Forum Activity for @benjamin-w-barr-jr

Sorry to hear of this.  I had never met Larkin, but knew of her and a reputation in the dulcimer world.  RIP.

Hello All!  It's been a long time since I've posted at FOTMD.  SARS-CoV-2 has had affected my life pretty dramatically.  I've been involved in the clinical development of a couple vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 (in addition to my "regular" work), and have been working insane hours.  Unfortunately, I know more than a few people who have died as a result of the disease, and many more who have suffered greatly.  This pandemic has exacerbated systemic injustices related to the social determinants of health, and the US response in particular has been pathetic.

It's heartening to read of more and more people getting vaccinated. I hope you all stay safe!  :)

Brian

Very sad news.  I also still have my book and cassette (and still think hers is one of the best introductions to the mountain dulcimer I've seen).  She certainly touched many lives.  My deepest sympathies to her family and friends. She will be missed.

That's good news about your family, @jost.

Sad news indeed, Robin. Thanks for letting us know.
She certainly gave a lot of people joy through her own music, and through helping others to find their personal music as well.

Thank you for sharing this, Robin. This is sad news. Many people learned to play using her instruction book and cassette tape. I still have mine. My sympathy goes out to her husband, her family, and friends.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Musician Larkin Bryant has died.  Larkin's mountain dulcimer instruction book is a treasure I enjoy.  I also have Larkin's last mountain dulcimer cd and it is one of my favorites.  I post the following video in memory of Larkin-- in it,  Larkin and Bonnie Carol are playing music together.  

Both of my parents  and one of my siblings got their first vaccination dose now, it's a big relief. 

My other brother and I will have to wait though most likely up to autumn. But at least it's making progress and I can visist my family without fearing to bring the virus to them

Not yet, but someday someone will invent one. I've been tempted to try one of the automatic guitar tuners, but it would just be something else to clutter the accessory pocket in my guitar case.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Wow. Electric, robot mowers?  You all make me feel like dinosaur.  I still push around a gas mower.  I am self-propelled, but the mower is not.

Do you have a machine that tunes your dulcimers, too?

My self-propelled mower lasts a little over an hour on a fully charged battery. Mine is a Kobalt from Lowe's. My robotic mover also lasts around an hour on a full charge. It docks itself when it needs to be recharged. It is a Husqvarna. I saw these in action when I attended the A.S.I.A. Symposium in East Stroudsburg, PA in 2018. I was impressed by how they worked. My wife wanted me to get someone to cut the lawn. The robot was a compromise. It cuts the largest part of the year and I use the walk behind, self-propelled mower to do parts of the yard that the robot is not programmed to do. These are areas out near the street and outside of fenced in year and along the fence as the robot does not cut all the way to fence.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken, we have a 1acre lawn.  Will the battery powered self propelled mower last that long?

What is the company name?

Thank you!

Don

@ken-longfield Our new mower is battery-powered-- neither gas nor oil needed for an engine.  We have a string trimmer coming today from the same company from which we got the mower.  Our new mower is a self-propelled walk-behind mower-- we don't own a riding mower-- and we don't have a string trimmer yet. :)   

I got my dulcimer from the Klangwerkstatt in Markt Wald,Germany. I don't know whether they ship to other countries but asking never hurts: Although their dulcimer lacks extra frets it should be possible to ask them to add them without costing to much (they build every instrument for every order and the beginning price is quite affordable even with the porto):  https://www.klangwerkstatt.de/dulcimer

And fellow FOTMD forum member Martin Osterles student models in his shop  have the 6+ fret If  I don't see anything wrong:
https://www.dulcimerstore.de/c/dulcimershop/dulcimus-standard 

He delivers inside the EU: https://www.dulcimerstore.de/l/shipping 

Regards, jost

Robin, I am guessing that you are talking about a plug-in mower with an extension cord. My sister and her former husband used one for many years. My sister still does.

Last year I switched over to  battery powered lawn mower, string trimmer, and hedge trimmer. Most of my lawn is done by a robot, but I need the mower for places the robot doesn't reach. No more messing with gas and oil.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

We just got an electric mower.  Mark had a chance to try it out before the cold snap hit and I look forward to getting to use it.  Very lightweight and very quiet-- big pluses!   

My husband was mowing the lawn when the snow started falling, but he wanted to finish, so he just kept going.  We got about an inch here in Lexington, KY.

Ken:  I have asked for the seller to 2x check, for the VSL.  He's a music shop owner who deals mostly with guitars.  I'm thinking this is actually 28.5 inches, too.  I'll let you know what I find out. 

I did not know that regarding who sign the McSpadden labels?  So, although several folks may have been involved in building this dulcime, Larry McSpadden at least "inspected" it before gluing on the back??

Regardless,  I'm glad to hear you say " I think you are making a good decision".

Made good sense to me.  Thanks For All Your Help - John

Really cold here in NY too. It was snowing pretty heavily for like 45 minutes, and freezing wind. But the ground was warm, so the snow melted immediately. Weird. Not sure how to dress anymore. !

oops I guess that's not really 'positive'. 

I think you are making a good decision. I would have passed on the May dulcimer for the same reason. Are you sure the VSL on the McSpadden is correct? Most McSpadden's fo that period were 28.5 inches. Also, McSpadden dulcimers were not built by one person. The craftsperson whose responsibility of gluing on the back was the person who signed the label. Someone else may have bent the sides, installed the frets, tuners, strings, done the glue ups, etc.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Richard:  Thank you kindly!!  I have a line on a 2001 McSpadden Spruce over Walnu, 29 VSL.   It was Larry McSpadden. 

It is in mint condition.

I think I'm going to go with the McSpadden. 

I know Warren May does beautiful work, but I have concerns about the rework on tuners and 6 1/2 fret.

Thanks Again for answering all my questions.

 McSpadden M12 S 1.jpg - 259KB

Robin, it has been getting colder all day. Tomorrow is not going to be a day to be outside doing yard work. Maybe I'll be able to get some of dulcimer projects worked on. You stay warm as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Good news, Venni. Welcome back.

@ken-longfield Anything for you, my friend!  :) On a more serious note, very cold temperatures are coming tonight and lots of fruit trees are in bloom now.  Time will tell how it goes.  Keep warm there in PA!

Venni, so glad you have recovered. COVID is wicked.

I agree that the dark spot looks to be in the wood.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Venni, glad to hear the you made it through. Best wishes for continued improvement in your health.

Robin, you can keep the snow in Ohio, thank you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@venni I am happy you are feeling better! 

To me the dark spot looks like it is in the wood.

Does not appear to have a 13.5 fret. The 6.5 will not be a problem. As you learn, you just have to remember it is there. I play a dulcimore without a 6.5 fret most of the time then if I pick up my only one with the 6.5 fret, it takes me a few minutes to remember it is there.

One more quick question.  This build is solid maple (curly maple top and bookmatched bottom).  

I am told that the dark streak on the back is not a crack, but just darker color in the wood.

To me it looks like someone dripped something across the back.  Any thoughts?

Thanks Richard! 

If I'm seeing this correctly the added 6 1/2 fret is right over a position dot?  No 13 1/2, correct?  Will this be a problem?  I'm looking at a possible 1st dulcimer.  It has been in a case in resident's closet for at least 25 years.  

This appears to be a Warren May built in 1987 (based on label) that has been switched to GOTAH covered tuners and a 6 1/2 fret added.   

Thanks!!

It looks like it has a 6 1/2 that has been added.

does this dulcimer have a 61/2 fret?

Thanks

 IMG_2331[1].JPG - 143KB

We woke to a pretty snow this morning here in Ohio.  No morel hunting for us today.  :)

A piece of wire [paper clip] or wood [tooth pick] or ---- taped in place [tape parallel to the strings] in one of the wide spaces. Frets are usually approximately .040" -.045" or so high. Use your tuner to position the temp fret for the appropriate note.

Have you read any of the beginner noter playing posts in my noter-drone Blog ?

Bravo @dusty-turtle!!!

Wow, I am really grateful for so many responses, and they are truly helpful.

@Dusty, that was an interesting thought and I had never thought of it that way. I'm still in the stage of being impressed by great bluegrass players (as I said I thought about buying a banjo or mandolin, because I wanted to learn to play bluegrass, then I thought I could play bluegrass on the dulcimer) but you're right, the important thing is to get a good sound out of it.

@Dan, I play with DAdd tuning. I have tried to play with DAC tuning if the score has that tuning, but I usually play by ear, and I prefer to try to learn with one tuning for the moment so as not to make it more complicated.

@Skip, how do you do for temporary frets? I read somewhere holding a guitar string to create an extra fret, I don't know if that's correct (I think I read it in an interview with Jessica Comeau but I'm not sure). My dulcimer only has 6+ and 13+, many songs I want to play have 1+.

@Strumelia, that's a good argument for having more than one dulcimer, certainly! The problem is that in Spain I can only get basic European made models and they are all diatonic, but when I can save a little I would like to have an American made one.

On the other hand, I still don't know how it works when you mention the noter. I have tried to read information, but maybe because of language problems I don't understand how to use it.

Thank you very much.

Wow Dusty. An amazing post. Wonderful to think about these things in our own 'musicianship'.

Liberated.  I feel liberated by the diatonic scale.

Sorry for posting again in this discussion, but I want to explain one reason why I have found my musical home on the dulcimer after years of playing the guitar and other chromatic instruments.

I spent many years playing the guitar (and a few playing the mandolin), and like everyone else on those instruments, I was intent on learning really cool, fancy jazz chords, and developing the ability to play really fast, interesting solos.  I was (and still am) in awe of the best bluegrass musicians and was trying to play like them.

But the humble nature of the dulcimer completely changed my thinking about music.  With only three strings and a diatonic fretboard, those fancy jazz chords are pretty much impossible, so I began thinking not about how to get the fanciest chord I could, but about isolating the most tasteful harmony note.  Instead of trying to play blazing solos with tons of notes, I began trying to isolate the core or essence of a melody, and perhaps enhance it with a few truly meaningful notes or rhythmic nuances rather than ignore it and improvise a solo instead. 

Thus began my search for really pretty songs and instruments that sound great.  My goal as a dulcimer player is to convey a really pretty song so that others can appreciate it, not so that others will be impressed with my playing.  I still do many of the types of exercises I used to do when I wanted to play bluegrass, but now I do them with the goal of playing cleanly, accurately, and with feeling, rather than trying to play fancy stuff really fast.

Ironically, embracing the limitations of the dulcimer has liberated me musically. I am no longer a slave to the endless search for a fancier chord or a faster solo.  I am now free to concentrate on conveying the emotion inherent in beautiful melodies instead of hiding them behind a veneer of imagined virtuosity.