any pre-recorded music you like, mute your dulcimer's strings, and strum with the music. Vary rhythms, skip beats, let your hand do whatever feels right-- it's more felt than thought. Kinda like playing air guitar. It's fun!

I remember little FOTMD when it was still wet behind the ears.

, Strumelia!

Hey, Kim! David Lynch's Sweet Woods student model is $125 and I've heard nothing but good things about it. Dave's a member here and so is his sister (folkfan). You can see a picture by scrolling down this page:

http://www.sweetwoodsinstruments.com/dulcimers.htm

How nice of you, Kevin! You're so right about the importance of properly fitted bridge & nut blanks.

Kimberly, if you have basic hand tools, you could do it yourself. I've got dulcimers with very basic nuts & bridges and one dulcimer on which they were very finely honed-- they all do the job.

If I ever get in that neck of the woods, I'd like to stop-in there, too, Phil. Whichever one of us gets there first can send word back to the other.

Thanks, Cheryl. My folks are falling apart just ahead of me. LOL

Yes, a week is a lot, especially if one has any physical problems that are effected by playing an instrument.

Cheryl Johnson said:

Robin,

Hopefully I'll be fully recovered from Dulcimer U by then! :) :) A week is a lot! I have that week off from work and its either Old Time Week or up to John Campbell for some bluegrass guitar picking. Hmmmmmm.

Hope your folks are okay.

Cheryl

Phyllis Gaskins is teaching at Old-Time Week? Wow! I didn't know that!

I've been to Augusta twice during Old-Time Week/Vocal Week/Dance Week. In '04, I took autoharp at OT Week and last year I took different classes from the Vocal Week offerings. Augusta's pretty durn cool. If my folks' health were better, I might consider going this year.

***I just saw that it's the Old-Time Week in October (and not the one in August). Got me thinking now. . . And wondering how I'd do toward the end of a week's worth of strumming. I'm going to keep this in mind and will have to see how mom & dad are doing come early autumn.

Love the looks of that 3-stringed Ledford! Congratulations on your great find, Curtis.

Dusty, if your dulcimer knew about the dulcimers on the other walls, it would've bawled its little eyes out.

Dusty Turtle said:

Wow, I had these pictures up while playing my own dulcimer, which jumped off my lap with a tear in her eye and cried "gramdma!"

In the lower photo, see the dulcimer with the open tailpiece that's heart-shaped? Any of you seen that before? If I remember right, there were 2 other mountain dulcimers with open tailpieces; one was an open circle and the other an open D.

The exhibit has a room devoted to each of these instruments: banjo, dulcimer/scheitholt (w/ 2 hammered dulcimers), fiddle, and guitar. It truly is a wonderful exhibit.

Thank you, thank you for posting pics, Laura!

I, too, attended the exhibit and plan to go back for more looks. There are instruments from both individual and institutional collections. Should you make the trip to Lancaster, you're in for a treat !

PS-Laura got permission to take photos; otherwise, there are to be no photos taken. I talked with a woman at the exhibit about the possibility of photos being made public so they could be posted or linked to FOTMD. Got my fingers crossed!

Randy,

Your time at Dulcimerville sounds delightful. (I have an idea of some of what you're feeling because I was privileged to go to Don Pedi's retreat last month; Don is a treasure!)

If I ever get to Dulcimerville, you're one of the first people I'd be searching-out!

Below are instructions on creating a music listening PLAYLIST from your favorite audio clips on Fotmd...

Hi, Marian! To me, strumming is the most important aspect of dulcimer play. Thus, it takes time to settle-in to learning how to strum and feel comfortable strumming. (I'm always working on my strum and I've been playing about 6 years.)

I suggest this exercise: Put on any music you enjoy. With your left hand, mute the strings. With your right hand, experiment strumming rhythms with the music. It really helps one get a feel for rhythm and, over time, your strumming will improve.

Happy strummin'!

Phil, I'm thinking Carter got caught in a sting operation.

phil said:

Carter sounds like a great little dog for you Dad. I have a feeling he was not stealing that fruit, but was invited to have some too.

Woo-hoo-- another tour! I didn't know there were still any Lee's Famous Recipe places left.

Dana, seems like Carter is a helper dog for your dad! And he helps himself, too, to whatever he wants. I love dogs!

Hope you've gotten some time to re-charge your own batteries!

Hi, John! Your point about young people and music is right on the mark.

It's fascinating to me how in the video, it seems it was the singing and enjoyment of music when he was a younger man that caused hearing the music on the iPod to trigger something in the gentleman's brain. As Strumelia wrote about classical music being such a joy to her mother and continuing to be even as her body weakened. . . The languages of music can speak, move us in mysterious ways. I'm awed by this.

John E. Wood said:

Having played in nursing homes, I've experienced this. Music is really a powerfully moving force. I'm not in the healing profession but I know there are studies going on regarding the healing effects of music. And I firmly believe that encouraging young people to MAKE some kind of music has to have some upbuilding effect on their lives. The mountain dulcimer is one of the instruments well suited to making music easy for many folks who have neither the time nor the financial resources or talent to master a more complicated instrument. I'm glad to be a part of the mountain dulcimer community. Best wishes to all.

Phil, this video is powerful! Music, whether 'live' or recorded, has the power to move mountains. Recorded music-- music that sounds just as (or much like) what the older person heard when younger-- could trigger something buried in the mind. Miraculous.

Thanks a million for posting this link! I'm going to have Mark watch this video.

Hi, Val! If you can tell us who made your dulcimer, it may help with an answer to your question. The reason I say this is some individual builders had somewhat quirky yet rather consistent fret placements. If you are able to post a photo, that'd be great, too.

Pine, you've got a real piece of folk art there! Though it's not rare to see a dulcimer made of chestnut, it's not one of the most commonly used woods. American Chestnut is wood not easy to come by.

Wow, Geoff, you've got a beauty and a treasure! That headstock is exquisite. And, yes, American Chestnut got hit with a terrible blight. Builders here are happy to get the wood from old barns and buildings that have been torn down.

phil said:

Thanks Robin. Don't worry I wont give up on finding something funny to post. It makes my day to know that I put a smile on someone for a while,

Aw, gee, Phil, no harm done! As a matter of fact, I enjoyed 'em!

phil said:

AHHHh Nuts I hate to repost something

I'm on hold with mountain dulcimers for now. (Got another bowed dulcimer on order.) Feel free to catch-up to me!

phil said:

uh,, oh .... Ok you win you have more than me....... for now

Uh, Phil, I'd have to count 'em to give you an exact number.

phil said:

Sounds like you need more Dulcimer Robin. ya just can't have one.

Yikes, I don't! Maybe my diatonics got broken!

Dan Goad said:

I didn't know that you had a chromatic dulci, Robin.

Nope. Hb.

Dan Goad said:

Oh, ya found G# did ya, Robin?

Well, I know the alphabet further than G. Guess that disqualifies me.

Beth,

Knowing I, IV, V chords in the keys of D, G, C will take you far. Listen for the chord changes and key off whoever looks to be the most solid rhythm player.

Have fun!

PS-My guitar-playing husband helped me with this. :)

Kyle,

Hope you're able to put together more pieces of the Prichard; you've got the makings of a thesis.

Gotta tell you what a thrill it was for me to hear you in a jam outside Halliehurst one night. Just not enough noter & drone players jamming in old-time! I'll not be at Spring Week at Augusta--will be making a couple trips to North Carolina for music doings in April & May.

Hey, Kyle, great to see you back here! As you know, I enjoyed reading your paper at Augusta last summer (and hearing you play!) and I look forward to learning more about further research. (It must have taken a fair amount of digging to uncover information about when CN Prichard first came into contact with the dulcimer!)