Forum Activity for @patricia-delich

April 30, 2016 is the 50 year remembrance of the late, great dulcimer player Richard Fariña. Richard died in a motorcycle accident in Carmel Valley, CA on his wife Mimi Fariña's 21st birthday. He left this world way too soon. Would you like to be part of this tribute to Richard? Here are a few ideas …

• If you knew Richard, post some of your memories of him.
• If you didn’t know Richard, but he influenced you, share how his life, music, writing, dulcimer playing, etc., affected you.

We’re in touch with Richard’s Irish family who live in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, where Richard's mother was born. We’ll send your well wishes, thoughts, etc. to Richard’s family. Their local church in Moortown will be announcing Richard’s anniversary this weekend at their mass services. Here are a few more ideas for you to be involved …

• Listen to some of the Fariña’s music. And/or play some of his music on your dulcimer.
• Read some of Richard’s writing. His novel Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me is an underground classic.
• Learn more about Richard and Mimi on Doug Cooke’s extensive website:  http://richardandmimi.com
  
• Listen to the 2 part podcast episode about Richard:

Part 1:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/004.html
Part 2:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/005.html

Many thanks to those who contributed to the podcast episodes about Richard. There’s lots of great music in these episodes from Caroline Doctorow, Plainsong, Neal Hellman, Robert Force, and Jerry Rockwell. There are also interviews with members of Richard’s family, and dulcimer players who were influenced by Richard.

Me and my Coper Girl, in Tillamook, OR trail riding what a life!

Yeah many of them are missing Jan...but they're not even in the source code so there's nothing I can do to dig them up.  (Update:  I've deleted a few posts and responses that made no sense since the photos were no longer there)   Onward and upward!  (or should I say under and backward?)  

Here's me in 1997....about 19 years ago....possum on a stump?  with my Keith Young curly maple dulcimer that's seen in the fotmd logo.  Ah, would that I were still that spry and willowy!    

Perhaps I should have pointed out that at least half of the photos are missing from this discussion from 6 years ago...

I vote we pay tribute to Rod and resurrect this discussion with its glorification of our Younger Years!

I will even try to locate one or two of mine and figure out how to upload them!

At the time of his death I was feeling rather sorry for myself in a coronary care unit,

 and was much heartened when my wife brought in the little book of tunes that Rod had just put together.........to send it must have been one of the last things he did...........its treasured !!!

JohnH

Hi Lexie, Thanks so much, we really appreciate your feedback. We hope you will encourage your friends to listen to the Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast , and write a review in iTunes:  http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast.

Thanks Patricia and Wayne, I very much enjoyed Neil Hellman's story. Whew, you are doing well bringing us such interesting people who have supported our beloved mountain dulcimer. I really appreciate the work you do.

Thanks Dusty, we appreciate your support! Thanks for listening. I'm sure our paths will cross again!

Rod was the first one who welcomed a lot of us to FOTMD.  He was a true gentleman.  I remember fondly playing with him as well on the Tuesday Dulcimer Club on Paltalk.  After his passing I just found it too sad to continue joining that online gathering.

I think of Rod often and fondly, and I truly miss him.  Such a kind and thoughtful man... he was deeply dedicated to his family, his music, and to all his many dulcimer friends both old and new.  Thanks for the reminder CD, ....and good to see YOU back here again.  

Rod's music is still very much worth a listen:  http://fotmd.com/rod-westerfield

Rod was one of the first people to welcome me into the dulcimer world.  He is truly missed.

Patricia and Wayne, I finally had a chance to listen to the Neal episode. Even though I've seen your film countless times and enjoyed innumerable conversations with Neal directly, I still found the podcast both informative and entertaining. You managed to get some details out of him that he doesn't often reveal.  Your choice of music is also impeccable.  Although I have all of Neal's CDs and many of the Gourd Music titles (including the Shaker trilogy) I still came away from your podcast with a renewed respect for the "sometimes folk, sometimes classical, always acoustic" or "folk baroque" vision with which Neal infuses all the Gourd Music recordings. 

I haven't seen you guys in a while but I hope our paths cross again soon.

Definitely not forgotten..............always very forgiving of my errant computer technique !

JohnH

Thanks for the reminder CD. Will do. I miss our conversations with Rod.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

John and I had a great day seeing the John Jacob Niles home, touring the Kentucky Artisan Center (where we also had lunch), and spending an hour or so in Warren May's shop, looking at his collection of historic dulcimers (and playing a few!).  Then I sat and played one of Warren's dulcimers for a long while as folks came in and browsed and Warren and John talked dulcimer talk.  I must not have been paying much attention to them because I was very surprised to find out John had selected one to hand carry back to Japan!

Thanks everyone for your comments. Howard Rugg's episode is now done, you can listen to it on our website: http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/010.html or in any podcast app on a mobile device. Our podcast Hearts of the Dulcimer , is also available in iTunes: http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast .

Hope you'll come by for a listen!  :-)

What a special visit you had, jan to guide you and a Warren May to go home with. Let us hear your new dulcimer when you get home, congratulations. 

John how wonderful you were able to come and meet Jan, really sweet of her to give you such a great tour and lead you to a new and very beautiful dulcimer you had to take home with you.

I get the impression that Jan would spend the time showing anyone of us the hot spots of our dulcimer history and sites of her home. She is just sweet that way and I am sure she enjoyed your company.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Lexington, KY where I met our moderator Jan Potts. She very kindly drove me around, first to visit the home of singer/composer/dulcimerist John Jacob Niles, then to Berea for lunch and a visit to Warren Mays's shop.  Well, what can I say? I fell in love with an instrument with a spectacular walnut top and it came home with me to Japan. 

I'd like to thank Jan again, this time publicly, for spending the day with me and for the introduction. I couldn't have had a better guide. 

Oh, and don't mind Elsa peeking over my shoulder. She's only a little jealous. 

Ken, I'm surprised people can't find the Richie book. I ordered my copy from Elderly Instruments a while back and no problem. (It was to replace the copy I bought in 19?? when the book was pretty new. My first copy disappeared sometime in the 1980s.) I just checked and they do have it in stock.

 Look out, Dana's gone electric!  She's gonna be playing Pete Townshend power chords soon and rockin' the neighborhood.

Glad it worked out for you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken, thank you SO MUCH for that link! That's what I bought and I love how it feels. And now all my mistakes can be heard all the more better, haha! Thanks for everyone's advice!

Thanks for that listing Sam.  I've never seen her tab gallery before.  Not just DAA, but DAd, DF#A, DGd and DGB melody line tabs as well as separate listings for Christmas and Hymns.    

 John - we don't mention Jean's book often, I guess,  because it can be difficult to acquire a copy these days.  Noter & Drone style is NOT about DAA tuning (although that is very common).  I've been playing N&D for over 40 years, and have played in every tuning except Phrygian, I think.  If you have a traditional dulcimer without the 6+ fret, Ddd (a.k.a. Bagpipe tuning) is very useful; perhaps more useful than DAA.  Ddd (or equivalent) without the 6+ fret, lets you play at least two tunings (Ionian and Mixolydian) without re-tuning, and you can "cheat" tunes from one or two other Modes as well.

I don't know why no one has mentioned Jean Richie's "The Dulcimer Book" yet. True, she talks about other tuning, too, but that is where she starts. I also like Lorinda Jones's "Dulcimer a la Mode." She gives everything drone style first, before "dressing things up." 

My profile picture shows the peghead and wooden pegs on my Kevin Merchant dulcimer. It isn't one of his replicas, but it is a lovely instrument and the friction pegs aren't a big deal. They work just fine.

David !    Sounds as if you are in for some fun , as others have said there are sources available, but don't under estimate the one already available to you.........yourself, ie do not be inhibited by that little noter, when in i-5-5 (or thereabouts ) you will be surprised by how many tunes 'just happen',   I always sing 'em in my head whilst playing, as that definitely influences what my right hand does.    I fully endorse what Robin has said about using a 'guided' noter , whichever grip you decide on,  and on a minor practical note here, you might just want to 'ease' the ends of the nearside frets a tad, I have known people who abandoned the noter simply because 'it hurt their finger' !!!

good luck

JohnH

Like Robin, I to have enjoyed your excellent posts on ED, thank you.

'

Hi Dave,

I'm sure you'll get on just fine with wooden pegs.  I have to say that I love them.  I love the physical relationship I get with the instrument at the stat of each playing session from setting the pegs - it is a real organic task.  It's not difficult to tune something like an Ed Thomas replica to itself.  I start with the bass string and get that to the note I want - you don't have to be that accurate unless you are playing with others, just somewhere around D is a good start.  Then I tune the melody string by ear a perfect 5th above the bass string and check that the 3rd fret on the melody string is the octave of the bass.  It can take a little time to get this just right.  Then I tune the middle string to match the melody string.  A couple of tricks with pegs are to pull them out a little so they turn easy and push them in to stop them slipping.  Also, I make sure that the last winding where the string leaves the peg toward the nut is right up against the peg head side wall as that will make tuning easier and help stop the peg slipping.

Let me know when you get your dulcimer and we can have some fun on Skype

Dave it is worth scratching the itch, my profile pict. is a Uncle Ed Thomas and it is terrific, best played noter/drone and I love it.

My fingers aren't able to handle wood pegs, so I had perfection pegs put on, they are a little tricky, but work very well. I say pursue your historical interest, this is what keeps me a strummin' enjoy it and have fun.

If you look at many of the videos people posted on this site you will see many play the noter/drone style and I know I have learned much more and appreciate the old style more and more.

Best of luck and have fun....Lexie 

Robin Clark:  Hi Dave - Are you sure you want to venture into the dark side   The resources for learning early style noter drone tend to be scattered and do take some searching out.... If you want to Skype me so I can get you started I'd be happy to help.  Your posts on ED about dulcimer history have been excellent so I'd like to give something back.

 

Robin 

Robin, thanks for the pointers. I told Gordon that when I first got in to Mountain Dulcimers I really wanted to go the DAA noter/drone route since I didn't know DAA or DAD and the historical side of noter/drone appealed to me but everyone here is DAD (or don't do noter/drone even if they do other tunings like DAA and others) and I wanted to learn their way. I've been fighting this urge to go noter/drone for years and have decided win, lose, or draw I must scratch this itch. Since I'm committing to this I'm even having John Knopf make me an Uncle Ed replica. On one hand I may regret it all, particularly the wood pegs and relearning strumming techniques. On the other hand I might be able to scratch the itch... I'll probably take you up on your skpe offer, but maybe not until I get my new dulcimer.

Thanks

lexie

(" Mountain dulcimers are my therapy and solace for both my mental and physical well being.")

I think anyone of us could say this and probably have and also the part about how helpful everyone is on this site and how sweet our dulcimers are.

What calls to our heart will make our heart sing, very true - happy we are to have answer the call.

      All the best to everyone and thank you for the help on my dulcimer journey.

Hi Dave - Are you sure you want to venture into the dark side   The resources for learning early style noter drone tend to be scattered and do take some searching out.  You've had some great pointers already   My advice would be:

1. Noter drone is playing is tough to get sounding 'musical' compared to modern chord melody DAd playing.  Many pieces are held together by the melody so your phrasing and timing have to be spot on.  Imagine switching from playing a guitar to playing a flute as a metaphor for switching style between chord melody and noter drone. 

2. Your right hand is going to set the feel of the tune, so 'skill with a quill' is a where it is all at.  Jean Ritchie's vertical quill style is a little hard to get hold of at first.  Be flexible with your wrist and work off an in-strum lead stroke.  The cut of the quill end has a BIG impact on tone, so experiment.  You'll need lots of quills because they don't last.  You'll be re-cutting the quill end every session you play. (I really should make a video about using vertical quills!!!!)

3. The thumb strum is a great and old technique for noter drone playing - good for slow tunes.  Jean Ritchie used it just as much as she used a quill.  It gives a very defined melody string sound.

4. Start with a simple wooden dowel about 3" long as a noter and practice different grips.  Personally I use guided grips because of their accuracy.  If you go to the old style noter drone players group page here on FOTMD you'll find links to additional pages on the right hand side under the title 'Group Pages'.  There's a whole bunch of stuff there about using a noter.

5. Have an aim in mind.  Christmas carols sound great in noter drone style so perhaps aiming to play a Christmas concert would be a good one to go for.

6.  Using a single melody string can be easier than using a melody pair.

7.  Start with DAA (a 1-5-5 tuning) as it is possibly the easiest starting point.  I tune all over place but 1-5-5 is the tuning I use most.

8.  If you want to Skype me so I can get you started I'd be happy to help.  Your posts on ED about dulcimer history have been excellent so I'd like to give something back.

Robin

Hi David, I have been playing the old style noter/drone sense my Dulci Journey began and I learned the most and began with Strumelia's noter drone blog. She gives clear and simple instruction and there is so much good information, I highly recommend beginning with  her blog. This will give you understanding of other tabs which aren't written for noter/drone and you will learn how to work around the tab for more chording with your noter playing.

Have fun!!!

Bernuk1, what a fine story and I guess the MD was calling to your heart. Enjoy your Dulci Journey and if you can get in touch with Robin Clark as Ken H. suggested, I bet he would answer any questions and get you strumming. I also know folks on this site will answer questions and help you along also.

The beginning of my Dulci Journey began with a MD that wasn't up to snuff, but I learned the basics on it until I bought 2 dulcimers which really fit my style of the old time sound and noter playing. They are both just fun to play with that silvery old time sound that I love.

I began my journey because of some challenged times with severe aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis, my MD's became my therapy and challenged distraction of finding ways to play with painful hands.

If I remember correctly I accidentally found this site along with Strumelia's Noter/Drone Blog and took lessons from her videos, it was amazing to not have musical experience and be able to learn from her wonderful lessons. Thank you so much Lisa..

Along with this wonderful woman, I then found many very helpful folks who guided and suggested and taught me along my journey, very wonderful friends from this site who are able to explain and answer my questions to help me understand what to do with my wooden instruments with sweet strings. I am very grateful and fond of this site. 

I can't remember but I actually began 4 yrs ago and had to pull away due to illness of my parents for a couple years and I came back a year ago again for emotional and physical recovery. My Mountain dulcimers are my therapy and solace for both my mental and physical well being. I am very grateful to have the ability to play my mountain dulcimers, they are beautiful! 

David, the mostest simple of the simplest tunes for noter playing beginners:

http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-player.html

After that, move on to Go Tell Aunt Rhody, and then Amazing Grace...ionian DAA tabs are there in my blog as well for those tunes.

I agree with Ken; you'd have to be really trying to screw it up to make it unplayable.  It's just that some are a lot better than others based on how good the wood working skills were.  I don't believe one would have to be a professional or semi-professional to do a good job.  One would have to be careful.  Since we don't know about the carefulness of the builder, I put the value on the low side.  I'd rather be safe than have to spend more to correct any problems.

There isn't to much that one could do to a McSpadden Sweet Song dulcimer kit to make it unplayable. I built several of them for friends who purchased the kits. They almost built themselves. That said, even if it were not in playing condition, it wouldn't take much to get it up and singing again.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks to everyone who has provided comments. I appreciate them all.