Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

400 members coming up..

OFF TOPIC discussions

My plate's ready and my napkin's tucked under my chin. You dish it out, I can take it! :)

400 members coming up..

OFF TOPIC discussions

Kind folks have showered us with candy-- toffee, chocolates of different kinds, bull's-eyes, Tootsie Rolls, and more. Y'all are welcome to any we've got; I won't hold back the stuff I like best. :)

A Very Merry Christmas to all my New Friends

OFF TOPIC discussions

Hudson shows up well in the snow! Good looking dog!

A Very Merry Christmas to all my New Friends

OFF TOPIC discussions

I echo Randy's sentiments about here-- a wonderful site with welcoming folks! (I've got one of Randy's necklace noters on a cord wrapped 'round my wrist right now. My Prussia Valley Music Box is on my lap and I've been playing!)Happy Christmas and new year to all!

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Bowed psaltery players are welcomed to join the Rosin the Bow group here at FOTMD. Please feel free to come share your music, ask questions, answer questions. . .Robin

Thanksgiving: Old Blue

OFF TOPIC discussions

Ken,When our first old dog, a beagle mix named Benny, died, we said he went to the land where the rabbits were slow and the females were short.I'm sorry Roadie died and it's good her passing was a peaceful one.

Diane, A lending library for instruments would be neat!

Hi, Diane!I am a fan of a three-row chord set-up, majors in the middle, sevenths toward the treble, minors toward the bass. I have two chromatic 'harps-- one with 21 chords and one with 15. My 15-bar 'harp is does not completely comply with the majors in the middle, sevenths on top, minors on bottom but the arrangement demonstrates a logical compromise because it's based on the circle of fifths.Sevenths toward the treble side: C7, G7, D7, A7, and EMajors in the middle: Bflat, C, G, D, AMinors toward the bass side: Fmaj, a, e, b, fsharpYou can play most of an A chord by pressing A7 & Aminor at the same time; I'd rather have an A bar, though.The disclaimer to all this is I am far, far, far from expert on autoharp. I'm a strummer and by-ear player. Autoharp music theory discussions cause my eyes to glaze over. A weakness on my part that I'm willing to live with. LOL
updated by @robin-thompson: 01/31/16 01:28:54AM

That is some tailpiece. Though I've not seen a lot of dulcimers, that tailpiece looks most unusual.

You've got a beauty, Kevin!

Wow, Kevin, how cool!

You're right, CD, it wasn't long ago that a Jeffreys fetched a pretty penny on eBay. I look forward to learning how the story turns out!

I like lots of tunes/songs. Here are some:RoustaboutGathering FlowersLittle BirdieChased Old SatanRed WingRed Rocking ChairArkansas TravelerHunting the BuffaloShady GroveWhiskey Before Breakfast

the Queen family of Jackson Co NC

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I'm sure Mrs. Queen was a treasure to those who knew her.Rest in peace, Mary Jane Queen.

the Queen family of Jackson Co NC

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Neat story, Lois. I'd love to get to see Mrs Queen in person to hear her play and sing!

the Queen family of Jackson Co NC

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Greg, I searched Henry Queen and found the site!

the Queen family of Jackson Co NC

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

It'd be fun to sit down and play some tunes with you, Phil!

the Queen family of Jackson Co NC

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Phil, are there many other dulcimer players in your neck of the woods?

the Queen family of Jackson Co NC

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

In his blog, Bill Lewis mentioned he watched a program on PBS about the Queen family from Jackson County NC. Anybody here know the Queens? The documentary looks great and I'd like to see it.
updated by @robin-thompson: 01/15/16 10:25:51AM

I just made a twelve string guitar

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

All-around wonderful, Dick.For sure, I'll never attempt to build a 12-string guitar! Seems a 6-string would be half as much trouble. :)

Teri, I just now watched the YouTube video of the historical exhibit-- neat! Wish I could've visited the museum in person!Thank you for the link.

I know it was a treat for me to visit Warren's shop a few years back-- Berea is a place I'd like to visit again. . . WMay is certainly deserving of the honor bestowed upon him!

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Wow! I'd love to see (and hear!) you play, Mike!

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Mike,

I'm curious about how you hold the dulcimer when bowing. Do you use a fiddle bow? Are you playing both fast and slow tunes?

I really like the sound of a mountain dulcimer that is bowed!

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Mike, the way you're holding it makes more sense to me (than with the fingers in the grooves).

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Nope.

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I'd like to give one of those a try sometime, Mike, to hear how it sounds. With my coordination, though, I'm afraid it'd be like trying to pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Mike,

If you have any photos of your bow or sound clips of you playing, I'd love to see them.

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Anybody bow in the fashion of Leah Smith, as seen in Jean Ritchie's THE DULCIMER BOOK, with the dulcimer propped on a table at its waist and the tail of the instrument on her lap? (10) In Gerry Milnes's PLAY OF A FIDDLE, he relates that Samuel Johnson was said to have played hymns with a bow, the dulcimer's headstock propped on a window sill. (139)Bowing a lap dulcimer and getting good sound is not easy. I do love the other-worldly sound got from a lap dulcimer being bowed.

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Hey, Diane, I hope you get the chance to bow a dulcimer this weekend! If you already fiddle and have some experience on cello, you'll take to a bowed dulcimer right away.Let me know, please, "if the stars align properly." ; )

Bowing a dulcimer

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Anybody here who bows a mountain dulcimer?Anybody here who has a dulcimer built especially to be bowed?I have a Ken Bloom bowed dulcimer and enjoy learning to play it. :-) Before I got my bowed dulcimer, though, I was holding a mountain dulcimer the way one holds a bowed dulcimer (upright, with bout steadied at the knees) and bowing it. Through time, folks who have bowed mountain dulcimers have held them in who knows how many different ways? Or, if set on a table, didn't hold them at all.So, one and all, I'm curious to learn of the adventures of others with bowing a dulcimer of any kind. . .
updated by @robin-thompson: 04/07/25 06:27:44PM

Only 10 to go till 200 members

OFF TOPIC discussions

Hmm. What would be good to eat with pickles, pickled beets, cookies, and applesauce?Chocolate, of course! Then we'll wash it all down with orange juice. LOLSeems like just yesterday that little FOTMD was born. . .Thanks, Strumelia!

Our thanks to "Deputy Mo".

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Thanks for tending to The Bad Spammer, Rod! I hope Strumelia gives you another bullet next time she puts you in charge :-)I'll keep my eyes open for pictures of your new acquisition!Robin

Randy is a great fretless dulcimer player! He's also a great fretted dulcimer player! When he plays fretless, it's a very blues-y sound he gets out of his cigar boxes. His old-timey (and classical!) music is, I believe, generally played on a fretted dulcimer.I guess what I'm trying to get at is the idea that a fretless dulcimer and a fretted dulcimer are two different critters and each has inherent strong qualities and limitations.Robin

Cool, Vicki!I plan to try playing outside in a public place-- a college green, I think-- just to get used to playing where people can see and hear me.Let us know how all goes the next time. Forget a tin cup-- go with a bucket! :)

The dulcimer has been called a lot of different/cool names that could be worked into a fun song! :)

I love it that we have this as our official theme song! I hope at the annual FOTMD virtual hog roast/wine & cheese tasting/meet & greet we'll play it! :-)Robin

The Dulcimer Book by Jean Ritchie

Dulcimer Resources:TABS/Books/websites/DVDs

I dare you to write that tab book on Locrian mode tunes, Lisa! :-)Jean Ritchie's Traditional Mountain Dulcimer and instructional CD from Homespun Tapes is also a treasure. I can't even tell you how many times I've listened to parts of that CD.

Any banjo players out there?

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Did Rodney build the banjo, Randy?The work you've done looks real nice.

Dulcimer or Guitar?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

There are many players who are better noter-and-drone players than I am. That said, it's always a challenge for me to note a fiddle tune at anything approaching fiddle tune speed, playing cleanly, and throwing in variations. I'm a slow learner and it takes me awhile to know a fiddle tune that well.Robin

Dulcimer or Guitar?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I play noter-and-drone style all the time and love it! Yes, it is easy to play "Bile 'Em Cabbage" at the speed of a dirge. Try playing it at fiddle tune speed. Try playing it through 10 times, at fiddle tune speed, without playing it the same way twice. Try. . . How about Jean Ritchie's "Over The River to Feed My Sheep" from her album THE MOST DULCIMER. Play that "at speed" cleanly and you'll know you played somethin'!I love lots of different styles of dulcimer play! This past weekend at Fort New Salem in WV, I heard Jerry Rockwell, Butch Ross, and Doug Berch all play MD-- I enjoyed them all! Butch Ross played electrified stuff using looping and it was very cool to get to see and hear and Doug Berch is a fine player whose music I'd never before heard. Everything Jerry Rockwell plays is wonderful; he is a master of the mountain dulcimer in every sense of the word.Playing noter-and-drone is simple, in many respects. However, it is always a challenge for me to play both slow pieces and fiddle tunes cleanly and with expression.Robin