Forum Activity for @ken-hulme

Yeah.... good lookin' instrument; builder -- not so much

Very nice Ken!  I really like the pic of you proudly holding it.  :)

😎 Thanks for listening and your support Dusty!

Very cool, Ken. Nice job.

Patricia and Wayne are the coolest kids in school! 

ahhhhh, way cool. If you look on this photo, next to the banjo above it is a lyre.  And that is what I use it for as well. I just chord it and sing a song.  When I show my Lyre to friends, I'll say, "this is a Lyre, and I'm telling you the truth."  I know, bad joke, but I have fun with it.  aloha, irene

Really nice

Ken, you did it!  Fabulous job on that lyre.  (The pegs look good too)!

Hope to hear you play it sometime.

Nice work, Ken.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for your warm comments and we very much appreciate your ongoing support. :-)

Nice job Ken. :)

Irene -- of course I play it!  It's tuned "pentatonic+"  -- do, re, me, sol, la, do'.  The instrument is from the 8th century -- back when there really were no sing-and-play "songs.  There were chants - Church chants, chanted audio-books like the sagas, Beowulf, the Poetic Edda, etc.  The Lyre was used for dramatic flourishes in a story, as well as a mnemonic device so that the skald/bard could remember where -- in hundreds or thousands of verses -- he was at any given point in the tale.

Very cool. 

I loved working with Myrtle wood when we lived in Ashland, Oregon.  this is an interesting instrument.  Do you know how to play it?  aloha, irene

Just a followup to my previous "getting started with this Lyre" post.  The Myrtle wood turned out to have some fabulous 'tiger stripe' effect in it.  The Port Orford Cedar is a great wood for doing the kolrose decoration on.  I have it tuned D3, E3, F#3, A4, B4, C4 with acoustic guitar nylon 2nd & 3rd strings. 

John Knopf made the tuning pegs for me -- great job, and the tuning wrench he made to fit them, following the plans, works perfectly.

 Myrtle Back.JPG.jpg - 97KB

I hope it doesn't get so cold you're forced to burn a mountain dulcimer!  If you have a hammered dulcimer, it will burn longer.  ;)

According to an old time cowboy I know, the reason they  didn't name their horses was "You never name something you may have to eat".  This is a very cold winter so I do not name anything I may have to burn.

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 32
The Legendary Howie Mitchell

  http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast

In this episode, we present the stories and music of Howie Mitchell. An innovator of dulcimer building and playing in the 1950s and 60s, Howie is credited with spreading the idea of the 6 and half fret, the DAD Mixolydian tuning, and the chord melody style of playing dulcimer starting in the late 1950s. All three of these ideas caught on in the dulcimer world and for many players is the standard way of playing dulcimer.

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast can be found on most podcast apps.
Here's the link to Hearts of the Dulcimer on iTunes:  http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast

Don't use a podcast app or iTunes? You can listen to all the podcast episodes directly on our website:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast

We also have a resource page for every episode, where you can find photos, videos, and song lists. Here's the resource page for this episode:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/032.html

Move the string back again to the other set of notches.  It may be that you just didn't have the string seated properly the first time.

Thanks everyone for the responses! The bobbin is a bit longer than my usual noter, so it took a little getting used to especially on the higher frets. All in all a successful experiment!

Dave, check the slot depth on the nut first and then the bridge..........you might try a slightly heavier string or do what I have done when the string is just twanging on a fret........put a small piece of a flat tooth pick under the nut, right under the the edge closest to the twanging string.........then try it........do you have and adjustable or moveable bridge? Sounds like the string is vibrating in the slot a bit too much to me.

Hi Dave, you posted this thread in the For Sale forum, so I moved it here instead.

I hope someone will help you with your buzz issue!

Help please. I play with three strings, leaving the outermost double melody string off. I just put new strings on it. When I start tuning the inside melody string, and once I reach the note C just below D, I get a twang/buzz sound from there right on up to the correct D note. Sounds so sour. When I move the same string to the outside notches the sound isn’t there, and rings true. Any ideas?

You're welcome, Robin. I remember you being there. This will be my fourth. Haven't missed one yet.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks, Ken!  When I got to the Hindman fest in '15, I loved it!  

Thanks. Lisa. I found a few minutes to sit, so I worked on it. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Good one, Ken.  

I created an event notice for the Homecoming. Once Lisa approves it, it will appear in the Events listings. I supplied the date, place, and link to the Homecoming website. Let me know if you think there should be more there.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

To whoever submits the notice in our site's "Events/Festivals" list....some info bits you should know:

1) it's free

2) you can add an image to the listing, which makes it way more eye catching interesting to look at.

3) It won't actually show up for the general membership until I approve it- but I'll be watching for it and will approve it right away once it's submitted by someone.

4) make sure just 'one' person is going to submit it to the fotmd calendar, so there are not 'dueling submissions'.   ;)

5) to create the calendar listing, you need to do it from your own profile page.

Ken L's got it, John K.  There's something in the works for getting word out here in near future, though. 

That's a good question John. My guess is that none of the organizers are members here. If I had time I would do it, but I'm really busy tomorrow and heading out of town for a few days and will have spotty internet connections. Maybe I'll do it when I get home, if someone doesn't do it before me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Why hasn't this weekend been listed with the upcoming events and festivals yet?

At least post the dates for folks to set aside on their calendars.  Time's a-wastin'!

Richard,  you said, "Hoefully that [noter/drone] influence will be felt." 

Have no worries!

I know the class sessions haven't been announced, yet, but there are many fine noter/drone players-performers-instructors-enthusiasts on the staff, so there's no doubt that you will have a fine offering of classes in this playing style. Also, as Ken H. points out, outside the class times there will, additionally, be a lot of great music sharing among the participants and you can join whichever group draws your interest...many of these will be noter/drone. 

I've been to Hindman many times for a variety of events and am sorry I will miss this since I'll be out of state at another dulcimer gathering the same weekend. I know most of the people on staff and they will provide what you're looking for!   I hope you do get to go and if you do get there, I hope you have a grand time!  Tell us all about it when it's over!

Thanks Ken and Ken. I would like to go. Wanted to see what sessions might be offered. Glad to hear there was good input via facebook (I don't do facebook). Hopefully that influence will be felt.

I'm reasonably sure there will be a good bit of N&D things.  There was a pretty vociferous chain of posts on FB concerning that very subject.  Some of us are planning getting together for just such activities not matter how much 'official' N&D there is...

Richard, as fas I know, the workshop offerings have not been posted yet. I know a couple of people made the suggestion to Lorinda Jones that she offer such a workshop. There will be a few noter drone players there.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."