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I agree with the others; a job well done. Thanks for sharing this delightful performance.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Forum Activity for @ken-longfield
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Your next performance?
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You sound great, Sandi! And that little wren sounds perfect. Nice job!
Your next performance?
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I just got to watch, Sandi! You all did such a lovely job on such a pretty tune. Your little Wren really has nice tone which blends and balances well in ensemble; Preston had you mic'd just right!
Your next performance?
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Your brief "deer moment" just made it all the more appealing, because we can all so easily relate to moments like that in our daily lives. 
updated by @strumelia: 01/05/20 07:40:39PM
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Ken Longfield:
Thanks, Dusty. I enjoyed the video and was impressed that the group took the songs at a nice even pace (slowly).
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
It was a beautiful execution of the songs and as Ken says at slow pace. Very refreshing.
Your next performance?
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@strumelia THANK YOU! The song is Christ Child Lullaby, and I found dulcimer TAB online arranged by S. Stevens that matched their music (save for 6/4 versus 3/4 time). I altered it quite a bit and made it easy peasy! Great mic job on my Wren by my Preston, who was running sound. SO FUN, though there is that deer in headlights moment by moi... LOL!
Your next performance?
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I watched your performance Sandi (and some parts of the service as well) at
https://livestream.com/accounts/6164779/events/8950700/videos/200482706
- Sandi's group starts playing at the 18 min 30 second mark BTW... if you want to get right to the dulcimer music ;)
I have to say that was a BEAUTIFUL song, and just beautifully played by everyone in turn in your group. Truly delightful and full of joy! The melody of that song is especially lovely, the way it dips down sometimes. What is that song/hymn called? It's wonderful and you guys ALL did a fantastic job. It's also great how your sweet little Feather dulcimer sings out bright and clear like a little bird.
Your next performance?
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I haven't seen your play-- soon to head out on my evening walk-- yet am proud of you, @hugssandi! It is a special thing to play at Epiphany. <3
updated by @robin-thompson: 01/05/20 04:33:41PM
John Molineux uses a striker on a mountain dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
WOW!!! Would love to learn such cool stuff. Life keeps happening~which is GOOD~but I am not really progressing. Love this so much!
silver dagger
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hazel and I love to play and sing this... We should record for fun, maybe? Not because we're good, just because it's a favorite!
radio interview and music from AppalAsia
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
THANK YOU! I will listen. I love this, too!
Your next performance?
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Got to play my little Wren by Featherdulcimer in church today, which is always such and honor and joy~even though I mess up a lot! LOL. Today it did NOT go down as planned and practiced, two verses, accordion thing, two verses, dulcimer, a verse, end. Obviously I don't roll well with sudden changes~HA HA! Still such fun! It starts about 18:27 here: https://livestream.com/accounts/6164779/events/8950700/videos/200482706
BTW in another thread a good while ago I did figure out that I was going out of tune while playing by somehow pulling a melody string out of tune while noting. Notering? LOL. ???
updated by @hugssandi: 01/05/20 10:46:44PM
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Perhaps what surprised me most about the video is that nearly everyone is playing from tab not on paper, but on their tablet computers. Who says retirees are technophobes?
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I happened to be watching the news on WLOS when they aired this story. Melanie and Mack Johnston are good friends of mine and we play together whenever possible. Melanie is also a whiz with Tabledit and teaches classes on it at festivals.
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
“We sometimes say they’ve taken out all the wrong notes, because it does not have all the sharps, flats, all the keys that a piano has, but we have enough notes to play in a particular key and play a song without hitting too many wrong notes,” Johnston said.
I love it!
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Great find Dusty; thanx!
Practice tips
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Patrick -- many folks consider the traditional dulcimore (no 6+ or other added frets), as well as the noter & drone style that I play, as "limited". I've always considered that challenging -- how to get the most bang for your buck as it were. I'm glad to see you on this dulcimer journey.
I wholeheartedly agree that a person's perception of reality and their limitations define their reality. IMHO it applies to EVERY endeavor in our lives. Only you can limit what you can achieve.
For more than 30 years (since the first time I heard them) I've wanted to learn cauld wind Border pipes, but they're so expensive... and at age 71, I can't justify that kind of expense... Oh well. We can talk about pipes someplace other than here.
=Ken
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Even though most of us have no genuine ambition to become serious musicians and just want to have fun, I thought given the original question here I'd post a link to Jack Tuttle's Top Ten Ways to Become a Better Musician . Jack was a legendary multi-instrumentalist and music teacher long before his daughter Molly became the hottest flatpicking guitarist since Tony Rice.
Practice tips
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My first pipes were Walsh Shuttle Pipes. They are a variety of small pipe with a very compact drone arrangement. I was a bit of a disappointment to my mom for about 25 years because she was a GHB teacher and I wasn't interested. Then she got the first set of shuttle pipes in Fairbanks and I fell in love with the sound. I started taking lessons after that and it is now an important part of who I am. After I'd learned to play and saved the dough for a set of my own, I came to love the GHB perhaps even more.
I have only competed with great highland pipes. The shuttle pipes are for just plain fun.
I own a set of bellows-blown border pipes, but have not ever really played them. They were a gift. I imagine that using a bellows wouldn't be any harder than learning to blow the pipes I'm used to. But I haven't put in the time yet.
One of the really fun things about a dulcimer is that it has so many notes! Bagpipes have 9 notes. One octave, plus one note below. The dulcimer, you can play all 3 strings and get a lot of musical potential out of it. (I also play banjo, so I am used to having more than 9 notes with my other instrument.) One of the really great things about a limited instrument is that it is sort of a challenge to see how much music you can get from it.
A friend told me once that your reality defines your potential and your limitations define your reality. I don't know if that means anything here, but I do know that with as few as nine notes, there are thousands of tunes for the bagpipe and nobody has yet determined that we've run out of options. If you ever start stagnating with the dulcimer, remember that more notes and more tuning options means your limits are nowhere near as confining as the pipes, so the potential is much greater.
-Patrick
Practice tips
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Patrick -- GHB, Small Pipes, or Cauld-Wind?
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This is from the perspective of a bagpiper who is only starting on the dulcimer. I really don’t know how relevant it will be here, but I hope it helps.
When I am working up a tune, either for personal challenge or competition, I warm up by playing scales with the important ornaments, then I will play the most difficult passages a couple of times slowly. Then I play.
Warming up before playing a musical instrument is really no different than warming up prior to a sport. It gets your mind and body in the zone to play the best you can.
As I learn the dulcimer, I hope to find a few basic warmups to get me going right. For now, I’m still just strumming it and hesitantly picking out melodies.
Patrick
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Great Article. Thanks Dusty for posting.
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Lisa Golladay:
Another good idea (which I rarely follow myself, I must admit) is to record yourself now and listen again a few months later. Sometimes this can be encouraging and other times it can be dis-heartening, but it's the one surefire way to see how much progress you're making. It also tells me, with painful clarity, what I need to practice next. 
Another good consequence from recording yourself is not only to do it in order to LISTEN to how you are sounding, but in a video (made for your own use only) it's helpful to SEE how you are playing. It's surprising how one can see certain bad playing habits we didn't know we had. Stuff like maybe too much arm motion, poor posture, bad finger fretting position, facial grimacing, stiff shoulders... all things we might not be aware of until we SEE ourselves doing it in a video. 
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
That was a nice piece. I've made so many new friends through the dulcimer. You know, it's sometimes hard for seniors to make new friends. But the dulcimer has opened that door and others to me. I love this instrument and want to share it with as many others as I can, and encourage people to try it. Thanks for posting that ,Dusty. Nina
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@susie , I do that as well! (try to end whenever I play or practice on a good note... or maybe even a few good notes if I can!) 
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Thanks, Dusty. I enjoyed the video and was impressed that the group took the songs at a nice even pace (slowly).
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
North Carolina dulcimers getting media attention
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I just thought I'd bring to everyone's attention this story that ran on WLOS in North Carolina entitled " Mountain dulcimer connects people to their roots and each other ."
My favorite line: The "quick learning curve and communal nature of the instrument makes the mountain dulcimer a perfect fit for aspiring musicians."
I am not sure the instrument itself has a communal nature, but those who play the dulcimer certainly do!
updated by @dusty: 01/04/20 02:09:22PM
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(I've removed a member using a fake account with ill intentions.
Sorry for the interruption in this perfectly nice and useful thread. Carry on everyone, thanks!) 
updated by @strumelia: 01/04/20 05:03:34PM
NDD (New Dulcimer Day) Thread - Let's See Them
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Did anyone get a new dulcimer for Christmas? 
Brass instruments
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I'm not a brass instrument player, but I'm a retired saxophone and flute player. My involvement in band from age 9 has caused me to want some continued connection with wind instruments. As a result, I play Native American Flute(s) now.
updated by @susie: 01/04/20 08:26:09AM
I only see original post in a discussion, not replies..?
Site QUESTIONS ? How do I...?
Awesome! Yeah that Dusty Turtle is a real pip. 
I only see original post in a discussion, not replies..?
Site QUESTIONS ? How do I...?
Dusty Turtle:
@jp. there are two main areas for discussion at FOTMD. One are the Forums, which are open to everyone. But there are also special interest Groups.
If you look at the tool bar on the very top of your screen, you will see "Forums" as the second item from the left and " Groups " as the sixth. I encourage you to peruse the Groups and join those you are interested in. There is a group dedicated to traditional noter/drone players, a group for players from Indiana, a group for builders, a group on dulcimer history, a group for fingerpickers, and so forth.
If you are not a member of a group, you will be able to see the most recent or sometimes the very first post in a discussion, but you will not see all the other posts. However, if you simply click the big green button that says "Join Group to Access Discussions" which can be found to the right of the group's name, then you will see all the activity.
This was so helpful. New here, and sometimes we overlook the simple things. ;-)
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Good advice so far, I won't expand on that. But one thing that I will add is this (something I have done for 46 years)....
always end your practice session playing some songs that you are pretty good at, that you enjoy. It allows you to end on a good note (pun intended), rather than ending your session being frustrated with something you haven't quite conquered yet. You will feel good and be ready to sit down to your next practice session, having ended in a positive way. Just a suggestion that has worked for me.
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Ken Hulme:
I never practice, I just play. Practice is work! Dull and boring repetition without context. Playing is fun, challenging, and interesting. I'd rather have fun.
I'm with Ken on this subject...To me, playing is a form of practice. And it's fun.
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@lisa-golladay I also find recording helpful, a useful tool which gives meaningful feedback; I can hear relative weaknesses and strengths in what I'm doing.
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As Albert Einstein never said (although this quote has often been attributed to him) "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
If you're happy "just playing" that's fine. For me, I never make progress without spending some serious time focused on the tune or technique I want to learn. I call that "practice" but I do not consider it evil drudgery. It is how I accomplish what I want to accomplish and that is a good thing!
I agree with Dusty that it's good to target specific areas where you want to improve. It's hard to "become a better player" all at once, but you can break it down into smaller goals. This is a good time of year for making resolutions!
Another good idea (which I rarely follow myself, I must admit) is to record yourself now and listen again a few months later. Sometimes this can be encouraging and other times it can be dis-heartening, but it's the one surefire way to see how much progress you're making. It also tells me, with painful clarity, what I need to practice next.
Practice tips
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Though I don't do scales or "practice" in any disciplined way, I am always working on skills. Even though I've been playing noter style for a long time now, my noter skills can always improve-- long slides smoothly, using slides to bring emotion to a tune, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and on. . .
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Yeah, I spent many lackluster years strumming guitar with no direction at all. My playing wasn't horrible, but it wasn't very good either, and I knew it, so it gave me little pleasure. Then when I did get motivated to improve (what motivated me is a story for another time) the first thing I did was start to play scales, and my technique got better so fast I was totally energized and started enjoying playing again. For me, part of the enjoyment of playing music is the continuous improvement, even if it is often so slow as to be imperceptible. Learning new tunes or adding new techniques or new ideas to a song I've been playing for years is immensely enjoyable.
From time to time my playing stagnates, and I feel as though I'm not learning anything new. Then I make a conscious effort to work on a technique that had been too hard in the past, or a song I had never managed to figure out. That new direction gives me a boost and I start enjoying my playing again. Woo hoo!