Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

Musical Traditions Dulcimer circa 1980

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

Musical Traditions2375 Edgewater TerraceLos Angeles, Cal. 90039p121May have no connection to your luthiers. . .

Musical Traditions Dulcimer circa 1980

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

Ken,You probably already know that Jean Ritchie, in her Dulcimer People, includes a shop of that name in a "Where To Buy" section, located in Los Angeles.Good luck in your search!

If you could only keep ONE of your dulcimers....

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Blue Lion Jean Ritchie modelspruce top, walnut back & sidesGot this dulcimer from a woman named Meghan in Berkeley CA who'd custom ordered it from the Bakers at Blue Lion. The spruce top-- it's Sitka spruce, I think-- was from wood Meghan's brother had had for 20 years. This dulcimer has none of the inlay that's typically on the Jean Ritchie model. I tried to get a decent photo of Jean's signature on the label that's inside the sound hole but got none that turned out well.It was hard to choose the one dulcimer I'd keep. One reason I chose this instrument is it's got a VSL short enough to accommodate a variety of tunings-- I like to change tunings! She plays smoothly and has good sound. Perhaps the main reason I chose it, though, is that it's a Jean Ritchie model-- I'm a big fan of hers!

folkfan, you just haven't heard me really fly through it. So, I understand it being on your least-liked list. :) LOL folkfan said:

I can tell you some of my least favorite songs. I've been going through all my books, stacks, and piles of tab and throwing out those I just never play. So among the several hundred sheets of paper I seem to have thrown out so far, I can say that

Boil em (Sorry Robin, but I've heard this one, one too many times)
Old Joe
I've got rings on my fingers
Sidewalks of NY
Road to Boston
Green Corn
Shepherd's Hey
Goober Peas
Wabash Cannonball
etc and so on will never be heard in this house again.

hehheheheheeee

Always subject to change, here are three tunes I've enjoyed a lot in recent weeks:What'll I Do With the Baby-OStar of the County Down (on bowed dulcimer)Bile 'em Cabbage

Suzanne, you are cool!

Though not exactly call and response, might it work to sing a simple song or two with the leader lining out the songs like a Primitive Baptist song leader?

How many dulcimers do you own... lets see the lists..

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Mary, being from the Buckeye State, I think it'd be neat to have a dulcerine made with buckeye someday. And my husband and I want to go visit Paul's shop someday. . . Mary Z. Cox said:

Got an email from Paul Conrad and these are the words:
walnut, honey locust, buckeye :)

How many dulcimers do you own... lets see the lists..

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

*Prussia Valley Music Box 2006 - spruce top, cherry back & long sides - strung for Galax tuning*Jerry Rockwell teardrop 1992 - spruce top, figured maple back & sides*Jerry Rockwell small Kentucky hourglass 2009 - butternut top, birch ply back*Keith Young teardrop 1977 - butternut top, maple back & sides, wooden tuning pegs - bagpipe tuning*Blue Lion Jean Ritchie model (without inlay) 2003 - spruce top, walnut back & sides*Rodney Hensley hourglass 2009-all cherryEach of these dulcerines has a very different sound-- nice-- and each is strung with 3 strings.

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Feels fancy drinking this tea out of this pretty cup with a saucer.With 600 of us, maybe we ought to make two jam circles instead of one. ;) I call for "Red Wing" when my turn to call a tune comes 'round!

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Strumelia, enjoy the olives! I like J-E-L-L-O (sing while you spell it) and there's always room for it. :)Now to sample a little bit of this and a little bit of that. . .

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Thank goodness-- I'm hungry as a horse! :) Some appetizers and a jam with 600 of my closest friends. . . it's all good!

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Aw, Strumelia, come on! I was the 6th person to show up and I'm getting hungry waiting for the 600th! :) :) :) Strumelia said:

Robin Thompson said:

Would somebody pass me those fries, please? Oh, and ketchup, too! :)

Sorry, no nibbling until we reach 600.
Mo, that tall burger is even more unsettling than my Jell-O mold!

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Good to know you made home safely, Bill.Would somebody pass me those fries, please? Oh, and ketchup, too! :)

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Mmm good-looking, Strumelia, and I'll bet it will taste as good as it looks! LOL I'll eat the celery, cheese cubes and/or pats of butter. I'm going to pick out those stuffed olives, though-- they look like eyeballs! :)

Party time :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

I've got beans soaking to cook for soup tomorrow. Bring your bowl & spoon!

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Paul Certo said:

C A T Spells Popoki. This Hawaiian song also lists dogs, rats, donkeys, monkeys, boys, girls & old men. But the title says Cat, in 2 languages. Does it count twice?
Paul

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

This is waaay harder than dog songs & tunes! I guess people just get sappier about dogs. :)With all the lonesome turtledoves flying from pine to pine, can you believe a cat never figured into that equation? There's a bunch of songs right there. :) And I can't believe there aren't a million songs that have cats and mice figuring into them some way. After all, how many cats have saved farmers from having all their grain looted by evil mice??? Someone should right this wrong and give cats their due! :)Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle" comes to mind. Though "Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm" is the only cat tune I play on dulcimer, I'd be happy to learn more tunes that feature felines. :)

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Randall, it's a good one and you do it up right. I appreciate your posting the link.

Randall McKinnon said:

I just uploaded the entire song on my website-- www.randallmckinnon.com . You'll find it under the "Music" tab...Hope you enjoy it!

Robin Thompson said:

Randall,

Never too late to add a good dog song!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Randall,

Never too late to add a good dog song!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

EmLee, thanks for giving me the name James King and the Echo Mountain title-- I think that may have been the song I heard on radio.Paul, what to say about Barney? Powerful. Thanks for the link

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Certainly no dog ever bit a baby in an OT tune.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Good one, Hunter!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Mary Z Cox posted this "Old Blue" on YouTube-- and she's playing her new Paul Conrad-made Timbre Hill dulcimer:

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Oh, "Gnarled" is great and great fun-- thanks for including it here, fellas!Suzanne, I've never seen these lyrics nor before heard the song. Poignant. Thank you.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks for the links, Ken. I was familiar neither with the legend surrounding Gelert nor the story of Saint Guinefort.Dogs rule! Come to think of it, cats do, too! :)

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Ken, "Old Blue" is deserving of the praise it gets.I heard a song on radio about a man who returns to his cabin to find his dog bloodied. Believing the dog to have killed his child, the man kills the dog. Of course the fellow then learns the dog had gotten bloodied protecting (or trying to protect) the child from a wild animal.This ring a bell with anybody? I don't remember the facts of the song well-- probably obvious. Maybe it's one of the maudlin coon dog songs Ken mentioned. Anyway, the song hit me right in the heart. My, was it sad!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

ff,I don't recall ever hearing all the lyrics. And you're right about that last line. I imagine the poor dog might've been off somewhere on a chase if he weren't charged with watching over feckless Betsy and Ike. :)

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Flint-Hill's "Old Blue" tops my list!When I was little, I wanted to know if there was a dog heaven. Now that I'm well into middle age, I know where I want to go when I die. :)

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Mary, have you ever heard John Hartford's old-timey version of "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog"?PS-The second YouTube link didn't take me to your favorite dog tune of all time. :(

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Right now, I've got fiddler Rayna Gellert's Old Yeller Dog Come Trottin Through The Meetinghouse playing on my iTunes. Neat tune.folkfan, I don't know all the words to Sweet Betsey from Pike so am glad she took her dog. Of the words I know, she only had her husband Ike with her.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Lassie, Ole Yeller, Spot. . . How much is that doggie in the window? B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O. . . Whether you actually had a dog or not, many grew up watching, reading, or singing about a dog.
updated by @robin-thompson: 08/03/23 11:09:45AM

Doug Berch's cool blog

Dulcimer Resources:TABS/Books/websites/DVDs

Doug's photo of the burning dulcimer is almost a heart-stopper. And a prompt to think.It was a pleasure to hear Doug's music at Fort New Salem WV last August!

Diane,Some of my favorites for the tuning are "Shady Grove," "Red Rocking Chair," "Roustabout," "Wayfaring Stranger".I love to play in Dag or Dac tuning!Robin

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

Very cool picture, Paul!

I've never posted a picture here because, first, I didn't have a scanner. And now that we do have a machine that scans (at least I think it scans), I don't know how to scan old photos. So, ignorance is my excuse. 

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

That's neat, Scott, and the route I imagine I'd take if I got into re-enactment.

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

Scott, y'all look so cool.

If I were ever to do re-enactment, is cross-dressing allowed? ( The guys have cooler clothes! )

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

What a neat snapsnot, Clare! Do you play violin (or fiddle) now?

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Both Pavlova and fairy bread sound yummy!

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Helen, though I know not what Pavlova nor fairy bread is, I'll have some of each! :)