Forum Activity for @jan-potts

Sounds like quite a trip. I haven't been to Spain since 1971. Your photo makes me think that this area hasn't changed all that much....

OH this isbeautiful, I wish I lived over there with access to all those wonderful, historical places.

I did miss you !!!

John

Very cool, Ken! And, yes, make it cooler by taking along a dulcimer next time.

Oh wow, so beautiful! Did you save any damsels in distress while you were there Ken?

I spent the last week as a Spanish hillbilly! My Lady Sally's father retired to Catalonia (a Spanish province) about 30 years ago (he turns 90 in March), and Sally goes twice a year for a week to visit him on his finca (think farm or homestead). Brits seem to retire to Spain the way New Yorkers retire to Florida, and for much the same reasons. This time I got to go along and meet him for the first time.

He lives about 30 miles up a dirt mountain track from the village of Llado, which is in turn some 20 miles from the town of Figueres (where Salvador Dali lived). In another direction he's only about 30 miles over a mountain from the Mediterranean and France. The finca is now only about 18 hectares (think 40 acres), although it was once much larger.

Although there is piped water, his only electricity is a mix of 12 volt solar panel/battery and a gas-fired generator if/when he decides to fire it up. He is not computer literate or interested in them. The nearest occasional access is a neighbor, about a mile away but they were only home one day while we were there.

The main house and outbuildings are, as you can see, stone, and have been built, re-built, and added to over the years. Goats and sheep and horses and 'javelin' (wild boar) roam the property and the valley in general (I got to help cut down on the size of the sounder of pigs that inhabit the valley).

We were gone just a week, flying in and out of Barcelona. In some ways it felt like forever, and it some it was far too short. Next time I will take a dulcimer.

I made a little beer & wine years ago, but I don't drink enough to make it worthwhile. I can buy expensive beer for the 6 or 8 cans a I drink every year. I never did achieve high quality results, either.

Paul

I use beer to make my beer bread, my beer bbq ribs, and beer butt chicken (as Dana described). The food tastes sooooo good. However, I sometimes wonder why I'm wasting all that beer. Haha. Several years ago I was brewing my own beer too, though I've scaled all that down lately due to my multiple love affairs (with instruments that is).

I bet there was a lot of beer, the last beer would likely have been fought over. "You did what with the last beer? I'll slap the taste out of your mouth, you dern fool!" We make beer can chicken a lot, it's probably my favorite chicken recipe.

Paul

LOL John Most redneck experiments end with those famous last words..HAHAHA

We used to make "Chicken on a beer can" on the grill, you juststick an open canof beerup the chickens rear(a dead one of course) and let the beer steam it. Makes the meat really tender and moist. Always wondered who it was that first thought of that. Two rednecks with a chicken and a half drunk beer. Hey bubba wonder what would happenif we........and threw it on the grill? And a trend is started!

That does sound not only interesting, but most important, really good!

Please let us know how it turns out, Dennis!

Somehow I came across a recipe for crock pot beer chicken today on the Internet. I copied the recipe and will be trying it out. Not very many ingredients but uses a ca of beer for the broth. Over some rice sounds like it will be delicious.

I agree with Mike. Forget waxing over tung oil. Use 4, no more than 5, coats of tung oil and buff between coats.

I used tung oil on my dulcimer when I put my kit together. I finished it with three coats and it sounds great. Didn't deaden the acoustics in the least. In my opinion. I even put the finish on the fret board right over the fret wire. No ill effects that I can notice. That's been going on four years now. I have pics of it on my page, take a look for yourself. Even did a few videos, so you can hear how it sounds.

Little of both.

Randy & all, maybe the idea of getting a feel for tunes is what serves best in the long haul.

Randy, you're also hitting on how a person can join in to play on tunes you don't know when in a music jam. At least I think you might be hitting on this: where there's both by ear play and drawing on past experience as far as understanding the structure of folk or fiddle tunes and playing along with others on tunes you either haven't heard before or don't know well.

Randy Adams said:

These types of threads about memorizing tunes, or the similar topics 'how do you learn a new tune', or 'ear vs tab' come up occasionally here.

I don't mean to be condescending, or to disrespect the way that works the best for others to learn how to play the dulcimer but there is a higher level to aspire to that never gets mentioned. Well sir, I'm going to take a deep breath and say it out loud.

Most folk tunes, or fiddle tunes, are simple in structure and melody. Many musicians with some experience and competence can hear these tunes once, understand how it goes, and play it. In fact many tunes are simple enough and move in such a predictable manner, they have queues that indicate where they are going, that they can be played adequately the first time through, like as the tune is being played.

How a person gets to this level is dependent on several things. How much are you willing to practice? What are your musical goals? How much innate musical talent are you blessed with?

Assuredly this is a learnable skill. Nobody just picks up an instrument and does it. But it is not only the domain of the musical genius either. Many amateur musicians I know and play with can do it.

Thanks for that Randy, it's what I was getting at in my first post when I talked about getting a small start and the rest of the tune falling into place.

The Curra Road I mentioned fell out very quickly with just a few repetitions once I had a start and then a few more listens to hone it up and pull it into shape, After that comes the more difficult part of holding on to it or refining it further,

john

Little tip for you Paul and Ken, there's no need to listen hundreds of times before you dive in.
Try and get the first line, or find a phrase that stands out for you and try to play that. If you can get that anchored to the fretboard then go back and listen again. You'll find that more of the tune will fall into place quite easilly once you have a start, no need to have the whole thing fixed before you try.

I used to do the writing it down thing and have scribbled sheets lying around somewhere with aide memoires and such. I don't bother anymore and just use Youtube or Spotify or something when I need to refresh my memory.

Repetitions and practice is the thing then to keep them in mind. The problem I have all the time is remembering what tunes I can play, For example someone mentioned 'Aseika Tali' not long ago, a tune I know well and could play straight off, but something I hadn't played for 40 years.

john

By ear player since the beginning nearly 40 years ago. I listen to a tune a hundred or more times until I can sing/hum or whistle it, on command, anytime. They I sit down and pick it out on the dulcimer. At that time I write the melody line tab as a memory aid. After I've played it a day (by ear not tab) I don't need more memory than the first few measures of tab.

Great discussion. I play mostly by ear now. I'll listen to the song (if it's not already stuck in my head) and pick it out. Or I'll have a song in mind and look up the guitar chords to it and play some stuff out of the chords. I'll spice it up by playing some alternate chords or a few melody notes here and there depending if I'm playing dulcimer or banjo. I began learning with tab and though it has gotten me here, I wish I could almost start over (not really just metaphorically) and not get dependent on tab. I think it slowed me down.

Plus picking things out by ear is so much fun. Once you realize you can actually do it and it's not as hard as you made it out to be it's a total blast. And you can play around with notes with in a chord and add in harmony notes and things.

I play with the fingers...found it hard to hit the right notes with my ears....

Hi Gayle,

One finger up and down the melody string here(same as noter/drone, but without the stick),

Play almost entirely by ear and need the tune in my head before I can go anywhere, tra la la, or dum de dum is enough, just something to give me the notes and the rhythm. Songs are often easiest, the words give you something to hang the tune on.
I did teach myself enough SMN to sort out the mode and some sort of fret order, but I still need to hear it by ear, I'm not good at sorting out the rhythm and stuff yet. What a god awful system that SMN is BTW, whoever designed it needs shooting :)

Once I've got the tune in my head(or part of it anyway) it goes -

Take aim, Close your eyes, Dive in.

Taking aim
===========

So I start noodling around trying to fit what's in my head to the fretboard. Sometimes just a couple of notes, how it starts, or maybe a little phrase that works, something to anchor you to the fretboard. If you've got it right then the other notes kind of fall into place. Experience, and loads of trying out, will gradually start to tell you what's going to work and what's not,
First thing I try and find is the Home fret, where the tune is going to end. This tells me the mode and tuning and all that sort of stuff. Next I find where the tune starts and then if there are any intervals that aren't being used(gaps in the scale), this tells me what other Home frets might work.

Closing your eyes.
==================
Not literally, but you've got to get your head out of the way now. Actually closing your eyes can help here as it forces you to play by feel a bit more and stops your damn brain trying to get in on the act all the time, it already had it's turn when you were taking aim. You'll never play from your heart if your head keeps getting in the way.

Dive in.
=========
Just go for it.
This is where all the mystical stuff comes in and people start talking about opening up the higher chakras, getting out of the moving centre, allowing the chi to flow, and Jedi Masters like Randy tell you to trust in the Force.
Those that can do this are the musicians we valued the most, They don't play the music, the music plays them.

When I'm re-remembering a tune I know well it usually goes like this - first time through it goes reasonably well, second time through my brain want's to get involved and it all breaks up, third time through it starts to pull into shape.

Here's an actual example I've just started working on, this is something I heard on the radio and then dug up on youtube.

I was attracted to this in the first place as the sentiment is gentle, it's the song of a dreamer and sounds not quite fully in this world.
So, I listen to it a few times. Next I try to strip out everything but the melody, so follow the voice or the flute or the whistle, and end up with something like 'In the summer we'll go walking, la la la together, dum de dum de dum' in my head.
Next I noodle around looking for the home fret and find it at the 2nd. Very odd this, that's Locrian. closer examination shows it's gapped at the 2nd and 5th so will also fit in Phrygian(5th fret) and Aeolian(1st fret). Probably the missing dominant that gives it the slightly detatched feel.
So that's the brain almost satisfied, I can work the link from lower to higher register, but haven't quite got the bridge back from higher to lower yet(taking aim).
Next comes trying to get a better feeling for the rhythem and the flow of the tune(closing your eyes). then trying to get the whole thing to work(diving in).

john

Gayle, I'm a 'by ear' player 99.9% of the time-- since I am a noter/drone player, all I have to worry about is being in the right key, getting the melody down, and most importantly, getting the rhythm right. The .1% comes in if I happen to be with a group of people and we all are trying to learn/play a specific piece of music a specific way so I struggle to read from paper; this rarely happens, though.

I'd like to learn to read SMN for playing an instrument, bowed dulcimer particularly.

Hi Gayle,

Yep - Playing by ear is a skill rather than a tallent. And some folk will find it easy than others to learn just like any other skill. A few good teaching points and the motivation to practice will speed up the process - just the same as learning anything else.

I think that TABs are probably very good for picking up a chord melody arrangement of a tune (a bit like a Travis picking arrangement for guitar). I see lots of post from folk saying "Oh I just love such and such a tune; does anyone have the TAB?" In other words, they know ofthe tune already (froma CD or the radio etc for example Candle in the Wind by Elton John)but are looking for a dulcimer arrangement of it. SMN would be pretty complex for a chord melody arrangement, so TABs show someones dulcimer arrangement in a simpler form.

SMN is good for tunes that you don't know at all or don't know well enough to whistle. For noter drone I think it is better than TAB all round because of the reasons I gave above. And for chord melody I sort of prefer to work out my own arrangement using just the melody as a basis. Hence TAB has really passed me by.

Well, well, another thread which should generate some great responses! I learn by ear a lot of what I play. Indeed, I feel more comfortable more quickly when I learn by ear. However, you can make mistakes by mishearing or misremembering some of the notes. That's where you talk about "regional differences" in tunes (works particularly well for fiddle tunes not so much for a Johnny Cash song.) Training your ear is, like Robin said, not difficult and well worth it. Start with a simple tune you know well but have never played on the dulcimer; then find the notes. In fact, if you like Johnny Cash a lot of his songs meet the criteria of "simple tune."

The next best way for ME is SMN. I just learned O'Carolan's "Lord Inchiquin" from SMN in G and played in D. I think Robin's mention of intervals brings up a great thing which happens (I think) to at least many dulcimists who read music: you quit thinking in terms of note (a, b, g#) rather you think about the interval between the notes (1, 2, 7.) Then it's easy to transfer the SMN, no matter what key it's in, the dulcimer, no matter what tuning it's in.

Lastly, I hate tab. I hated it on the guitar; I hated it on the banjo; I hate it on the dulcimer. But.... I use it when that's all that's available. Now, I don't mind tab below the SMN. I think of that as the fingering indications on classical guitar music: read the note, get an idea of where it should be played on the fingerboard.

There you go. My 2 centavos! Have fun

Rob

Hi Gayle,

I would say 90% of my playing is by ear and about 10% from startdard sheet music (fiddle tune books usually). I never use TAB.

As your experience develops you will find it easier and easier to work by ear. It just takes practice to begin to hear intervals (the tune rising and falling) and note lenghts. Your ear will become more discriminating and pick up the fine nuances in the music you are listeneing to. BUT it does take specific practice!!!!! Youcould startby picking tunes off the CDs that come with the tune books you have and see how far you can get without looking at the music. It is much easier to do the combination of hearing the tune and reading the TAB, so many folk don't move beyond this as they put no time into specific ear training. My wife started playing fiddle about 3 years ago and would do exactly what you do (CD abd written music). She said that she couldn't play by ear. I callenged her (a dangerous thing ) to tell me how many hours she had actually put into practicing playing by ear!!! Of course, she hadn't actually done much more than tried it a couple of times and then taken the easy route. Now she can sit in on a session and pick up tunes by ear.

A similar thing happens with reading music. The idea behind music is that you don't have to hear the tune on CD, you 'hear' what's written on the page - rather than 'read' what's written on the page. So when I use sheet music I'm not looking see what note this or that dot is and then say 'That's an F#so in this tuning it is at the 2nd fret'. I'm hearing the melody (singing it, humming it or hearing it in my head) as I scan across the page. I use sheet music to play by ear! Again it is just a skill that needs some specific practice time. I will take music books up to bed and practice reading/hearing tunes without my dulcimer. I'm not very good at it yet but I can pick out basic new melodies. And I can use the sheet music to reinforce a tunes that I'm learning. So I can practice my dulcimer playing, in silence, without my dulcimer - a useful skill. It also means that I can sight transpose to some extent using this method. As I'm only interested in the melody intervals and note lenghts I can read a tune in the key of G but play it in say the key of A or D.

You are at a great stating point, matching the written tune to the heard tune. I would suggest that you really put some time into both skills of learning by ear and learning to 'hear' written sheet music as in the long run these skills will really help your playing.

Robin

Take the ox off your Sox and you're a fan of the Reds.
Hey, I want the Yankees to lose, too.

Dusty Turtle said:

As a Red Sox fan since before I can remember, I am indeed routing for a team this year: whoever is playing the Yankees.

I know there are Yankees fans out there. But I guess some people wanted Goliath to beat David, too.

Actually, a lot of the games have been really exciting this year. And here in Northern Cal we had two teams in the run, with the As a genuine cinderella team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. My wife is a Giants fan, so our house is black and orange and not because of Halloween.

As a Red Sox fan since before I can remember, I am indeed routing for a team this year: whoever is playing the Yankees.

I know there are Yankees fans out there. But I guess some people wanted Goliath to beat David, too.

Actually, a lot of the games have been really exciting this year. And here in Northern Cal we had two teams in the run, with the As a genuine cinderella team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. My wife is a Giants fan, so our house is black and orange and not because of Halloween.

Well the Nats snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. Congratulations to the Cards. I'm sure you are happy Sue

That would have been the best casescenario. Oh well, maybe next year.

Robin Thompson said:

You know I wanted the Reds to win the division and the Pirates to win the wild card.

Jim Fawcett said:

Well, all I can say after 20 years of having a losing season with the Pirates, Let's go Nats!

You know I wanted the Reds to win the division and the Pirates to win the wild card.

Jim Fawcett said:

Well, all I can say after 20 years of having a losing season with the Pirates, Let's go Nats!

Well, all I can say after 20 years of having a losing season with the Pirates, Let's go Nats!

Patty, as a Reds' fan I've been pulling for the Nats to defeat the Cards!

Patty from Virginia said:

Robin, If the Washington Nationals win Friday night, I don't know what I'll do. I'll either get excited that our area finally has a winning team (been a long dry spell; although, hockey team has been okay) or I'll faint from the shock of it all

Robin, If the Washington Nationals win Friday night, I don't know what I'll do. I'll either get excited that our area finally has a winning team (been a long dry spell; although, hockey team has been okay) or I'll faint from the shock of it all

A most appropriate post, Carrie!

Carrie Barnes said:

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville: Mighty Casey has struck out.

Leonard, this pretty much sums it up for me.................

Robin, smog?

For your dear wife's sake, Leonard, it is good to not watch games sometimes.

I watch no Reds' games-- we don't get cable tv and live in the boondocks where few channels can be got.

Leonard Griffin said:

Robin, if we could figure that out it would not hurt so bad. Like Carrie says we Texas Rangers fans have been disappointed again for the third time. I sometimes have had to not watch games for awhile, my wife says I get to hard to live with , and my blood pressure I am sure goes up!!