Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

Blue Lion still shows they offer the MusicNomad fretboard oil: https://www.bluelioninstruments.com/accessories.html#instrument_cleaner_polish

I like this group's music!  

Thats running parallel to the top of the capo not cable

Has anyone out there used MusicNomad F-ONE Oil Fretboard Cleaner & Conditioner? 

Someone said that I should use gorgomyte fretboard conditioning cloth,

But it looks like this product is no longer available And that I should stay away from anything that has lemon oil in it. I don't know why but.   any recommendations out there 

Oh by the way if anybody out there that has a Dudley Quick-Release capo that doesn't seem to be holding on correctly and having a tendency to pop off the fret-board do not Bend the arm. the cam has one or two little adjustment screws that you can loosen and rotate the cam to the correct orientation the screws on the cam should be running parallel to the top of the cable just thought I'd throw that out there 

Still waiting for my February DPN. I do have a First Class Mail subscription. Can't wait to read it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It's come to my attention that orders for custom fret templates are not being sent to me from my order form at the Bear Meadow website.

If you've ordered a template and not gotten an email response, please forgive, and contact me. You can either do so here or using the bearmeadow.com ContactUs page or sending  me a private message via FOTMD.

Some new developments with these fret templates, along with original specs:

• I'm now able to cut any scale length from ukulele or mandolin to bass guitar.
• Scale length can be specified in inch or millimeter 
• Template widths are available from 1-1/2" to 2-1/2" 
• Template stock is structural Aluminum 6061 1/8" thick
• Scales are cut to begin at either nut or zero fret (a small but telling difference!)
• Templates can carry scales along one or both edges
• Along with different scale length, each scale on the template can be uniquely specified (varying diatonic/chromatic, extra fret designations for diatonic, either inch or millimeter system, etc.)
• I'm now certifying directly: by using the template to cut a fingerboard and monting that on a single-string music instrument (a monochord) that I designed to accommodate any scale length.
• I'm now certifying every fret position to ± 2 cents (2 hundreds of a semi-tone, or half-step). In practice I repair any slot that doesn't certify at or below 1.5 cents

The website is built using a design tool that requires an old Macbook. I've not been able to edit it for a few years, so these matters haven't been updated. Hope to do that soon!

I am very sorry to hear of the loss of Ron. He was always very generous with other builders, and I enjoyed visiting him at festivals. 

Ron went to astonishing lengths to appear, teach and sell his dulcimers! I last saw him at the Nutmeg Festival, in Milford Connecticut, a few years ago. We had a good conversation about building, and I gave him one of my miniature clamps that I made, back in my ship modeling days.

And I depended on him for his dulcimer capos.

His presence and talents will be missed. A generation is passing the torch to younger folks. I've had to limit my travels to festivals to one or two a year.  

@razyn, I have my copy of February's DPN open to your article right now. I'll be reading it as soon as I get a break from work.  Congrats!

If you haven't looked through Charles Seeger's article recently (I sure hadn't, though I had read it sometime in the 1970s), the "Clan Campbell" dulcimer (that he illustrates in Plate VI, but mostly dismisses as non-Scottish) appears to be the 1832 one, now in the Tennessee State Museum, that was the subject of Ralph Lee Smith's article in DPN, 37:1, Winter 2011, 71-72.  It did indeed come down in the Campbell family of California, though their specific ancestor who had made it (in Sneedville, TN) was named Neal McNeal.

@razyn , it's wonderful that your article was published in Dulcimer Players News. I'm sure many many people will enjoy and benefit from the information you put into your article.

Just a followup to this older post:  After looking at my wall display for a year or so, last summer I wrote up my notes on each of the five displayed instruments.  Having discussed this with Fiona Potts for most of a year, we decided that it could be a new article for DPN.  That took a while longer; although I finished my work on it last October, it took a while longer to get in the queue for publication.  And I decided it's really "The Story of the Zitter," so that was the title I submitted.  It has just come out, in the Feb. 2026 issue of DPN.

Most, maybe all, such studies so far have begun in the present and looked back:  what are the roots of this lovely little box?  I thought it might be more sympathetic to start with a lovely little example from those roots, and take it forward.  I'm almost, but not quite, tempted to use the recently made-up term "proactive" for my approach: let an old zitter tell its gr-gr-grandchildren the bittersweet tale of its gradual Americanization. 

https://youtu.be/PnxRVLjTVz0?si=sQyPj7e3PbLRP-Jz

Hi Mary, nice to see you.
You are successfully logged in and have made a couple of posts.
You are not 'blocked' in any way. What exactly are you trying to do- add a photo top your photo gallery? Remove a video? Attach a photo to a forum post? Post a comment on the Comment Wall of your profile page, or update the "bio area" of your profile page?
And are you trying to do whatever it is from your phone, or on a laptop or desktop?
Without more details all I can do is suggest you read these threads in the help section here.

Hi! Just want to post that I'm well and alive & moving around again after my knee reconstruction & still playing mountain dulcimer, banjo, guitar, and banjolele.  I even sing when I'm on the torture cycle.  I'd like to change my pix but can no longer figure it out --and that pix is not even one of my dulcimers :) 

Also doing quite a bit of quilting, walking my  basset Charley & Zumba. 

I wanted to respond to these posts--so please tell me how to post pix again. 

I have not updated my website regularly--but it still works--and have most of my music posts on Facebook which is set for public--so anyone can go on.  

Warning--you will not only see music posts but lots of pix of Charley and quilts too. 

Best wishes,

Mary Z. Cox

 502523472_10163578333992608_4135532001836385563_n.jpg - 47KB

Hi ! wanted to make a post that I'm still well, alive & playing & I still seem to have a page--but can't seem to update photo or videos or even post on my homepage ?  

Its like I'm blocked ? 

Best dulcimer wishes,

Mary Z. Cox

You might like Bob Thomason (Wayfaring Stranger/I'll Fly Away) streaming on many platforms.  

So sorry to hear of Bobbi's passing.  She was a dedicated champion of the dulcimer and of using music to help others.  I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to attend a couple of the SCDH fall festivals years back and one or two online in more recent years.

Leo, I offer my condolences to you and all who knew Ms. Adler.  It seems she was an incredible ambassador in the mountain dulcimer world!

It is with great sadness that I note the passing of Roberta “Bobbi” Adler, 80, who was president and key driving force behind the Southern California Dulcimer Heritage dulcimer group for sixteen years. Her energy and enthusiasm for music and dulcimers were unflagging and unmatched. Bobbi worked almost fifty years as a certified music therapist, taking her lap dulcimer, guitar, keyboard and voice into dozens of institutions to bring music to the people inside. Bobbi was an absolute spark plug of enthusiasm for all things dulcimer and musical. She was involved in SCDH through two dozen yearly fall festivals and concerts. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her and her gift for music.

 Bobbi Adler.jpg - 45KB

I love banjo music. I bought my first banjo in 1971 when I was in graduate school. It was a Gibson RB175 which was an open back long neck. I was a big fan of Pete Seeger. I was using his book to teach myself. The next chapter found me moving to Washington, D.C. and falling in with a bunch of bluegrass pickers. I sold the RB175 and bought a RB250 and started learning Scrugg's style. Then my family grew and work impinged on my time and the banjo spent more time in its case. Now in retirement my three banjos continue to spend most of their time in their cases. I'll occasionally get one out and pick a little, but my hands don't seem to work as well as they once did. You will often find me listening to banjo music as I work on researching mountain dulcimer history or build them.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I had the exact same experience, Strumelia! I still remember the simple melody and rhythm I played OVER AND OVER when I figured out the clawhammer motion. It was a Saturday night, and I remember grinning like an idiot while I played haha. I also remember telling myself that I'd better put the banjo down and go to sleep because I had church the next morning!

It's amazing how a simple motion can do so much between the fifth-string, drop thumb, clucking, and striking the banjo head. When I started trying to learn I would watch videos and couldn't wrap my mind around how the right hand could do all that.

Though i don't play much music lately, Ryan's comment brought back a memory of when i first started learning clawhammer banjo 28 long years ago...

I was a brand new beginner, learning from some softcover booklets. Youtube did not even exist yet, no banjohangout yet... there was really no banjo instruction on the internet yet. The only thing online to 'talk banjo' was Banjo-L, an email listserve. (and thank God for at least that)  Horse and buggy days.

Anyway, I remember very clearly the day that I finally 'got' the clawhammer stroke motion, after struggling on my own to get the rhythm and motion from reading my booklets.
As my clawhammer stroke began to flow, I added a hammer-on E minor chord to it (which was pretty simple)... and alternated the open G chord with the e minor hammer-on. It was pure magic to my ears.
Experiencing this was a musical epiphany, touching my very being. It sounds silly now, but at the time I could not stop playing this simple stroke and hammer-on. It gave me such joy that I literally played it alone in the house ALL DAY, with only little breaks for food and bathroom. I remember distinctly that evening, getting ready for bed and thinking "I have played that for at least 9 hours today!".... yet I still hoped that I would not lose the rhythm and motion during the night and wake up having to start all over again. It was a memorable day.

Thanks for the list, Dusty!

Homer, I will look him up. Thank you!

You're getting wiser, Robert, not older!

I'm so glad you enjoy the banjo. I could play/listen to old-time clawhammer all day.

I love the sound of clawhammer banjo. I keep my banjo close by and never as Pete Seeger said in a case.

I play often, but dont consider myself proficient enough for jamming. I play just for enjoyment.

The only instrument I  sadly neglect is my hammered dulcimer. I only seem to play it around Christmas time. 

Getting back into things whatever those things might be is one of the pleasures of getting old...Robert 

I have three CD's from Jerry Read Smith which are awesome. Sadly I have never seen any on a streaming platform. 

Ryan, I don't really create playlists on Spotify, mainly because I still believe in the concept of the album and tend to listen to whole albums at once.  I may add some names later when I remember them, but for now I can say that I have at least one album by each of the following in my Spotify "library":

Aubrey Atwater, Paul Clayton, Steve Eulberg, Mimi and Richard Fariña, Bing Futch, Neal Hellman, Joellen Lapidus, Karen Mueller, Heidi Muller, Mark Kailana Nelson, Aaron O'Rourke, Jean Ritchie, Butch Ross, Kevin Roth, David Schnaufer, Stephen Seifert, Randy Wilkinson, Nina Zanetti.

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I came up with at a glance.  Note that a lot of dulcimer players' music is not available on streaming platforms.  For example, I have some CDs by Linda Brockinton, but have not found her stuff on Spotify.

Some music I want to learn on the Dulcimer is not available except for piano or guitar and seldom for dulcimer. I have found it easier to tabulate the song myself. It takes a few minutes but I am able to add harmony and bass to it as i learn the basic melody. 

I hear the struggle and can relate, Ryan!
Welcome to the site.

I play clawhammer style. Used to be decent at it, then life got in the way and I barely picked my banjo up for years. Now I'm trying to regain the ability and learn the MD.

Do you have any favorite mountain dulcimer playlists on sites like Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, etc.?

If not, please suggest some artists I should include if I make one. Thanks.

Drew009: I'm playing with only one finger on my right hand and may I say I'm making a lot of music. I'm looking for an adaptive pick though that would fit over my finger for strumming.

If you want to STRUM, a THUMB pick might be better than any finger pick. I Googled " pick for people with bad fingers " and got suggestions for the BLACK MOUNTAIN Spring-Loaded Thumb Pick. It's a lot more advanced than the classic metal thumb pick. 

https://blackmountainpicks.com/pages/thumb-picks

In addition to grabbing your thumb, it's fat enough to prevent most cases of "Whoops, my pick fell through the sound hole!"

Here's a picture of my choice in picks for strumming

 My Favorte Pick.jpg - 208KB

Drew, I’ve been racking my brain for a few days because I knew I’d seen a pick that might be right for you but I couldn’t remember the name of it. Facebook finally threw an ad in front of me that reminded me! Check this out, you may find it helpful: https://www.flippickplectrums.com/product-page/flip-pick-starter-pack

Alex, in addition to singing songs with lyrics "far from their day to day lives", many didn't concern themselves with the meaning of individual unfamiliar words.  The general meaning was understood, but a single word taken out of context didn't need defining.  I remember one example was the word "steed"...the person they were asking said they had no idea what it meant because it wasn't a word that was used in those parts.  It was just another "foreign" word to them.  

There are finger picks some use for playing stringed instruments. I do not know much about them other than they are available. Perhaps someone will chime in with a bit more information.

Hello, and welcome! Look forward to hearing some of your tunes. I'm always amazed at how sweet a sound the dulcimer makes.

Welcome Drew, I'm rather a newbie myself. This site has been a great help to me. The folks here are eager to help. Seems like someone is available to assist with every issue or question. Tell us about your new Dulcimer and what other instruments you play.

I'm glad that you are enjoying the Hearts of the Dulcimer podcasts. Unfortunately Patricia and Wayne don't participate here that much. I think they've gone on to other things. I think Wayne might be building dulcimers now. Dusty may know more about that.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thank you Dusty for noting Ron Ewing's passing. Ron was a multiply-innovative luthier and player. For one thing, he brought us out of the days of chopstick-and-rubber-band-capos with his perfectly crafted and durable design. He was the inventor of the hourglass-teardrop hybrid which he called the Aorell, as mentioned below. He arguably invented the dulcimette and then played it in his driving strumming style. All his instruments had great, lively sound. He championed the 1 and 1/2 fret and used it to play hundreds of Celtic tunes. He was a regular builder-seller-player at dozens of regional dulcimer festivals in the East and Midwest. These he did marathon drives to, always with a load of newly built dulcimers, in one of his beloved vintage BMWs that he did all the mechanical work on. I visited him a couple times in Columbus Ohio and he at one point had an engine block on his kitchen table. He was also an avid cyclist. And just the nicest sort of person you could hope to meet. He will definitely be missed! 

Beautiful instrument, is there an audio recording of it?