many years ago in Hawaii, when I first got my dulcimer, I started getting the DPN and she was the editor of these then. I wrote her several times about questions I had and she called me on the phone and we talked. . She is a treasure and will surely have groups playing dulcimers in the Eternal Worlds and I hope to join her when it's my time. aloha to you dear Maddie. Irene
Though I did not know Maddie MacNeil, I have been aware of her influence in the mountain dulcimer world in the years I have been part of the mountain dulcimer world. I have seen where many people have posted Facebook tributes to her which are wonderful. If any FOTMD members would like to share a remembrance of Maddie, please feel free to do so! Mr. Bing Futch made a video in which he pays tribute to Maddie and I post it here:
Steven's post reminded me I thought it sounded great with no water, too.
I agree with you, Nate, it does sound better with less water. Sounds great with no water, either. I'd bet a tricone-type set-up, and a spider bridge set-up would sound different, but, equally good.
You know your dulcimer has a hold on you when . . . you are obliged to cancel your monthly dulcimer club because of a global pandemic and you offer to host a Zoom meeting so everyone can still share dulcimer music! Yep, that's what I'm doing. Five people have already confirmed attendance. We meet next weekend!
Nate, thanks a million for this demonstration! And your play is really nice. I could hear what you were saying about the smaller amount of water giving more of that tremolo like sound. Such a cool experiment. I look forward to hearing more from you!
Sorry for the late response but I finally shot a quick video showing how the bundt pan sounds. Unfortunately I had to shoot it on my phone so the audio quality i a bit lacking, but here it is for those who expressed curiousity!
We all can use a bit of fun, especially now, but I had already decided I needed to play "The Sloop John A" after hearing it on the syndicated "Folk with Matt Watroba." (Check your NPR stations to see if the show is on yours, or check https://www.wkar.org/programs/folk-matt-watroba#stream/0 ) He played the Les Barker parody & I knew I had to learn it. Since we're all working on our repertoire a bit more right now, I recommend getting the tab for Sloop John B & the parody words. For the words & Barker doing the song I went to YouTube.
Fellow pun lovers will love how we never did find the John A, maybe the A's at sea.
The state-focused groups here on FOTMD don't get a whole lot of activity, as Dusty said. Especially for states with few and far players and gatherings.
Groups such as the Beginners Group and the Builders Group do have regular activity, and of course our discussion forums and video/audio sections are pretty popular.
We have thousands of discussions here on FOTMD on various interests, so using the Search function can bring up all kinds of site items both recent and older that might be of special interest to an individual. Try searches for "dog", "feather quill", "TMB", "groundhog", "Farina", "cajun", "Spring" or other words or terms you are curious about...and be prepared to discover some fascinating nooks and crannies of the site. There's a whole lot to see here and enjoy, but it's not all laid out right on the main page. 
Facebook dulcimer pages never have old posts- posts are made each day and then sink down out of sight and disappear. So if one prefers to see new posts only, joining or creating a FB group might be another good option to look into.
Dusty, I am in Londonderry NH originally from Wakefield and Tewksbury Massachusetts and I too drove delivery vehicles when I also had less belly and more hair
I don't think the State groups here have ever had much activity; I've followed a couple of them. Periodically someone will post a general Thread asking if anyone is from XX or YY, and that seems to work as well as any way to find others.
Yes, it is discouraging. I feel the same way about the California group. The regional groups in general have little activity. However, if you post something there the members will probably get an alert, so it's worth a try. Over time you'll find that there is lots of activity here in other places, especially the Beginner Group and the General Mountain Dulcimer Forum. And hopefully you'll start to notice people who are not far from you.
By the way, where in NH are you? I went to high school in Boston and drove a delivery truck for a few years throughout eastern New England. I had one regular NH day each month. Of course, that was a long time ago, when I had more hair and less belly. 
@Mary-z-cox Your lemon tree reminded me of the four or five quinces that the cockatoos have not eaten. I need to go grab them and make quince paste! I'm not usually here when they are ripe, but this year is different.
Dusty, I looked at the Northeastern group and there is very little activity there and is is not current. This whole site seems to have a lot of old posts and perhaps this is what leads to little activity. Perhaps I am wrong but from what I am seeing it is a little discouraging
Tallahassee is pretty shutdown--FSU gone remote, public schools closed, bars, clubs closed, restaurants--take out only. Groceries open but shelves getting empty. Spending a lot of time cooking, writing a new mountain dulcimer book, getting ready for a new mountain dulcimer recording, learning some new tunes and songs.
My local gym is closed--so I've become the fitness director for Elvis (my 15 yr old basset hound) He walked 4 miles yesterday --but only 2 today. I miss my zumba classes--so have a plan to teach him zumba in the kitchen while I'm cooking.
Yesterday--I made Meyers Lemon marmalade--because I still have lots of Meyer's lemons on my trees and it turned out wonderful. :)
Trying to update some of my profiles on pages that haven't been updated in years & updating pix.
Zumba??? Now you want me to Zumba? I'm not going to pose with that dulcimer again--not enough milk bones in the world for that :) If you make beef stew again--can I lick the crockpot ?
@Don-B, I would also encourage you to join the Northeastern US Group and post a discussion looking for folks from NH. I am a member of the California Group, and you would think a state as big as ours would have lots of activity. But I have to confess once I posted to alert everyone to an annual event and found that the last post was mine from a year earlier doing the same thing!
The groups often get started with the best of intentions but then interest sags. Most of us find our interests in a few of the biggest groups and some Forum discussions, and the proliferation of groups merely makes it harder to find materials later. It fact, it might be time for us to cull the proverbial herd of Groups here.
In the meantime, you might try to contact Paddiwhack , a couple from southern New Hampshire (Manchester, perhaps) that plays dulcimer-centric music.
Thank you for your response. The main reason was to find players in Nh in hopes of finding local dulcimer players
Yeah, there is some serious stay-at-home action going on everywhere now.
My husband and i are now planning every meal with much forethought and care. It's really making us appreciate and savor every egg, apple, quart of milk, or fresh banana that we still have. After all the fresh perishable stuff is gone, we'll be digging into dried, frozen, and canned stuff, but that can taste good too. Made rice and beans on tortillas tonight, with some pan-seared raddichio tucked in.
We take a brisk 1.5 mile walk around the mostly empty county fairgrounds several times a week- it's pleasant and is only a half mile from our house and is open to the public. It's got lots of paved asphalt paths and loops. Only a few scattered people are there at any given time, walking their dogs or with baby strollers or jogging.
It's such a strange thing to look at a practically empty calendar devoid of 'running out' for various errands, shopping, appointments, or meetings. 
Stay well dulcimer friends! 
Greetings Don, and welcome to the site. :)
Over the years, there have been a few groups dedicated to players in states that don't have a whole lot of dulcimer players who are active on the internet. After a couple years of no activity whatsoever in some groups, I sometimes delete them. That's in order to make the main Group list a little easier for people to visually sort through.
I'm thinking that a group specific to NH is not going to have much activity (I say this from prior experience). I'd suggest that you join our NorthEastern US regional Group:
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group/2/northeastern-us-dulcimer-players
and start some posts or discussions there if you like.
Or perhaps better yet, simply join groups that have subjects you are interested in about playing styles or types of dulcimers (fingerpicking, stick dulcimers, dulcimer traditions, modern playing styles, dulcimer building, etc). There are groups that focus on all kinds of great dulcimer interests!
Thanks Don, and I hope you'll enjoy it here. 
Just yesterday afternoon as I was cancelling my monthly dulcimer group, county officials issued a stay-at-home directive. We're allowed to shop for groceries or go to medical appointments, but everything else is on hold.
@Dan, you're one of the few among us whose work is genuinely necessary right now. Keep on trucking!
For those of you traveling like @Irene and @Norm3206, I hope you get home quickly and pass through as few crowded spaces as possible.
I certainly applaud your efforts, @Carla-Maxwell, to postpone festivals and decline gigs at the moment.
@Jan-Potts, one tip you might try if you have trouble getting groceries. One of the closest supermarkets to our house offers a curbside pickup option. You order food online, they give you a pickup time, and they bring the bags right to your car. Aside from being able to avoid crowds, my wife discovered that this option gives you access to food that has not reached the shelves. So inside the store there is no bread or chicken on the shelves, but she was able to order both online for pickup. Some of you might investigate that option for replenishing your larder.
For years I've been using a farm-to-table delivery service for fresh vegetables and another for frozen meat. I'll be expanding my use of both of those for the foreseeable future.
Stay safe, people, but keep playing music!
Interesting idea. I wonder if there's enough interest to make it worthwhile. That's probably a decision for the site owner.
I want to create a group specific for dulcimer players in the state that I LIVE IN..
Whew! I'm just a member here. But with 54 Groups already, I thought dang near every subject was covered. What Group are your interested in creating Don B?
IIRC Lisa, the Site Owner, has to create a Group. She, or one of the Admins will be along shortly to give you details, I'm sure.
I am new to this site and find navigating it somewhat confusing. I am interested in starting a new group, how do I add a new group?
I work at a Medical Supply Distributor and when face shields or goggles come in we all stop, process them and right out the door they go! Other than that, blessed to be in the right job at the right time.
On our way back to Canada about 3 weeks early. Crossing the border tomorrow so hope all goes well.
Feeling good and hope to stay that way.
We just got back from Hawaii on Friday.....(wonderful time, we were there for 4 weeks)............and went through 3 very busy airports. Picked up our van Friday morning and it started right up in St. Louis, MO. Drove to Keokuk, Iowa and did some shopping...and yep. Both of us feeling very very good!!! (gonna make more fermented foods, sauerkraut stuffs) They were out of all sorts of stuff, but not the fresh foods. That is what I was there for. We are self isolating just because it's wise after so many airports. however, no CV-19 gonna keep me from voting. quick in and out and back home. washing hands etc. I split a bunch of wood on my electric log splitter and my husband chop sawed a bunch of dry drift wood from the Mississippi banks. A beautiful sunny day. I'm looking forward to playing more music (made 2 dulcimers in Hawaii)....gonna work in the shop....get to some wonderful books on my shelves....oh so much to do. I love being home, smack on the Mississippi. I found out that #56 grandchild coming....so gonna look at making a quilt......... Looking forward to the big barges going by. Trains are running over in Iowa and I hear and see them. I miss seeing my friends, dropped off some bread I made yesterday so I could just wave to them after I ran the doorbell. Lost in Scrabble tonight....going to beat him good tomorrow night!!
I love this thred and enjoyed all that you folks wrote here, from all over.
aloooooooooooha, Irene
HI Folks, I hope you're well. I don't usually get into the forum discussions, and I apologise for that. I am thankful this website is here, especially for times like this. Thank you for creating the conversation @dusty-turtle.
I'm in Australia and staying here for the next few months, after canceling a planned 3 month stay in the U.S.A. and canceling my daughter's trip back to Australia with me in June.
My husband (Adrian) and I are not sick but we are in the high-risk category, so we have chosen to self-isolate. Our business of group-accommodation here could be shutting down, partly because the customers have canceled through their booking agencies and partly because we canceled -- not wanting to bring extra people into our small town and, more importantly, our home. There are two grocery stores in our town here, and Monday morning they were chaotic environments with half-empty shelves. Yesterday, Adrian had to visit a medical clinic for a prescription, and its computer system was down. The doctor said he could not retrieve Adrian's medical information to make a hand-written prescription. We went back home and returned to the clinic with the medicine so the doctor could write a refill prescription. I stayed in the car during the doctor visit and we were diligent with hand-sanitiser before and after visiting the chemist and another shop.
Adrian and I are watching the world-wide news and seeing changes that are occurring hourly and trying to make the right choices. Yesterday we were asked to play at a pub this coming Thursday, and we declined. Our dulcimer event in April has been rescheduled to November. We were hoping to get out and attend dulcimer activities in the U.S.A. during April, May, and June this year, because we haven't been able to for the past 10 years. It looks like that will be postponed until later in the year or for 2021.
Our bars and restaurants are only open for carry out (they bring it to your car usually) and home delivery; no inside seating. Churches closed, although that's somewhat voluntary, I think. Ours streams the service every Sunday anyway, but now they are trying to make a lot of classes and studies online and interactive. My husband's working on that project along with some other tech geeks. Many stores are doing online only and the grocery stores and Walmart, etc., have cut their hours back. Pharmacy drive-thru still open.
I'm pretty much a homebody, so I doubt I'll get cabin fever. Still, I was very disappointed to have to miss the Ohio Valley Gathering last weekend and the dulcimer retreat for this coming weekend was cancelled. We can't be in groups of more than 10 people, so all entertainment venues are shut down. I'm very very disappointed that the Road Scholar program had to cancel the spring Dulcimer Rendezvous in April in southern KY. That's always so much fun -- Susan Trump usually teaches the more advanced players, although Anne Lough did a great job filling in for her last year.
I'm disappointed, too, that the college basketball tournaments got cancelled since I usually watch most of the games...usually in my recliner with my dulcimer across the arms! Fortunately my playing softly doesn't annoy my husband!
We haven't stocked up on anything, yet, and that does concern me. I'm trying to cut back on the amount of toilet tissue I'm using, and that's good for the environment anyway!
Overall, we find these restrictions tolerable. Most of my energy is for healing up from the respiratory illness I got at the beginning of Feb. I don't want to be in germy situations anyway!
@UserNo4, that sounds like life here in Northern California. I have been working from home for about 10 years, so my work is not affected. But otherwise . . . The schools are closed, although my daughter is already working with her teachers in Google Classroom. The churches are closed and offering some services online, but that doesn't help elderly, tech-ignorant folks like my mother-in-law. My wife is working (mostly unsuccessfully) from home as are most other state workers. Bars and cafes have been closed. Restaurants have been asked to reduce capacity by 50 percent, but most are closing as few people feel safe in such establishments. Many retail shops have closed, including some music stores. Gyms have all closed. My daughter's soccer club has suspended all games and practices.
It had been raining for the past few days, and I'm happy to see some sunshine today, for at least we can get outside for a stroll or some yardwork.
I think I have no choice but to cancel my monthly dulcimer club. The music store where we meet is trying to stay open, but since we have been told to hunker down in our homes, I don't want to give conflicting advice and suggest we all gather together.
1. All in-person church activities cancelled, including our small group meetings. It's on-line, which ... well, is better than nothing.
2. I participate in two music groups, one where I take a hammered dulcimer and one where I take a mountain dulcimer. The venues of both have shut down / shut us out.
3. My wife started working from home today. Daughter's school is out for two weeks, officially, but I expect it to be out for the rest of the year. In two weeks, she will probably start some sort of distance learning.
4. I like to go skiing and snowboarding. The season ended at least a week early, perhaps two.
5. I work at home, remotely, as a contractor. In late April, the client is having an all-staff retreat. Well, it was. Not anymore. The cancellation makes my life easier, but it also means I'll go at least four months before I see any of my colleagues in person.
6. Sigh. I'm an introvert who over the last couple of years has become less introverted. Guess I picked a bad couple of years to start that transition.
That's just a start. There are other things.
"Coronstipation" and "Skip by the Loo" -- y'all are too funny!
Thanks for your post, DoC! Sorry things are gloomy across The Pond. Things are somewhat gloomy here as well, what with the pesky COVID virus preparation shutting things down and generally making a nuisance of itself. We need to rise above it, and dulcimers sure help re-focus us on nicer things! I'm confident that you'll make the McSpadden modifications with no trouble at all. Best wishes for a successful outcome.
Hello to y'all from a gloomy United Kingdom. I tend to go by the name DoC, reside in Derbyshire. I recently acquired a '84 or '86 McSpadden that was originally intended as a 4 string dulcimer but was finished off as 3 string. Whilst I love it as it is, I find it lacks something that 4 strings add - so I've ordered a few extra bits and am going to revert it back to being a 4 string. Fingers crossed I don't mess it up in the meantime, but I have worked on and built guitars before so am hoping for the best.
Just want to say thanks to all those who have already welcomed me to the forum, even though this is my first post here.
