Forum Activity for @jan-potts

Have 5 already. Lexie...doesn't mean I wasn't tempted, though!

Hearts Of The Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 15
Steve Eulberg: Dulcimer Crossing

Steve Eulberg is a multi-instrumentalist who plays and sings traditional songs and fiddle tunes; weaving together Celtic, Old-Time, blues, and jazz on both the mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer. He runs the website Dulcimer Crossing, which provides hundreds of online video dulcimer lessons by several known dulcimer teachers.

For episode resources:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/015.html

Nice pictures, fun seeing John picking out his new dulcimer with Warren and very nice picture of Jan playing one of his dulcimers.

And Jan all that and you didn't take one home? Ahh No what's up Girl?

 And here's Jan with Warren and one of the instruments she was playing. 

 P1040488.JPG.jpg - 144KB

CD, thanks for the reminder!  Though I'm often overwhelmed with caregiving, I hope to get to strum a tune in Rod's memory on the 8th. 

Other than a grave marker reference, the only other thing I coud find about Powell was a  2014 auction of household goods where the deceased had owned one of Powell's dulcimers.

Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky from the 20s to the 70s and later, is/was full of "small" builders of dulcimers.  If you can get the instrument for a decent price, George, go for it.

As of today, the clip of Richard and Mimi playing House Un-American Blues Activity Dream from Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest is still on YouTube, for those who haven't heard it.

Fariña sure lit up my mind, as well as my heart. <3

What a fun coincidence! I feel lucky that I discovered their music "back in the day." Richard and Mimi made magic with their music.

I don't usually disagree with my brother Ken. His advice is good. On the other hand, I'd look at the strings to check their condition. If they are not rusted or corroded and do not break when you tune them up, you will be able to use them. They probably will not last as long as new strings, but will work until you can get a new set. That goes for the old (new) set in the package. Enjoy your new to you dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

'house un-american blues activity dream' resonates to this day - if you don't know this song, you have to give it a listen. and 'been down so long it looks like up to me' was a must read back in the day - kerouac, ginsberg and farina lit up many minds. 50 years - man, i must be old.

Samurai -- if the tuners don't keep it in tune, the little screws in the ends of the knobs probably need tightening -- start with just a half turn.  Don't crank them all the way tight, just enough so the strings hold tune.

Below is a PDF of revised article I wrote several years ago, called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?  which is an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all talk about the same things the same way), plus answers to many beginner questions about tuning, playing, care and feeding of your dulcimer.

I Just Got A Dulcimer 2016.pdf - 1.1MB

I'd say Yes, re-string it.  And No, don't use the 'stored' strings.  Depending on the environment where you live, even packaged strings will degrade over time, temperature and other factors.  I live in a riparian environment -- tidal river -- and strings corrode very readily.  But even when I lived a mile high and a thousnad miles from the ocean, they still corroded...  Strings are cheap -- under $10 a set even at an expensive music shop; under $3 a set from www.juststrings.com...  Buy a couple sets and replace frequently -- every six months at least.

Strange coincidence... Without thinking about the anniversary I spent yesterday and today listening to all their too few albums. I remember 1966 as a big year in pop music. But lacking in creative genius. R&M Farina were truely creative at a time when we needed it most. Which is why the radio never played their music... Robert...

Thanks for reminding us all of this date, Patricia.

Folks who have listened to the Hearts of the Dulcimer podcast on Neal Hellman know that when he was still in New York he prepared a book of tablature of Richard Fariña's music.  A few year's back, he made that book available free online as a pdf.  You can read Neal's blog and download the pdf here .

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.