This is exciting! Steven I remember pix of that checkerboard TMB too. How great to have a choice of three historic repros to bring to events. You are indeed fortunate. 
It might work to have a “dulcimer booth” at other events or fairs. It would give teachers a chance to do hands on instruction for newbies.
Thanks, guys! This'll be my third dulcimore from John....his first Will Singleton, a Tennessee Music Box with checkerboard on the back, and this Thomas replica! 
.....I like his historic reproductions!
Dusty;
I kinda think you identified one of the primary sources of beginners in your original post, current dulcimer players interacting with potential players. It seems there is a need to motivate us to point new folks to appropriate 'sites. 
@strumelia and @robin-thompson, you both may be correct that many small dulcimer festivals were struggling before the pandemic. Especially if the organizers were growing older, it would be understandable that if no one else took over, the festivals would have to shut down.
But the two annual dulcimer festivals that I had been a part of were growing slowly each year over the last 10 years. And each year there were a certain number of people who showed up having never played a dulcimer before and needing a loaner. Their new-found excitement really energized everyone.
But the online festivals mostly lack those newbies. It is one thing to sit someone down, hand them a dulcimer that's already in tune, and show them how to play a few simple tunes. It's another to convince them to get a dulcimer, find a comfortable spot in their home, turn on Zoom, and trust that you'll be able to teach them. The online festivals require a level of planning that mitigates against the recruitment of newbies. I recently heard from the Dulcimer Association of Albany, which is holding its annual festival online next month. All the intermediate and advanced classes are full but there are plenty of openings in the beginner classes. Hmm ...
My monthly dulcimer club used to start each month with a free, one-hour, beginner lesson. Almost every month one or two people would show up who had never played before. And after the beginner lesson, our group play would start with more accessible tunes, so the beginners could play along, at least a little, and become part of the group. But now that we are online, I don't hear from beginners at all.
I wonder if we should start advertising dulcimer festivals on banjo and fiddle and native American flute sites or elsewhere online where we might start that spark in potential players. Then perhaps we could set up a network of people around the country willing to loan a dulcimer to people who want to give it a try.
Here in Ohio, one festival which was fairly large with well-known players traveling to teach there folded before pandemic hit. The people who organized the festival-- a monumental job-- decided to do so no longer. The folks on the committee were all in the over-50 age category.
Also before pandemic hit, another fest which used to be well-attended scaled way back and, I think, the reasons had to do with all the folks doing the work were older people.
Relatively speaking, the population of the mountain dulcimer world is an older population. There are great young people in the mountain dulcimer world yet the bulk of the population of players of which I am aware is a decidedly older population.
I seem to recall that for a couple of years before the pandemic hit, there were various in-person dulcimer festivals that folded due to not enough attendees. Knowing the reason for that might give a clue as to how to turn that trend around. What was causing this slow decline of dulcimer festivals before the pandemic?
Lisa, your plant points toward the promise of spring.....Robert
1. Glaringly obvious advertisement/schedule on a club home page.
2. I believe there is some way to boost internet search hits on the 'net.
3 Maybe Strumelia can come up with a way to advertise beginner classes, maybe a group or forum? I'm not sure the 'beginners group' would work very well because all posts move along in time, and sticky's [if made available] would eventually overload it. Maybe a new tab, 'Classes' at the top of the Home page, where the listing is for forums, members, rules, etc.? Inside could be all the different 'flavors: club, individuals. free, paid, beginners, advanced, n/d, finger,pick, flat pick, genres, etc.
At most dulcimer festivals, beginners--even those who had never held a dulcimer before--represented a decent minority of those in attendance. I once convinced a stranger to come to a festival after she saw me walking down the street with a strange instrument and asked what it was. On another occasion, I was driving to a festival with a friend who convinced her daughter to join us. When we picked up her daughter, we convinced her roommate to come, too. Both of those were spur-of-the-moment decisions the morning of a festival.
On a few occasions I've taught the rank beginner classes, what I call "Mountain Dulcimer 101" but what @steve-eulberg calls "String Side Up." (Steve is obviously far more clever and humorous than am I.) At the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering we always made sure to have a beginner track, so newbies would move from the rank beginner class into a second class on beginning repertoire and then perhaps an introduction to basic chords or something like that. I always felt great pride in helping someone who had never played before realize the joy of making music.
But now that so many festivals have moved online, the presence of beginners has decreased enormously. Are beginners the roadkill on the dulcimer's cyberspace highway? A quaint relic of a pre-digital age?
Obvious obstacles exist. Beginners have to plan ahead of time to register and get an instrument. We can't just pull them off the street and put dulcimers in their laps.
It would be easy to assume that when the pandemic is over, dulcimer festivals will go back to the way they were, with everyone gathering in the same place at the same time. But I doubt that is the case. Smaller festivals have been able to reach a much larger audience by going online, and at the same time they've saved money by not having to pay travel expenses and rent venues. And many attendees at online festivals are not the same folk who attended live festivals, but because of location, mobility or other issues, they can only attend online. I moved my local dulcimer club online, but now at least half of those attending live thousands of miles away and have urged me to continue with an online gathering even after we can meet in person again. We have found new dulcimer players in our move online, but we seem to have lost access to beginners.
Online festivals are here to stay. I see our biggest challenge to be recruiting beginners.
So . . . what can we do to recruit beginners to dulcimer festivals and other online gatherings?
I am sure that people who can explain the difference between the aeolian and the ionian modes should be able to come up with some ideas.
Wow, @steven-berger, lucky you! John fashions those upside down hearts just right and I know it'll sound great.
Enjoy your new Thomas replica, Steven. I look forward to hearing a tune or two on it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
That's a beautiful dulcimer, John. Steven, bring that baby the next time we can all gather in Berea. Nina
Thanks, John! It looks great....hopefully, it'll warm-up a bit by the time I get it!
I eat with unamplified spoons. Will that get me on TV?
The solid body electric dulcimer played with a noter is a nice juxtaposition of tradition and modernity. Like talking on a cell phone while riding a horse-drawn buggy.
Interesting that they take a break from music to put some fretwire into a fretboard. I can't imagine that on American TV.
The tropical plant in my office is unfurling a new leaf. It looks so fresh and full of promise, especially now in front of the window pane with freezing snow and sleet falling on the other side only inches away... I love in the morning when the sun comes through the green leaves. The unfurling leaf reminds me of when a butterfly emerges from its cocoon and opens its wings.
John, I'm sure the new owner will be as happy with this Thomas reproduction as I am with mine!
Ann
Another beauty!
Yessir, this Thomas dulcimore is bound for the Cold Star State! Ah...Lone Star State, sorry. Poplar and walnut with an antique black finish. Looks 100 years old, but it's new.
It's too bad about the typo, David, but there would have probably been a mistake somewhere no matter how many times you edited it.
I was really impressed with Ashley when I worked with her last year. DPN is in good hands.
Great article in the February 2021 issue of Dulcimer Players News by @david-bennett about @dan's 9-foot long dulcimer. Nice work, guys! Everyone should give it a read.
Thanks Dusty! There is one typo in the article. I think the article says it weighs 28 lbs, it actually only weighs 18 lbs. The typo was my fault, not DPNs.
Wonderful news about how you are healing well, Ken L!
I'm glad to have it clarified about the two different giant dulcimers- the Mawhee-ish by Dan Cox, and the Thomas-ish by John Knopf. Yes a boxing match between the giants... how fun! 
Ken Longfield, it's good to see you posting here. I hope you are doing well.
Thanks, Patty. I am doing well. I have to be careful to not do too much because I feel so good. My sternum is mending (wired together) and the incision looks to be healing very well. I will see the surgeon again in a couple of weeks and may be able to drive again after that visit. The heart is back in normal rhythm and I've experienced no afib since returning home.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
It's nice to know my 8-foot-tall Uncle Eddie hasn't been forgotten! Though he has been "upstaged" somewhat by the 9-foot-tall Mawhee dulcimore built by my talented buddy Dulcimore Dan! Maybe someday we can stage a boxing event between the giants?
Ken Longfield, it's good to see you posting here. I hope you are doing well.
[quote="Dusty Turtle"]
[quote="Strumelia"] Woops! I see Ken beat me to a response. I guess his coffee is better than mine. 
[/quote]
No, Dusty, it's just that I'm on the East coast and three hours ahead of you. Still waiting for my issue to arrive, but with all the bad weather we've been having our mail has been delayed.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Perhaps the black stain makes it resemble the Thomas dulcimers, but according to the article, @Dan's 9-foot dulcimer is "partially patterned on John Mawhee's dulcimore." One obvious modern element is the machine tuners, since wooden pegs would never be able to handle the tension of such long strings.
Woops! I see Ken beat me to a response. I guess his coffee is better than mine.
The big Thomas dulcimer, Uncle Eddie, was made by John Knopf. Dan's is a teardrop model patterned after a Mawhee dulcimer.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Dusty that's great! That huge black dulcimer is a sort of Thomas model, isn't it?
Great article in the February 2021 issue of Dulcimer Players News by @david-bennett about @dan's 9-foot long dulcimer. Nice work, guys! Everyone should give it a read.
Congratulations! Enjoy your dulcimer.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
We all hope you will learn to love the dulcimer and dig in to all this simple instrument is capable of accomplishing.
Enjoy the journey.
@ken-longfield that's a shame about your vaccine delay. It must be frustrating. On the bright side, the delay is 'only' 12 days, so I'll keep my fingers crossed your new appt goes as planned!
Around our area the snowstorm turned out to be almost all rain (there was ice last night) and was in the mid 30s today. Our 45 min drive was no problem at all, just wet. We were just plain lucky here, when so many are suffering from the current huge winter storm(s).
I got my first covid Moderna shot today - was so excited! 
It was ultra quick and easy. I had filled out the vaccine forms ahead of time at home, no crowds or lines at all -only took 7 minutes total from when i walked into Walgreen's til when i walked out... and i got to wait the 15 minutes observation time afterwards out in our car with my husband instead of sitting inside the drugstore.
My only reaction was my cheeks got noticeably pink and flushed for several hours afterwards 
but i felt just fine and had no fever. Arm site is getting a little sore now hours later but that's really common with vaccines.
Unfortunately my husband does not turn 65 until July, so he still does not qualify in NY state yet. I wish we could get the shots at the same time! But he's always home while I do all the shopping trips, so it's good I get the shots started now. My second shot is in 1 month, same place.
The one piece of good news in the UK is the vaccine program, which is going full speed with about 15% vaccinated already. But we still have thousands in hospital and hundreds dead daily. Our thoughts are with all those affected, wherever they are.
My wife was to get her first shot of the Covid19 vaccine today and I was to get mine tomorrow. Both of us received notices that due to the bad weather and the availability of the vaccine our first shots will be delayed. My first shot is now scheduled for February 28.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
