Forum Activity for @susie

The Madrone Magic flutes at High Spirits are beautiful and sound wonderful. 

 IMG_20170414_083912560.jpg - 211KB

John Henry and Paul, there's a quiet strengthening that happens as you grieve, even as it seems the death of your dear Mary has left a hole that can never mend.  I hope you can find joy and comfort with the music, flowers, or treats that she enjoyed and that your faith will be as a balm to your hearts.

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 24
A Mother Day’s Special Featuring Margaret Wright and Cassandra Damper

http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast

For this Mother’s Day, we’d like to celebrate all mothers who play dulcimer. We especially appreciate the dulcimer mothers who teach dulcimer to their children and to others. To honor all dulcimer mothers, we’re presenting the heartwarming story of a special dulcimer mother: Margaret Wright and her daughter Cassandra Damper.

Listen to the episode, see photos, videos, and more:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/024.html

Robin, thank you so much for this suggestion and especially for taking the time and trouble to record Supplication. We do both read music, so that helps. Your playing is inspiring...

Sorry to hear of Brian's passing. Rest in peace, Brian.

Very sorry to hear of Brians passing . We had many talks about building and finishing dulcimer. Truly a kind and gentile man. Rest in Peace Brian.

I was wondering about Brian. I had many delightful conversations with him on chat. I remember how excited he was to build his first dulcimer. I will miss him. I do remember him telling me about his breathing problems. I said some prayers for him that God will heal him. Well, being in the arms of the Savior is the ultimate healing. My prayers for his family and friends. He will be missed.

Sorry to learn about this.  Although, we likely didn't have much interaction, learning about someone's passing from this community affects us all.  May he rest in peace.

Prayers for all of his friends and family.  Rest well, Brian.  You will be missed.

Thank you for sharing this sad news, Jan. My sympathy goes out to all who knew Brian. I enjoyed chatting with him.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sad news. May he be at peace. Thank you Jan.

Sorry to hear of Brian's struggles and his passing.

May he rest in peace.

I hope Brian's passing was as peaceful as possible; he rests now where there is unspeakably beautiful music. 

Thank you, Jan, for letting us know of Brian's death. 

May Brian rest in peace.  I'm glad he enjoyed his friends here while he was able.  Having friends with which to share your joy of music is a powerful thing.  Thanks Jan.

Rest in peace, Brian.

Steven

I am sad to report the death of our member, Brian Beach, who lived in the small community of Vasser, Michigan.  Brian had been interested in the mountain dulcimer for years and had even made two, I believe.  Brian suffered from COPD and had been unable to live on his own for awhile, needing a certain level of skilled care to bring him whatever comfort he could find.  Brian treasured his FOTMD friends and enjoyed chatting and discussing a wide range of dulcimer topics.  A humble man with a big smile and a caring heart, Brian will be missed by his dulcimer family.

Rest easy, Brian, and enjoy the music of the heavens that we can only barely imagine!

I added strap buttons to the possum board.  Not for a strap but to use rubber bands to hold the instrument onto the board as it was rocking and sliding a little bit.

Have a look at the Sacred Harp hymns.  They tend to be written in simple standard music notation for multi-part harmonies and many of them work well for noter drone playing.  Here is Supplication played on an old  Jethro Amburgey dulcimer with a two part harmony.  I agree with Lisa when she says to lay back off the drones.

https://soundcloud.com/robin-clark-937720894/supplication-jethro-amburgey-dulcimer-25-feb-15

I knew you folks would have great ideas! Thanks so much! I play by ear, (N/D) and am just starting a few chords. Jenn is just starting dulcimer, watching what I do knee to knee in the old way. But she's a quick study, so we were already planning totry Dona Nobis Pacem. There will be lots of laughing...

Strumelia, good idea to back off of the drones! I think I can do that. Ta also for reminder of Blackest Crow harmony! I learned it from your tab; will try singing with the harmony. Time to revisit your beautiful blog anyway, now that I'm at a different place in my journey.

Greg - one part higher up, great! 

Skip, would never have guessed about the Steven S. book. Will search for it.

Ken, I knew it was a stretch to think there'd be a book...I can play what I can hum, but not make up harmony on dulcimer.

And Lisa G, big thanks for the idea of rounds and the terrific list of partner songs. Never heardof partner songs before! whole new world!

Do I ever love fotmd!!

There's no reason one player couldn't use a noter and play the melody only (no drones) while the second player accompanied them with chords.  I used to do this with a friend.  He would play the melody only and I would accompany with chords, sometimes strumming across all strings for the full chord sound and sometimes breaking the chord up into an arpeggio (finger-picking single strings while holding the full chord).  This worked really well with dulcimer and banjammer playing together.  If you try this, have one player play their part higher up the neck and the other player play their part lower on the neck. The individual parts will resonate clearer this way.  In case you're interested, my playing partner knew very little about chord playing.  He was a self-taught single-string melody player.  When his melody playing was harmonized with my chords, we both noticed an improvement in our music.

A separate book or tab was not needed, because most tab includes chord names above the tablature these days.

Some great ideas there!  Strumelia is right -- one half of the duet really has to ignore the drones!   Lisa's counter-melody is is a wonderful idea.  And I never realized Stephen had done a JTJ Harmony book.   

My student has just snow-birded back North for the summer, but I'll work up some of these ideas for when she returns...

Steven Seifert's Join the Jam and Join the Jam, Harmony may work for you. There may be other books with both melody harmony parts that might work for noter/drone also.

One playing an octave higher [add 7] or lower [playing a bass] may work some also.

I remember an old trick for playing a counter-melody in DAA tuning.  Fret the middle string two frets down from the melody string.  No reason this wouldn't work with two players, one playing the melody tab and the other playing the same tab but two frets lower.  Listen while you do this, because sometimes that counter-melody doesn't sound good and then you can try sliding up or down a fret until it sounds better. 

When all else fails, there are lots of rounds.  Frere Jacques, Oh How Lovely is the Evening, Come Follow Me, Dona Nobis Pacem...  You can probably find tab for these and they are automatically duet arrangements!  Trios and quartets, too!

There's also what the Internet has just told me are called "partner songs."  Like when you play "All Night, All Day" while I play "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."  This page says "Cindy" and "Liza Jane" play together.  How about "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" with "Go Tell Aunt Rhody"?

Thanks hugssandi and others- your comments are indeed helpful. I decided to use a 25" fret board pattern for my April dulcimer

Just lovely~thank you for blessing us!

Just my two cents but I think if two players are playing noter/drone style duets, it would be good if one or both of them knows how to lighten up on the drone strumming a little- perhaps a lighter touch or only intermittent full drone string strums.  Otherwise it's going to be a pretty big 'wall o' drone'.

I don't have a book of noter duets, nor do I know of one.  But here's one (free) noter style duet tab I wrote for The Blackest Crow, if that helps get you started:

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/05/blackest-crow.html

Duet books?  There are barely any noter & drone books at all!  

Something that could be fun is to work up duets using old and new versions of tune.  For example there are 3 progressively older tunes for Auld Lang Syne, and I play the modern version as the verse and an older version as a chorus or refrain.  The two tunes are similar enough they could be played together.

Thank you for the kind thoughts Cindy ,much appreciated !

JohnH

This is so beautiful.....so heartfelt.......

Thank you so much for re-posting it! 

If only the world had a few more Frans!!! 

John Henry, I am so sorry that I am so late with this, but  I pray that God lifts you up and comforts you.

I hope you find your way back to playing music, and that it can bring joy in your life.

You and your family are in my heart and in my prayers.

God hath not promised skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

Anybody know of any noter style duet books or resources?  Thanks.

Phil thanks for re-posting that video.  Such a joy to listen to that old hymn sung with such grace and sincerity.  

I Cor. 15:53-55

What a voice for someone of that age!  Amazing indeed.  RIP Fran.

This video was taken on October 9, 2013-Fran Cargill's 93rd birthday. She is accompanied by Sally DeLawter. Fran passed to her heaven ly home April 10, 2017. There is beautiful dulcimer music and singing in heaven today!

Just watched your you tube demo of the capo.  What a great educational video for novices like me.  And I loved the sound of the dulcimer you are playing.  What is the wood and is it by any chance a Blue Lion? Dulcinina

I'm eyeing a Roscoe Horton, for sure it's just intonation just looking at the fret board, has geared tuners, not wood pegs. I have seen some info on him, only seems to have built about 1700 dulcimers, this one in 95. Has anyone played one or familiar with them, looks to be well built.

 Did see some personal history on him, and the other feedback I saw was from folk who didn't understand the difference between, JI and ET, same as me at first, when I got my first JI Dulcimer without knowing I assumed the dulcimer was "messed up", but now I also play noter style and get the different tunings for older, or traditional style build..

 So, I'll stop rambling. just always like asking before I jump. Thanks all!!

(Generally "Beginner Dulcimer" means a less expensive instrument -- perhaps with a cardboard body, or a body made from birch veneer rather than 'planks' of walnut or maple or whatever.)

    What confused me was the ones I have hear mention they had a 'beginner dulcimer' didn't have the cardboard or veneer or over seas type but a decent walnut dulcimer - that is why I was wondering.  So, that would make sense if they had above mention type.

Maybe, just a beginner one for them since they are beginning and later they will go for one - more to their needs as they learn what those needs may be.

(strap do you wear for your thumb?)

FUTURO, can get them at grocery or CVS type stores.