I've got one jam group scheduled on Skype and another on Zoom in the next week or so. Test runs so far show that the what works is for the leader to play and while everyone else mutes their mic and plays along. Otherwise the lag is too much. Hoping it works out.
Yeah, the Zoom version of my local dulcimer group scheduled for Saturday already has 15 attendees, which is too much, I think, but I didn't have the heart to turn anyone away. After this first time I might do a couple each month but cap them at 10.
My family and I do not appear to be infected yet. My wife and I still have our jobs. We haven't run out of toilet paper yet. I feel pretty lucky.
Like Robin, I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but her books deserve to continue her legacy. Just went to her website & see the self-published books are no longer available. Let's hope Mel Bay keeps her other works in print for a long time.
Good for you!!! I attended my weekly yoga class via Zoom last weekend. Happy playing! (We just got fully locked down here in WA state, no gatherings of any kind/size.) I tellya, when I get out my dulcimer and/or my guitar and start playing, it *really* takes me away from all the worry/stress of current events. So glad I stumbled into learning the dulcimer a little over a year ago. 
Dusty -- your last paragraph sounds like the plot for the Brit TV series Fortitude which we watched on Amazon (and it's still there if you need something to binge watch).
I love rounds. This is a good one and when is your book coming out? When raising our 14 children in Hawaii, we did soooooooooo much music. While in the car, I learned that kids don't argue when they are singing. So we have a raft of rounds. There used to be fuguing Tune societies in England. marvelous tunes. It's really fun to play these on recorders. When teaching the dulcimers, I start them off doing rounds. As I read more about folks that are able to meet "on line" somehow, (how cool is that?)....I bet rounds could have a good go at it that way. aloha, irene
In my book "13 More Tunes Almost Nobody Plays" is the Peace Round by Jean Ritchie. I learned it from Maddie. I was a big jam session at O'Hurley's general store in Shepherdstown, VA and Maddie was there. She had been singing and jamming all night and when she got up to leave, everybody said, "Oh, Maddie sing just one more song." So she divided the room in to four groups (there were probably 30 or 40 of us there) and led us through the Peace Round, singing in parts. Once we got it and were singing loud and boisterously. She waived, turned and walked out of the room to our still singing.
It's one thing to make a great entrance, quite another to make a great exit.
I've attached the tune if anybody wants to download it. Ideally, you'd get three or four people together and play it in a round. Obviously, that can't happen right now.
Our backyard veggie plots take on a new sense of importance during these strange new times of self isolating. They become like the WWII "Victory Gardens" the govt used to encourage.
I have fresh veggie seeds coming in the mail soon from Park Seed Co. 
But two days ago it was sunny and 55F and the weather predicted several days of rain and high in the forties for a week. I couldn't resist- i hoed a little one square yard patch in my garden and planted the leftover 2019 lettuce and radish seeds from last year... might as well use it up and see what is still able to germinate. Then when the fresh seed arrives I can start some of that too, a week later. I usually direct-seed into the ground the cold-loving things like lettuce, carrots, and radish.
Naturally, the next day all the rain forecasted turned into snow instead and this morning there's two and a half inches of New York snow out there. It'll briefly get up to 45 today and I'm hoping that's enough to melt it all. I'm thinking those little seeds are still ok and that maybe 1/8 of them might wake up and sprout... hopefully just enough to get a few early leaves of leaf lettuce and a few radishes. The last time I did this same thing, i got zip ... but no harm in trying I guess! In any case, it was therapeutic to be out there in the sun for an hour digging into the earth. 
I first met Maddie when both of us worked in Shenandoah National Park. I can't remember if we first met in 1971 or 1973. Occasionally my wife and I would drive from our location at Loft Mountain to see and hear Maddie perform at Skyland. This was in her pre-mountain dulcimer days. She played guitar and (I think) was just beginning to play hammered dulcimer. We had some good times in the park, but lost track of each other after my wife and I finished our stint at Shenandoah in 1973. A few years later we reacquainted, when we saw she was presenting a concert in our area. By then she was playing mountain dulcimer and I had begun building them. Over the years our paths crossed a few times and I wound up submitting an article to DPN which led to my doing a few more on dulcimer builders. When Maddie and Ralph began mountain dulcimer week at Shenandoah University, I signed up. This led to my running sound for all the concerts and helping out by making copies for the workshop leaders. I also did a few workshops on dulcimer maintenance. All of this was at Maddie's urging ( she would not take "no" as an answer). She even managed to get me on stage to play with other workshop leaders. I must say that she was very good about getting me out of my comfort zone. She was always so positive and encouraging. Even though we did not see each other often, I will miss Maddie and our friendship.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
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
peace_round.pdf - 51KB
