Hey hugssandi, how do you find time to play anything? With six kids? Wow. Strumella may see fit to give you a fotmd.com metal of honor one day.
Like a circus balancing act, huh? My advice would be for you to NOT MEMORIZE SONGS, YOU NEED YOUR SLEEP.
PS: Sandi, please understand that what I wrote above is a hahahaha moment for you. I just funnin with ya.
I am SO PLEASED that y'all continue to share. I think the key for each of us is to find our own niche, as everyone learns so differently! I'm sure many will find answers here, as I have. *THANK YOU ALL!*
Terry, I'm sure I wanna do this!! :) I truly am having SO MUCH FUN playing my dulcimer again!!!!!
I just came across this topic and was fixing to give my two cents, a then read Gail's post above.
It works.
When I'm driving my car the 14 miles to town, or 35 miles to my grandkids school to watch them play ball, if I'm not practicing harmonica, I'm singing songs that I have to memory or listening to songs I am learning. Whew!
This is just my simple way of keeping these songs in my muscle brain memory. I just beg for excuses to drive alone.
A key for me in my practice routine is (and this is important) as I am singing a line, I practice visualizing the beginning of the next line. If this makes sense, you can't think it, you have to see it
But once you really get it, there's really no thinking or seeing at all, it's just there. The problem you may experience is going to sleep at night, or just taking a nap during the day. Brain overload. You're extremely sleepy, but your songs won't let you sleep.
You sure you wanna do this?
Not so creative. I got the idea by actually getting my moustache caught in the harp rack.
I've never tried playing the mouth harp with the dulcimer.
Jim, that's so clever to 'trick' the kids into helping work the limberjack. 
Here's a tiple, essentially a 10 string wire strung ukulele. It was made in Chicago by the Regal Company.
It has four courses and is tuned gG-cCc-eEe-AA. I do play this on occasion.
I don't believe I'll play the mouth harp with the drum, but when playing for kids, I have played the mouth harp while working a clog doll (limberjack). I would play it for a while, then pretend to get my moustache caught in the rack. I'd then ask one of the kids to come and work the doll while I played the mouth harp.
Thanks Rob, it is interesting how they combined the instruments and make them work together. I really enjoyed learning about these musicians.
I think the first thing is to have the tune in your head. I usually do - because it's one I've heard and want to learn. You can always go to YouTube and hear almost any tune you want. Then, whether learning by tab or by ear, I start at the beginning learning bits at a time and building on them until I can play the whole thing through. Once it's thoroughly implanted in this old brain, I normally don't need to look at the tab again. That's just my method - hope it helps!
Glad it worked out so well for you, John. I wonder, though, what would you have done if things had turned sour and became the nightmare we all fear?
Steven
Steven, I guess I would have written about that, if it had seemed noteworthy.
~love this so much~
Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.
However, something just doesn't feel right about it. After all, it's pipe and tabor, not harmonica and tabor.
You need a one-handed concertina & tabor.
Jim, while I also have quite a few in a drawer. Always one or two laying around in view.
I also keep a couple in my dulcimer bag and a couple in a uke bag. I like to be ready.
Here's something you might try, Jim. Instead of a pipe, use a harmonica, holding it with your harp holder. Then you have a hand to steady the drum and the other to hold the drum stick. It actually works nicely. Real nice
However, something just doesn't feel right about it. After all, it's pipe and tabor, not harmonica and tabor.
I got a four way traffic light down my road. Stopping at red takes two minutes out of my life. Now I use that time playing harp. Most times I don't mind if the light stays red a little longer... Robert.
And if you have a rack, it should be perfectly legal to play while driving. In Canada, at least, hands free devices are legal. I'm not sure the police would agree.
A couple of folks mentioned Chromatics. Toots Thielemans, the master of the chromatic harp passed away today (August 22, 2016) in his early nineties. Here's a clip of Toots playing his most famous composition, Bluesette. Part way through he is surprised by another master of the chromatic harp, Stevie Wonder.
I bought a chromatic in the mid-sixties after hearing Toots, but it has not received much attention.
A friend of ours and a mentor to both of my sons, the late Willie P. Bennett was the best rack player I've ever heard or played with. Here's the last song I ever heard Willie play:
Willie plays Stardust
One of our neighbours, Carlos Del Junco is one of Canada's (and the world's I'd guess) best mouth harp players. He sometimes sits in with our jug band. Here he is with our fiddle player, Jim Bowskill, playing guitar (Jim is a master of many instruments).
Jimmy Bowskill & Carlos Del Junco
Here's a link to some of their music and interviews, I thought it was really interesting.
Glad it worked out so well for you, John. I wonder, though, what would you have done if things had turned sour and became the nightmare we all fear?
Steven
That's a great idea! I don't have a metronome, but I could sure employ a similar idea....
Often we hear and tell horror stories about traveling with our music instruments on commercial airlines. But I just had a really pleasant experience and thought I’d share it.
I recently purchased a vintage Jethro Ambergey mountain dulcimer and needed to get it home to Japan from California. I don’t have a case or bag for it and thought over several different packing/wrapping strategies for the trip. But I finally decided to just hand-carry the little thing naked on board with me and see what would happen.
My wife and I were flying economy class on ANA, All Nippon Airways. As we were checking our bags at Los Angeles International Airport, the counter clerk was curious about the dulcimer and had some questions. She also expressed some concern about its safety. I told her I planned to ask a flight attendant for some help stowing it once we were on board.
After going through Security and getting into the Departure area proper, we found our gate and settled in for the wait, taking turns to do a little last-minute shopping. About twenty minutes before boarding time I was startled to hear my name over the P.A. I was asked to please come to the gate counter. I did and gave the woman there my name. She found me on the computer and said, “Oh, you’re the one with the musical instrument. We’re going to have you go on during pre-boarding.”
Seeing my confused look, she continued. “That’s the time before the regular boarding. It’s when people with small children, wheelchairs, or special needs can get on board and get settled. That way you can find a place for your instrument, no problem.”
“That’s great,” I told her, “Can my wife come on board early, too?”
“Oh yes,” she said, “No problem.”
Thanking her, I went back to Miwako to explain what they had said to me. No sooner had I told her what was going on when the woman from the counter came up to explain in more detail the procedure and to look at the dulcimer. She too had questions which I happily answered.
So when they announced pre-boarding we were checked through and after a few minutes allowed to board the plane. Our seats were at the back of the plane. After we stowed our carry-ons and shopping I looked for a place for the dulcimer. At first I wasn’t happy with what I saw. This new 787 Dreamliner may be a miracle aircraft, but the overhead bins are pretty small. I didn’t want to take up one for just the dulcimer and I didn’t want to try to share. But I did find a pretty good dulcimer-sized space. It was on the floor between the last row of seats and the bulkhead behind them. I found a flight attendant in the galley at the back of the plane and got her to come out and hear my plan. She said fine and suggested we wrap the dulcimer up in a blanket, which she supplied. We swaddled the little naked dulcimer and laid it on the floor out of harm’s way for the eleven-hour trip across the Pacific. The flight attendant, too, was curious about the instrument and had questions.
We settled into our seats as the other passengers began coming aboard. My wife was very happy with the early boarding. She said we should always carry a dulcimer with us, if it means getting special treatment.
After boarding was complete, the doors sealed, and we began taxiing towards the runway, another flight attendant came by and offered to put the dulcimer in a nearby closet. I thanked her, but declined. I felt the place we’d found and the blanket wrapping offered as much protection as we could expect or would need. Besides, I liked having its nesting spot close at hand.
The flight to Tokyo was fairly smooth, as was the landing at Narita International Airport. I had found recordings of Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and singer Dennis Kamakahi on the in-flight entertainment system. I continued to listen while the plane taxied to the terminal. Since we were at the back of the plane and would be among the last to disembark, I figured I’d enjoy as much of this wonderful music as I could before gathering our things together. But my wife started tugging at my sleeve and saying something I couldn’t understand. And I saw yet another flight attendant. She had pulled the wrapped dulcimer from behind the seats. I took my earbuds out, a little grumpy at being yanked from Hawaiian bliss to Narita tarmac.
“She wants to make sure the dulcimer is OK,” Miwako said, “And she wants to see it.”
“OK, fine,” I said, taking the instrument from the attendant. I unwrapped it. The bass string peg had been bumped and the string was a little flat. Otherwise the dulcimer was fine. I handed it over to the crew member. She looked it over closely and brushed the strings lightly while we got out of our seats. More questions, more answers. I got our things down from the overhead bin while Miwako and the attendant chatted. The plane emptied while they talked and finally we hustled down the aisle, the last to leave, as the crew finished up. The naked dulcimer had landed, arriving in good condition.
As I said at the top, the bad news, the horror stories and problems get reported. I wanted to share my good experience and praise the ANA staff and cabin crew for their concern and efforts. It is a class operation.
Jim, I agree with Lisa, as crafty as you seem to be, you can make this drum work.
Terry, Here's another view of the drum. It was a cheap, $7.00 drum from a school supplies catalog. I put the design on the front in magic marker.
Lisa, I lined up the thumb hole with the third hole from the bottom of the whistle and used a drill bit the same diameter as the hole on the front, so it makes the same note as the third hole from the bottom of a tin whistle. I seem to recall playing a tune called Nonesuch, in my decade ago attempt at becoming a pipe & Tabor player, but I can't recall what it goes like now.
I just looked it up on "The Session" website and here it is: Nonesuch on The Session
Fun to see a little mini flurry of posts here 
Terry , the vision of you marching around your house with pipe and tabor while your wife perhaps takes cover someplace gives me a good chuckle. 
I try to take full advantage when Brian goes out to mow the grass or on an errand... I rush to do a practice session as soon as he's out the door! lolol The notes of these pipes and whistles are pretty good at traveling through walls and even floors. The high notes are piercing indoors, and my neighbors are too close for me to practice in my yard. At this point in my playing i wouldn't want to cause suffering for wild birds either. Or I might attract the unwanted attention of chicken hawks. ;)
Jim , I can't believe how you did that to make a penny whistle into a tabor pipe! Very inventive!!
Did you calculate where to position the thumb hole? Because the thumb hole placement is very specific to give certain notes, and your thumb hole looks to me to be much closer to the mouthpiece than my tabor pipe's thumb hole is located in relation to the two top holes. But the proof of the pudding is- are you able to play tunes on it, like Mary had a little lamb etc? Does it jump into the higher register where you need it to go to the next note? I would 'think' that by design a PW would not be able to behave the same way as a tabor pipe, but if it works then I am amazed and very impressed!
I think you could easily use that frame drum as your tabor. You could either drill a couple of holes in the rim and hang it over your arm (don't make the strap too long), or sit to play and hold it vertically on your lap using your arms and legs somehow. I recommend a short drumstick with a padded tip, especially if practicing indoors. If you want to beat the drum with your right hand, then you'll need to hold and play the pipe with your left hand. While it might be good at some outdoor festival, I hate the sound of my snare while practicing alone indoors, so I beat on the other side of my two-sided tabor drum, and I tucked a little folded piece of chamois under the snare thread to keep it quiet.
I might be wrong, but I 'think' that on either a PW or tabor pipe, if you have a D pipe you can play in G, or D, or E minor. I have a G tabor pipe only so far, and mostly I've been playing medieval and renaissance simple tunes in A minor. But if I know the tune by ear, I can base it on the A minor key and work it out without having to find actual sheet music in the key my pipe is in. Some accidentals (a sharp here and there in the minor key) I have found i can get by half covering a hole. Using half holes gives you the ability to play in some other keys since you can then create sharps and flats as needed. But this is mostly beyond my current level. I do this stuff by hearing rather than by knowing music theory- I hear when I need a note to be a sharp in a certain part of a tune, and I experiment to see if I can make a sharped note with my fingering somehow. If there are several 'missing' notes I know I need to start the tune in a different key or home note (or else get a pipe in another key)...it feels kind of like the mountain dulcimer noter style playing that way!- find where the tune 'fits' on your fret board and start it there so you'll have the needed notes for that tune. 
One other thing I noticed- I tend to practice for about 45 minutes or so. When I practice every day I don't notice my progress as much. When I skip a day or two once a week, when I pick up the pipe again I can actually see and feel the progress since the last session. hmm...I like that! lol
I switch on my metronome!
I usually have only a very short time to learn and memorise and then record any new piece. As soon as I can just about play it I then switch on my metronome and play. If I make a mistake I leave the metronome on and pick up the tune a few measures before the error.
This technique forces the physical muscle memory for that tune into the non-conscious and ties the sound to your physical movement. I can memorise new tunes very quickly and get them to full playing speed using this technique.
Jim, it would sure be interesting to see the side of the drum. Us tabor people find this interesting.
Nice looking flute you got there. Good job.
Coordinating the two instruments for a beginner is, I believe, the most difficult part to learning pipe and tabor. Fitting the drum on your arm and holding a flute with one hand, well enough to cover the holes properly, is very trying in the beginning.
However, with a little practice, the ah ha moments begin.
Until my coordination improves, I am only practicing very simple songs like:
Mary had a little lamb, Aunt Rhody, Cabbage song, and Twinkle Twinkle. For me the most fun I experience is just making up music and marching inside and outside of my home.
Neighbors are seldom home and even if they were we are not very close.
My most stressing learning obstacle is arthritis in my hands and fingers. But I do feel this is improving thanks to Strumelia, Lexie, my wife, and meds.
Try it.......you may just like it.
I had skipped over page two. I just saw Lisa's video and was impressed. I see that my homemade pipe & tabor are quite crude compared to the ones you guys have, but they'll do me for now. Maybe I'll start working on the tune Lisa played.
I made a tabor pipe from a Generation D whistle about a decade ago and worked at it for a while, but it has been sitting in a crock of whistles in my music room for a few years now. I got it out to tke these photos
I strted by inding the bit that would exactly fit the third hole from the bottom and , placing the whistle on a piece of scrap board, I drilled through the back of the whistle. I then put a piece of masking tape over all but the bottom two holes and, voila, I had a workable tabor pipe.
I have a cheap 12 inch frame drum, with no snare, that I had intended using as a tabor drum. You guys may have inspired me to have another go at it.
What tunes do you folks play on your pipe?
Golly, I don't know about Jeff's instrument, Rob; you'd know better than I do. I'm hoping to make it to the concert at Jerry Rockwell's fest yet may not know until last minute whether I'll get to go or not.
I'm going to wait and see if Jeff has any cds at SE Ohio. Save the shipping lol. Can't wait to meet him. Love players who play like he does using no extra frets. In fact, is that an old Capritaurus he's playing? Scroll over a "flat head" was something they used wasn't it?
I'm glad you ladies enjoyed seeing Appalasia! I've ordered a cd. :)
Why is it embarrassing to look in your harmonica drawer? I don't have a harmonica drawer - they just lie all over the place! But I do have a briefcase for gigging.
Lisa, you being a mother hen is just fine. I'll do it.
I was just telling my wife a few minutes ago, as we are driving from Florida back home to Georgia, how much I miss practicing my instruments. She is shopping at a Bealls outlet store, while I'm resting in the car.
Lisa, yes, you are nuts. A real nut. But be at peace, there are a lot of music nuts on this forum, including this Ole south Georgia boy. It's almost embarrassing when I look in my harmonica drawer.
Lisa! I really love your video.
