Forum Activity for @gordon-hardy

Thanks for this Robin! Family times are the best times!

Thanks for sharing the video link Robin. I've seen that program before, but this is the first time in color. Always interesting watching the Ritchie family.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thank you for that link Robin. I had not seen that video of Jean's family gatherings before. 🎄

Happy Birthday to Jean! Thank you for sharing the video of the family Christmas. Those simple times were the best in many ways.

This morning, I searched YouTube for Jean's Wintergrace (which I believe was on George Pickow's channel) and was unable to find George's channel.  

I'm grateful for all Jean Ritchie shared with the world!  She was born 8 December 1922 in Viper, Perry County KY.  

https://youtu.be/piV-BGDHLF4 

You're correct John. I think it was in the $2,000 to 3,000 range, but I may not remember it all that well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I don't remember this "Jeopardy!" episode, but I do recall the "Antiques Road Show" episode with the old Virginia dulcimore on it. The appraiser valued it way high, it seemed to me.

Good point, Dusty.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The trick, Ken, is to record the show, memorize the answers, and then ask someone to watch it with you.  When you yell out all the answers they'll think you're so smart!

Haha, Dusty. I'm glad they repeat those old shows. Sometimes the second or third time through I can get the right question for the answer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

If I'm only four or five months late, that's not bad.  I think of new music as anything played since the invention of the steam engine.

Jeopardy has been offering video and photo clues for years. That's nothing new. Also, this show is not new either. It was first broadcast in July of 2022.

Kwn

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Whaaaat?? I didn't think they showed picture clues on that show! Seems crazy.

As the question was asked, they showed a picture of a dulcimer, so the banjo answer was less informed than you might have thought.

That's actually pretty impressive!  Especially also considering that "mountain banjos" are actually a defined type of banjo.

On Jeopardy today:

Answer: The mountain this is the Kentucky state instrument.

Question: What is a dulcimer?

The first contestant to answer guessed a banjo, but the second one got it.

I tried the magnetic pickup route several years ago. The only drawback was the dulcimer sounded more like a guitar than a dulcimer since it only response to the vibrating string and loses a lot of the traditional  sound of a dulcimer

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsobserver/name/robert-bryan-obituary?id=12749920

This fellow was quite well known around Raleigh and Garner NC.  His obit mentions him as a dulcimer builder among other things.  Here's the link if anyone wants to read it.

That's a nice find @gail-a, but Howie's HD book is another thing entirely.  Not the same as the Mountain Dulcimer book and recordings we discussed all those years ago on ED.  Both book, by modern standards, are somewhat outdated in their approach to building.  Many things Howie was explaining how to calculate, for example, are commonly found today or easily acquired from on-line calculators etc.  

Found his hammered dulcimer book on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/dulcimerhmitchell1971/page/n45/mode/2up

It shouldn't need much, if any 'setup".  Just perhaps a new set of strings, wiping with a damp cloth, and a couple drops of Peg Dope to make sure the pegs work smoothly.  

The links do not work because the original www.everythingdulcimer.com no longer exists.  The current site called that is nothing like the original.   Gosh -- I haven't been in any contact with David for at least 8 years.  Haven't any idea if he's even still alive.   

There are a couple of archived versions of ALL the conversations we had on ED, but I don't remember who has them posted on-line.    Perhaps someone else will have that link.  The discussions there undoubtedly have David's contact information although it might not be valid any longer.  

Sorry I can't be of more help.  

Are the PDFs still available? The links don't work anymore

His obit googled right up…I’m going to take it to the local luthier and get it set up and give it a try…it seems to be a decent build…

I've never heard of Robert Bryan as a North Carolina builder.  But with over 400 builds he had some superior building skills.  The veined, leaf shaped tuning pegs, the laminated layers of light wood between dark on the tuning head and fretboard, and  skillfully cut sound holes are nice touches.  Probably built in the 1970s or 80s -- no 6+ or 13+ frets common to many post-Revival instruments.  Or perhaps he just liked the older ways of playing.  

I'd suggest keeping it "as is" rather than trying to retrofit 6+ and 13+ frets.  Playing Chord-Melody style tuned DAd would not be easy unless you are willing to re-tune.  Probably best to tune to DAA or even CGG and learn to play Fingerdance or Noter & Drone style.

Have you tried finding the builder's obituary on line?    "robert bryan dulcimer raleigh" should be a good google search string.  An obit will often give you interesting information,  likewise listings in Ancestry and similar sites may gain you more data.

I inherited this dulcimer from a friend. It has a label stating it was made by Robert Bryan of Raleigh. It has the number 412 handwritten on the label. My search doesn't reveal any time frame associated with the number. I can only find that Mr Bryan passed away in 2010. 

Does anyone in the group have any idea as to the age of this instrument? Regardless of value it is very special to me. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 dulcimer.jpg - 172KB

<blushing> Thank you Dusty! And thanks for being a long time listener! </blushing>

In my own wilder past goats were also part of my life, starting out with Alpines & Nubians, but found Toggenburgs were the breed for us.  Lived in 15.95 acres if woods, but when we needed to move, what worked for goats didn't work for people & vice versa.  Finally found a place for both, but eventually too little time.  Our last goat went as a companion to a horse, but my daughters never forgave "giving Cookie away."  May your friend have time, enjoyment, & continuing memories!

Patricia, I just listened to the episode and want to congratulate you and Wayne once again for your stellar work. You did a great job of framing the episode but allowing Ashley to really shine.  Her enthusiasm not just for dulcimer music but for the dulcimer community really comes through.  And ending the episode with Joellen's "Dance and Sing" is just a perfect way to reinforce the way music can bring us together in such a joyous way.

And I can attest--since I was there--that Ashley is correct: the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering was indeed the first online dulcimer festival, although by the time it happened, several others were in the works.

Thanks so much for all you do!

Welcome Mivo, finally another fellow German Player:)

I started two years ago with a dulcimer from the Klangwerkstatt.

Where do you live in Germany? 

Viel Spass mit deinen neuen Instrument 😀

Welcome Mivo. You have a beautiful McSpadden and it sounds like you are well on your way. I agree to take the time to find your style. There are many paths to follow; all are good. 

Regarding fingerpicking vs flatpicking, I have a similar background.  I've been fingerpicking guitar since 1973, and also fingerpick banjo, both with fingerpicks. However, I've chosen to follow the chord-melody route on dulcimer, with a flatpick. I am enjoying  that, despite my fingerpicking experience.  It's all about you and your own choices.  

Welcome Mivo!  You have a fabulous journey ahead... enjoy every step.

I thought it interesting that you said "... I also believed it was just for accompaniment, not for solo instrumentals,..."  when in fact it has nearly always through its history been a solo instrument rather than an ensemble member.

As a new player I'll suggest you take a look at the essay/booklet I write a number of years ago for beginning players.  It's called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? .  It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon) plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing care and feeding of your new friend.  You can find it here:

Ken Hulme's "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com

Feel free to copy and print it as much as you want.

Hello again Mivo. Thanks for sharing the beginning of your dulcimer journey with us. It sounds like you are well under way. You have a very nice McSpadden dulcimer. It will give you a lifetime of pleasure.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to drop a note here to say hello.

I'm brand new and rather spontaneously picked up a MacSpadden dulcimer a few days ago after watching some videos that had showed up in my YouTube side bar. I live in Germany where dulcimers are pretty rare beasts, though luckily I found the dulcimer store by Martin Oesterle (I believe he's a member here too) who set aside quite a bit of time to talk to me about dulcimers on the phone and answer my numerous questions. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, I just knew I didn't want the laminated dulcimer-shaped objects that a big box store sold.

I somewhat play the banjo, ukulele, and the kalimba, and in a way it is surprising that it took me so long to get into the mountain dulcimer. It had shown up on my radar a few years ago, but for some reason I didn't look further into it. I think I saw "three strings" and that sort of lowered my interest a little, thinking it might be too limited. I also believed it was just for accompaniment, not for solo instrumentals, and I felt I already had enough instruments. If I had known how versatile and downright beautiful sounding dulcimers are, I'd probably have been here years ago already. Well, there is a time for everything! :)

I'm still all over the place, absorbing information and experimenting with everything, so I don't really have any preferences yet. I do like the chord melody style quite a bit, but also played a little with that tiny noter that came with my dulcimer.  Flatpicks are a relatively new experience for me as I've always fingerpicked the ukulele and the banjo (I play it with fingerpicks sometimes, but I prefer the "old time" styles of picking with bare fingers for the more organic sound). I quite enjoy the flatpick so far and bought "a few" different ones already. Fingerstyle on the dulcimer hasn't called out to me yet, though in time I'll no doubt try that out too. But I do have these other instruments for fingerpicking and it's nice to learn something new.

Anyway, I'm glad to be here and hope to learn from you all. Here are a handful photos of my dulcimer . I took them outside for the better light. It's just the standard walnut model, though it does have a pick up in case I ever want to plug in or toy around with effect pedals. I have little doubt that this dulcimer will eventually be joined by a friend or two -- but not before I've practiced and improved for some time! If I learned one thing from the Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome that I suffered from a decade ago and successfully recovered from, it is the importance of first practicing and learning before shopping for more!

It was so fun getting to know Ashley! She picked most of the music for this episode. This is a rare episode that has music from both hammered and mountain dulcimer players.

What a great idea to profile Ashley!  She does such a great job with DPN and contributes so much to the magazine and the dulcimer community in general.

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 58
Ashley Ernst, Publisher and Owner of Dulcimer Players News

https://dulcimuse.com/podcast

In this episode we’re featuring our conversation with Ashley Ernst, the owner and publisher of Dulcimer Players News. DPN has been the quarterly magazine for mountain and hammered dulcimer players since 1975. With music from both hammered and mountain dulcimer musicians.

You can listen to all of the  Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast  episodes directly on our website: https://dulcimuse.com/podcast  or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Here's the resource page for this episode: https://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/058.html

Thanks for listening!

Patricia Delich & Wayne Jiang

Milo and Frankie ❤️ Awe!!!  So sweet!

Daffer and Annabell are adorable!!!  Sure brings back some great memories….we had Alpines Nubians and Pygmy goats

I may have to dig up a photo that my kids wouldn’t want made public…HAHAHA!  Our 4-H goat club used to have a costume class…….

Milo and Frankie are real cuties!

Daffer and Annabell....gotta love the goats!