FOTMD 1000 members almost here...!
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Who ever is counting certainly had me fooled ealier !!! LOLJohn
Forum Activity for @john-henry
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Who ever is counting certainly had me fooled ealier !!! LOLJohn
FOTMD 1000 members almost here...!
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1000 up !!! Congrats Strumelia, and thank you.JohnH
Thank you, Strumelia!!
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Yes, she sure can throw a good party (she will need a few extra baking sessions for the one that is coming soon tho'!)thanks again StumeliaJohn
Hello Larry! I entirely agree with your remarks, this site is indeed special, I have learnt a lot from it and only wish that the inspiration that conceived it had happened earlier, when I was doing a bit more 'making' and would have benifited from all the help that can be found here! I am not a great player, but have no problem 'showcasing' what I do here, warts and all, there has always been a word or two of encouragement forthcoming.Lets hope that this forum may long continue!Regards and thanks to ALL!JohnH
***THREE CHEERS for Bill Lewis!***
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Good on you Bill,second !!! What did you do with the fish?Best wishes, JohnH
FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !
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Happy Anniversary Everyone !!! and thanks again Lisa.JohnH
FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !
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Strumelia, that is not really you is it? Tho' I suppose the hunk of pie might just be a link!! And party time is nearly with us................John
FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !
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Thank you Lisa, and self sufficient for a year to boot!JohnH
BEGINNERS' OLD TIME JAM – DOWN THE PUB
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Sounds as if you found a good 'un there Dusty, and the word 'speed' still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I still remember the utter panic I felt the first time I said that I would lead off (with a tune called Nonsuch) only to find that they all knew it, but played at three times the tempo I was used to, thank the Lord that there were the usual four or five squeeze boxes in the session!!! Another thing that irritated me when playing in places 'where the sherbert flowed' was that often very 'friendly' folk with a pint in their fist tended to lean over your instrument and shout " I love all that hillbilly stuff, play Duelling Banjo's for us, I'll buy you a pint", by which time I had most of their pint over the multiple strings of my Ham Dulc!!!I never did learn that tune!my regardsJohnH Dusty Turtle said:
Good point, John, especially in the context of a discussion specifically about a "beginner" jam. I, too, have attended a couple of those hardcore Irish jams where everyone knew every song and what order they would be played in. Those jams are indeed not welcoming to beginners or even intermediate players.
But jams sometimes evolve. I used to frequent a bluegrass jam in the Bay Area (with a guitar and mandolin, for I had no idea what a dulcimer was back then) that was held weekly in a small fish taco joint. There was a small group of hardcore folks who played really tight music, with precise harmonies and stellar solos. It was hard to join in. I was just happy to play chords to back 'em up and never dared take a solo. But then that core group started their own band (and still play around SF, I believe) and left the jam behind. That opened it up for those of us who were not quite up to their speed.
We couldn't get Guiness on tap (my favorite, too, Robin) at that fish taco joint, but we had plenty of Bohemia and tequila, and the Mexican seafood was spicy enough to light the wicks on our picks and get some happy music going. Some customers seemed surprised to find bluegrass and old timey music in a taqueria, but everyone seemed to have a good time. The jam was good for business, so the owner loved having us around.
Of course, that was years ago. For all I know that space is a Starbucks now.
John Henry said:Hi Dusty, a nice thought, but a better statement might be "many British pubs.............." I live in a fairly big city, and would be hard pressed to find a folk based music session every night, and even when one does, they are not always welcoming. Ever tried joining a hard core Irish session? You need to know every note and play em in exactly the right way to suit that group. So most of us know that special pub where the session accepts just about anyone ( in my case, a hammered dulcimer) Having said all that, some of the happiest most memorable times of by later life were sitting in with others and playing whatever as it arrives!
my regards,
JohnH
Dusty Turtle said:OK, I have to confess that I have a large, flat-screen TV in my house and indeed watch sports and grill food, sometimes at the same time. But chez moi you can also find several guitars, a mandolin, a fiddle, two ukuleles, two banjo ukes, a dulcimer, two autoharps, numerous pennywhistles, a limberjack . . . and no amplifiers!
A sports bar is obviously not the best place to gather for an acoustic jam. But any British pub is (unless a World Cup match is in session)! In general, the more Bud Light served the less likely acoustic folk music will be welcome, but the more Guiness or IPA around, the more the patrons might enjoy Billy in the Lowground or Blackberry Blossom or Flowers of Edinburgh or . . .
BEGINNERS' OLD TIME JAM – DOWN THE PUB
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hi Dusty, a nice thought, but a better statement might be "many British pubs.............." I live in a fairly big city, and would be hard pressed to find a folk based music session every night, and even when one does, they are not always welcoming. Ever tried joining a hard core Irish session? You need to know every note and play em in exactly the right way to suit that group. So most of us know that special pub where the session accepts just about anyone ( in my case, a hammered dulcimer) Having said all that, some of the happiest most memorable times of by later life were sitting in with others and playing whatever as it arrives!my regards,JohnH Dusty Turtle said:
OK, I have to confess that I have a large, flat-screen TV in my house and indeed watch sports and grill food, sometimes at the same time. But chez moi you can also find several guitars, a mandolin, a fiddle, two ukuleles, two banjo ukes, a dulcimer, two autoharps, numerous pennywhistles, a limberjack . . . and no amplifiers!
A sports bar is obviously not the best place to gather for an acoustic jam. But any British pub is (unbless a World Cup match is in session)! In general, the more Bud Light served the less likely acoustic folk music will be welcome, but the more Guiness or IPA around, the more the patrons might enjoy Billy in the Lowground or Blackberry Blossom or Flowers of Edinburgh or . . .
BEGINNERS' OLD TIME JAM – DOWN THE PUB
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin,loved the photo, but can't help but wonder how it fits in with our current Health and Safety at work Requirements, provision of suitable handrails and the like! LOLregardsJohnH Robin Clark said:
Thanks Larry,
Playing live music together builds what the boffins would call "social capital" in our community - coz there sure isn't much of any other sort of capital in these parts at present!
Ken - I can't manage a narrow boat - how about a canoe! Just be careful paddling over the aquaduct at Llangollen, it's a long way to fall out of your canoe!!!
First response, I have made no accessories for use with my mountain dulcimer! Then , hang on, like KenH , enough noters to keep a decent camp fire going for a while, half a dozen or more 'hard' cases to put various dulcimers in when travelling, several little foot rests , and that 'thingy' which comes in useful for positioning the cam corder, several jigs of one shape or another to use when shaping sides, all sorts of odd blocks for use when sanding during construction, and that curtain arrangement which restricts sound and stops my wife going mad when I play late into the night............ Yes, I suppose that I may have made the odd item! LOL (and an awful lot of sawdust and shavings, some of which have ended up as' works of art' executed by my grandkids!!!)JohnH
Hello Katie, appro the 18th July, I have no firm detail as of now, but it will almost certainly run into late afternoon, I shall not be leaving Bristol until after lunch, and I know that others will be travelling from Bath and Frome. As soon as Geoff informs me of his arrangements, I will let you know of them. You could contact him thr' this site, he will not mind. He has already said that it would be good if you could get attend, and there will be a mix abilities and styles, of that you can be sureI am sometimes described as a 'vigourous' player, and therefore have need to anchor my dulcimer, either by the non-slip mesh which is freely available, or by a strap, for which you may need 'buttons' on your instrument, tho' some people make do with less rigid arrangements. Being male, I am able to spread by knees widely, thus helping to stabilise the instrument and also to help in its projection somewhat, and I do use my thumb, despite John Shaws best efforts!!! LOLbest wishes JohnH
Good morning Ken, your point about a UK Dulcimer Festival is a good one. The Nonsuch Club, which I had a hand in starting, was originally conceived as being for Hammered Dulcimers, but unfortunately someone named John Shaw joined us and since then the number of MD players who have attended our once a year gathering has gradually increased, and since having the good fortune to arrive on this site, I have become aware that there are a lot more skulking in the shadows. A 'stand alone' mountain dulcimer event, Hmm.........best wishes,JohnH Ken Hulme said:
Foggers - I think a UK Dulcimer Festival is a bonzer idea! There are players in France, Spain, Germany and other places around Europe that would certainly attend.
Hello Katie, welcome to this site, you will find it very helpful, the useful info that Ken has just given you could not have come from a better source: look out as well for the postings that he makes !!! There are a few of us in the UK, at least three in the Bristol area, one of whom ranks highly as a player and teacher. If you look on the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club website you will pick up others. I am happy to give you my email address if you wish it? What dulcimer are you playing?Good luck in your searchJohnH
800!?!!
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Hic Hic, sorry Rod Rod Westerfield said:
oh I specialize in dulcimer related obsessive-compulsive disorder, but probably not the help ya might want... remember you can never have enough dulcimers.. take 1 or 2 and call me in the morning..
boy this food is good pass those burgers this way please... John get out of that white dew
800!?!!
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Ken, eggs would be great, they are good just broken over the fried laver at the last minuteI You do all LIKE laver bread don't you? Its a bit slimey I know, but as my Mother used to say "stop moaning, it's good for you!"JohnH Flint Hill said:
We'll bring eggs. And goose quill noters as party favors. We've only got three geese. I'll tell 'em they better get to work.
Hello David and welcome. In my opinion you can't go wrong if you take some time to look at Strumila's"Mountain Dulcimer Noter Drone Blog" As for tuning, well, lots of differingsuggestions might be offered, Daa or Dac spring to my mind, but you can have a lot of fun just playing around finding out what you(and your instrument) like best.Regards, JohnH
updated by @john-henry: 02/15/16 09:20:58AM
DaveI would be quite happy to make you a couple to your spec, as near as possible without seeing what you prefer now (gratis). I have just discovered some odds and sods that were lurking in a dark corner of my workshop I have some beautiful clean and dry 'Box', which has become really hard over the last 25/30 years, a creamy yellow colour, and I also have some 'Bog Oak, (no Robin Thompson, nothing to do with your garden room!) which is very black and hard, and at a conservative estimate must be over a 1000 yrs old, it was dredged from the River Trent about 20 years ago near Shadwell, and similar timber has been carbon dated well in excess of the figure I have quoted. I can of course produce noters from other hardwoods, maple, yew, walnut ect. Just one thing, when I use a wooden noter now I tend not to use a round section, prefer either an elliptical or a just 'off square' section, they are of course, easier to makeregardsJohnH
Why John Shaw! I do declare, that's almost a compliment!!!! That particular butt end of a quill which I was using while you were here on Sunday last has been in use for some considerable time now (the Mason's left me some when they visited with us?) and I have that one 'setup' so as I can use either end,those ends being of different thickness, which have the capacity to produce different effects. As you commented, the action is slick and the sound good, IMHO, which is why I choose to use to use it over other noter types. BUT, I am also very fond of a noter contrived from the plastic barrel of a biro type pen, again because of the singular sound given, and I have used and still use on occassion, a wide variety of Hardwoods, not always cylindrical, try an elliptical one (never Ebony or Snakewood Ken H, just a bit beyond my pocket LOL). Ken also mention bamboo, I find this to be particularly 'slick', it fair glides over the fretboard, but , again only IMHO,I would be cautious about using this on anyones instrument except my own; there is always the chance that bad use of a 'hard' noter on a fretboard make of a 'soft' hardwood could lead to scoring of the fretboard. I have seen an example of this!. Which is why whatever the noter material I always remove the arriss from the noter tip, and try to impress on others the need (for the main part) in keeping the noter in the right plane. Long winded reply Dave, ain't it, but as many people on this site have mentioned in the past, try all and everything until you hit on just the right one. Did I ever tell you about the time that I left my bag of odds and sods at home and was forced to use the snapped off handle of my toothbrush? No,well...............regards,JohnH John Shaw said:
Our mutual friend John Henry gets the most wonderful tone from using the thick end of a turkey or goose quill as a noter. This doesn't score all that high on durability, I suppose, although they seem to last him a reasonable time, but it's a great sound and action. John started using them after learning that this is what most of the Galax-style players in Virginia use.
The Kitchen Sink - talk about food
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LOL, sorry Todd!!! Thanks for your reply, and of course, it is possible to obtain pasties almost anywhere in the UK these days, tho' rarely with nicely distinguished individual 'chunks' in the filling, more usually it will be some form of minched up mush, the results of mass produced fast food manufacturer. How about a chunk of 'Stargazy Pie' instead?
best wishes
JohnH
The Kitchen Sink - talk about food
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Hi Todd, over here pasties are usually associated with Cornwall, the extreme S/W tip of England, historicaly an economicaly poor area surrounded on three sides by the sea, a county many of whose residents regard themselves as not being English, but Cornish, and who are still trying to promote their own separate language. In that language is found the word 'Hoggin' from which is derived 'oggy', the local name for short crust pastry with a little meat, but mostly onion, swede, turnip and potatoe at one end, and a sweet filling at the other, often jam of some description. It traditionaly had a 'thick crust' because as you indicate, lack of washing falcilities underground dictated that you ate down to the crust then chucked it. When I was young and worked on constuction sites my mother often made 'Cornish' pasties for my lunch, for the same reasons, no use of a canteen or hot water to wash your hands with. A gent named Cyril Tawney wrote a song called 'The Oggie Man' !
The Kitchen Sink - talk about food
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Hi Ken, re miners pasty, do you do 'em with the throwaway crust ? There's not so many Brits these days who relate to packed lunches suitable for use down a tin mine !
best wishes
JohnH Ken Hulme said:
Lisa, that jelly looks scrumptuous!! It's good to know there are still folks who make savory jellies, not just sweet ones. What's the base that gives it that broth color?
Todd - One lonely rutabaga? How sad... I make pasties several times a year, including the "miner's dinner" version with savory meat & veg at one end and sweet fruit in the other!
Forgor the pluked psaltry!!!JohnH folkfan said:
Does it count that I used to play the bodhran but do to hand problems I don't pick it up anymore. I do have a plucked psaltery with a lovely wire strung harp sound to it as it's a big instrument. At the moment though it's living in down in Warrensburg, MO with my brother. I know one of these days I'll get it back. And other than things that make noise when shaken, the MD and HD are the only two instruments I play. Well the HD, I fool around with on occasion. I'll be honest.
Hunter! I got more than one string on my dulc., does that count?............... Sorry, straight face now, honest. Mountain dulcimer, Hammered dulcimer,Bowed Psaltry,Bodhran(with a very sympathetic touch, check it out with Butch Ross,it got him dancing one time!)) and if I have had enough liquid refreshment to throw caution to the wind, I have been known to play the spoons. Right, thats got the joker in the pack out of the way, now lets hear from some real multi-instrumentalists!regards, JohnH
updated by @john-henry: 02/17/16 12:43:25PM
Hello Dave, I own a number of dulcimers and like you I play a lot using a noter(have enjoyed the stuff you have posted so far). I made my dulcimers, and they were set up to accommodate four strings but they all have just three strings at this time. I too have found to a certain degree that the extra melody string seemed to 'get in the way', could be my technique of course, but I am happier without! I know players who use chording as their main style who have also discarded that extra string. It may be argued that some volume is lost; I have increased the guage of my single melody string and in my opinion this seems to compensate for that supposed loss, and the extra stiffness of the thicker string is not a big problem if one is using a noter. I know that you have a wide experience of other instruments and will almost certainly know that if you are not using one of your tuners it may be required that you 'damp' it down in some fashion in order to prevent unwanted buzzes and rattlesregards,JohnH,Bristol
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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Paul, regarding FOTMD and its status relating to 'drink'. You need to talk to Rod Westerfield on this subject, but be careful, he managed to get me into real trouble at a previous party, DO NOT offer to look after the 'Dew'Thanks for the info on TorontoJohnH Paul Rappell said:
John Henry said:Good morning Paul, read your notes on Swansea. Wondered if there is direct historical link with ours?
my regards, JohnH
Ontario is full of British place names - London, Perth, Brighton, Inverary, Windsor, Scarborough, York, to name but a few. Sawnsea was originally called the village of Windermere. I have no idea why they changed it (maybe someone came from there). In the early 1900s the rowdy railroad workers would have too much alcohol and get into fights, so they made it a "dry" town. Swansea includes High Park, a huge park in the which had coyotes (in the middle of Toronto!) when I was there. Swansea/West Toronto ("The Junction" - a former railroad town) was the last neighbourhood in Toronto to be dry. It went wet after a referendum in the early nineties. I suppose it wouldn't have made a such good place for a "party for 800" before the vote.
By the way, I hope our 800 revelers don't get out of hand! Is FotMD a "dry" site?
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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Good morning Paul, read your notes on Swansea. Wondered if there is direct historical link with ours?my regards, JohnH Paul Rappell said:
John Henry said:So, party time again soon, looks as if I will have to take a trip over to Swansea.
JohnH
I suppose I could make a trip to Swansea, too - Swansea, former village, now a part of central Toronto, and my old neighbourhood!
With good timing, we'll be able to celebrate 800 by the FIRST of July, Canada's birthday! We can raise a glass to Sir John A. MacDonald, Canada's first Prime Minister, who raised many (very, very many) a glass himself during his lifetime. Here in Kingston, you can see all the places Sir John A. lived, slept, ate, practised law, and got drunk.
Although it seems as though we may reach the number earlier. Maybe we need to check other countries' birthdays.
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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So, party time again soon, looks as if I will have to take a trip over to Swansea to purchase enough Laver bread, Cockles, and Welsh cakes for 800! The increase in FOTMD membership is beginning to make catering for parties a bit expensive!!! I am hoping that Dana MaCall can provide enough bacon fat to fry the Laver bread in? You ordered that 'dew' yet Rod?JohnH Strumelia said:
Michael, there is a glitch right now in the member numbers.
We actually have 791 current members. The "see All Members" link only shows 744. I imagine this will be fixed soon by Ning. It's happened before for a day or two.When I go to the Administrator view it shows all 791 members.Somebody should start a new 800 member party thread I suppose...
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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I,ll give a hand to repair some of the chairs that got damaged, but there is no way that I am going to try to repolish the top of the table that Rod parked that mountain dew on; the burn marks are right down to the wood!!!JohnH Strumelia said:
OK, so who's gonna help with the after-party mess ...??
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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I could just bring some processed cheese slices, I don't want to cause any more trouble: I had enough bother about the mountain dew that time before.................JohnH Strumelia said:
My great grandfather who was German used to LOVE his Limburger cheese. But my great grandmother used to make him go down to the basement to eat it. Poor Gros papa!- sitting down there amongst the crocks of pickles and saurkraut, eating his stinky cheese all alone!
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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Strumelia! You may have to share it with 'Wallace and Gromit' !!! JohnH Strumelia said:
I'll be going into the stinky cheese room as well! mmmm.....
Party Time coming for 700 !!
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Decision time! 700 members, and party time. I will bring a whole 'Stinking Bishop' cheese from Gloucestershire, a firkin of 'Festivity Ale' from Bath Breweries, Somerset, a large jar of my brothers pickled shallots fom Lyme Regis,Dorset, and just hope that Stumelia comes up trumps with some of her fabulous bread. 700...............! who'd have thought it. Thank you Lisa.JohnH
