Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

Very nice. Thanks for letting us know how you made out with this project.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It looks brand-new!  Great job!  Now let's hear you play it!

I'm a Pepsi fan, too. I prefer it to Coke. Now, back to the topic. My fun song is "Going Fishin'" which is best know as the theme to The Andy Griffith show.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

NO! lol I'm a Pepsi man lol But you are right the song was for Coca-Cola  yuck lol

I believe "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" was the COKE song, Ken.  Everyone loves a cok-ola now and then, right? 

Fun and bouncy, I like I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, the Pepsi song.  It's a good teching song for fingerdancing from fret to fret on the melody string.

John Ryan's Polka is a good one to add to your list.

Pieces like 'Turkey in the Straw', 'Hangman's Reel' and 'John Stinson's no.2', are such fun to play, and not too hard, (at a basic level). I was wondering what else, in this vein, people particularly like. They don't get a lot of exposure 'down' here in Oz ...

 That is cool!!! Congrats to Randy and Dave. I miss Dave posting videos here. 

Way cool, Randy!  

Dave Rogers is featured bowing a Tennessee Music Boc built by John Knopf here:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/beautiful-sounds-playing-a-tennessee-music-box-dulcimer-with-a-vi

Thanks for letting us know about this feature at Cigar Box Nation, Dusty!  

Congratulations to FOTMD member Randy Adams who is the featured video artist at Cigar Box nation's dulcimer week.

Check it out here .

Go, Randy, Go!  

 Better than Shark Week!

Hey Everyone!

July is Americana Music Month at Cigar Box Nation, and this week is dulcimer week !

Pretty cool, huh?

Need to click on the ones (Ed Stilley & Workshop) above on the right, http: didn't show up as I typed it but still can see the videos

Interesting story, thanks Robin.

I agree.  Beautifil.

Here's my two-sided 9" head Tabor drum.  I used chamois to cover the strap where it hangs over the arm, since the knotted rope is uncomfortable as is.  I also used a bit of chamois to pad the tip of the drumstick so it wouldn't be quite so loud when practicing in the house.      It's a great little drum for the money, very nicely made.  It could also be used for non-tabor music situations and festivities as well.

Fascinating. Thanks Robin.

Hi Stephanie!

@sheryl-st-clare There is video embedded in this piece:

http://www.cigarboxguitar.com/the-fascinating-world-of-ed-stilleys-guitars/

Thanks to Stephanie Muschlitz for bringing this to my attention!  

Where there's will, there's a way. If only we could hear one of Stilley's creations.

go to any music shop and ask for ball end guitar strings.  the sizes ken suggests should be fine

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. 

http://hyperallergic.com/272977/the-wild-handmade-guitars-of-a-man-on-a-mission-from-god/

Where in the UK?  Our good friend Robin Clark of Bird Rock Dulcimers is up in Snowdonia.  Here's his website:

http://www.dulcimers.co.uk/    You can contact him through his site.  If the string pin is the problem, he may be able to help.

Will do. I had the privilege of talking with Karen at Evart last week. Nice folks.

 Hey Susie, you may want to listen to some or all of John and Karen Keane"s videos they have posted, using the NAF and dulcimer.    If you search, you will find many, and I believe the dulcimer is most always played in DAd.   The Keane's are also keen on answering any questions you might need answering.  

Thanks for your responses to my question, Caleb and Terry. Good info also shared by the others.

from your pics i see no problem with the hitch pins

 Caleb, I have heard that's a good key for playing with md. I have also heard Am will sound good with md too.

Bm flute plays well with dulcimer tuned DAdd. I had a chance to play my dulcimer with a friend at flute circle while he acompanied me with a Bm flute

Thanks so much Sheryl- that makes perfect sense!  

Lisa, Great question! I saw a bowl of plastic tubing that was cut into about 1" pieces, next to the flutes. "What's this?" I said. A man next to me explained that we should stick them into the end of the flute we want to try, to solve the sharing issue. 

There was a baby grand piano, a md, and a bunch of NAF's, but it seemed to me that a solo on any type of flute, or other instrument, would have been welcomed.

Sheryl, that must have been soooo much fun for you!  Was this flute group just about Native American style flutes?- or were there regular classical type flutes, penny whistles, and recorders as well?

Forgive me for asking this question, but I'm curious- how do the folks there deal with the issue of various people trying out flutes on on display, with their mouths on them and all?  Or is everyone just not bothered much by it?

Thanks Lexie, I did not play any of the flutes with other instruments, as there were only flutes there. But a lady played a flute in the key of E while her sister accompanied her on the piano, and then we listened to a recording of the same song that was a flute and guitar. That said, I did try a flute made of Lagustrum in Bb and I really liked the sound. 

Sheryl that is awesome you have such a great musical community and got to go to a NAF group. 

When you tried out the many flutes did you find a key you would like to play with another instrument? I am contemplating a Bb by High Spirits for my next NAF. 

I am happy to hear you got to play a solo and have support from your new group.   Happy fluting. 

Here are the suggested sizes for a Folkcraft dulcimer: 0.011, 0.011, 0.013, and 0.024. The last string is the only wound string. All the others are plain strings. If you need a set of Folkcraft strings, let me know. I can send you a set (post paid) for $5.00.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

As mentioned, hitch-or-string pins are readily available.  If you're breaking a bass string there may be a couple problems.  First, you need the correct gauge -- as KenL mentioned a .024 wound string would work for your dulcimer. 

You called the bass string the "d (bass) string.  In normal dulcimer parlance, a d is D4 an octave higher than the usual bass string D (which is D3).  Check out the MusicMakers on-line tuner:  http://www.harpkit.com/category/onlinetuner.html

You may be trying to tune the string too high.  Which note are you trying to tune to?  A .024 wound bass will easily tune to D3 (the usual D) and up to E and maybe F, but it will not tune up to G without breaking.  It will never make it to d (D4) without breaking.  If you're trying to tune to GDD or GDg you will surely break the bass string unless you use a .016 or .018 bass string.

For the right names for dulcimer parts, you might want to read I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?  that I wrote several years ago.  It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms, plus answers to many beginner questions about tuning, playin, care and feeding of your new friend.  Here's the version I recently revised:

I Just Got A Dulcimer 2016.pdf - 1.1MB

A friend of mine gave me a Jonah Thompson flute in Am recently. My first NAF. The Raleigh NC area being the wonderful music community that it is, is home to the Neuse River Flute Circle. 

I went to my first meeting yesterday, not knowing what to expect. It was hosted by a couple at their Raleigh home, she gives lessons, he builds flutes. There was a presentation on Taos musician John Rainer Jr., and we listened to some of his recordings. After that we went around the room and whoever wanted to play, played solo. I played the only song I know so far, Cherokee Morning Song. We had snacks, and tried out the many beautiful flutes on display. It was a fun afternoon, and I will be going to the next circle meeting. 

I was expecting something more like our dulcimer jams, but there was no group playing. I had previously been focused on buying a flute in a key that sounds good with a md, but now I think I will get one I like the sound of, because I don't really see myself playing folk music on it at a md jam. I see it more played as a duet with an md, guitar, piano, etc. Anyway, I am hooked. 

 Susie.

That is the same Bm NAF that I own.  Since I play solo 100% of the time, I don't know how it sounds with dulcimer. 

However, the reason I bought it, my first flute,  was because one of our most respected members recommended it. His first name is John, if that's a clue.

I figured one day before I die, I might get a chance to play it in a dulcimer jam.

I love mine.  I was just practicing Holy Holy Holy, before leaving for church this morning.

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