Forum Activity for @rob-n-lackey

Wow, Joanna, that is one great looking instrument. I would love to hear it too. Can you tell if the full width frets are original? any evidence of staple type 1/2 frets?

It's a beauty!

The tail piece, the scroll shape, the dark reddish wood finish, and the shape of the feet all remind me of c. 1900-1910 era aesthetic stylings.

Joanna, I believe you have a dulcimer that was copied from a C.N.Prichard Dulcimer. Or perhaps one made buy his brother John. Also it is said that his father in law possibly made dulcimers. I make a reproduction of the Prichard dulcimer, which you can see on my page here. This dulcimer was definitly influenced by the Prichard dulcimer,as it so closely resembles it. I would be interested to see what research will turn up about this dulcimer. I would love to be able to look at this dulcimer up close. There are even more to be seen or not seen on the inside of a dulcimer as there is outside. I live in Bruceton Mills ,WV and would love to have the chance to inspect this instrument. Thanks for sharing, Kevin Messenger.

You're welcome Robin. Glad they had a copy.

Hey, Ken, I went to the Ollie's in Newark OH and got a copy. Wow, it's some big book and I look forward to spending time with it. Many thanks for the heads-up!

Kenneth W. Longfield said:

No problem Robin. The offer is open as long as the supply lasts. Ollies buys damaged tractor trailer loads, remainders, etc. I do not know where these books came from, but they are new and shrink wrapped. Folk music and crafts are only a small part of the Encyclopedia.

No problem Robin. The offer is open as long as the supply lasts. Ollies buys damaged tractor trailer loads, remainders, etc. I do not know where these books came from, but they are new and shrink wrapped. Folk music and crafts are only a small part of the Encyclopedia.

Ken,

If I can't get to the Ollies up in Licking County to see if they have any copies, I may just take you up on your generous offer. Would it be all right if I let you know in the next few days?

Kenneth W. Longfield said:

I think there are seven more copies at the Ollies here. I am not sure how much it would cost to send them at the media mail rate, but it would still be cheaper than the list price. I am willing to purchase a few and send them out just for the cost of the book and mailing.

I think there are seven more copies at the Ollies here. I am not sure how much it would cost to send them at the media mail rate, but it would still be cheaper than the list price. I am willing to purchase a few and send them out just for the cost of the book and mailing.

Wow, I wish I could get to an Ollie's and buy a copy! (I've never heard of this outlet store.)

PS-I just searched and found there's an Ollie's in the county north of where I live! I just may need to take a little trip. . . Thanks for the information, Ken!

Thanks, Ken, I'll check the Ollie's in Clarksburg today! Like you, I still like to hold a book in my hand and turn the pages! Having on-line, or electronic editions is nice, but there's just something about paper!

I posted this information over at EverythingDulcimer, but for those who are here at FOTMD and do not visit ED, I thought I would share it here as well.

I had a pleasant surprise the other day while browsing through the books at Ollie's Bargain Outlet. For those not familiar with Ollie's here is what Wikipedia has to say about it: Ollie's Bargain Outlet is a chain of retail stores founded in 1982 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania by the late Morton Bernstein. The first store was opened in Mechanicsburg, just outside Harrisburg. The chain now has 120 locations (as of June 2012) in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, New York, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Michigan.
Well, I found a copy (actually eight brand new shrink wrapped copies) of the Encyclopedia of Appalachia for $9.99 each. The EOA is published by the University of Tennessee Press and is still in print from them for $79.95 (Amazon, $70.95). Needless to say I purchased a copy. It has an extensive section on Music which contains a one page entry for the fretted dulcimer and a half page entry for hammered dulcimer. Other items of interest to folks on ED include the section on crafts and folklore. I am just beginning to explore this handy reference to Appalachia.
If you do a web search for Encyclopedia of Appalachia you will find a listing for the music section which is accessible on the Internet. It will give you a good feel for the book. I think that eventually the whole book will be on the Internet. While I have enjoyed the web edition it is nice to be able to hold the print edition and look through it.

Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

What a great looking place Ken. Why come back

Great photo too. just where Cezanne would have set up his easle, he liked a good mountain as a backdrop.

Any walnut there, couple of trees look right from the photo,

john

That was my first exposure to Mediterranean Mountain environment. Steep, thickly brush covered slopes, red clay. Bamboo and some of Robin's reed-type grasses along the river bottom. Most of the trees are smaller leaved varieties than we have in the States - more like Live Oak and Laurel Oak than Maple or Poplar. Interesting mix of hardwoods and scattered pines and cedars too. The finca has a couple feral orchards; one of cherries and one of olives, and a veggie garden in disuse. There's a metalworking shop to die for, and an equally well-equipped woodworking shop, and always has a bunch of projects on the fire, including a built-from-scratch small steam engine that's about 75% complete.

His nearest neighbors are a Brit couple in the mid 50s who bought a piece of the original finca from Dad about 10 years ago. They sort of look after him and help him with things.

Looks like some really nice country over there, Ken.

Oooh That's lovely

Sounds like quite a trip. I haven't been to Spain since 1971. Your photo makes me think that this area hasn't changed all that much....

OH this isbeautiful, I wish I lived over there with access to all those wonderful, historical places.

I did miss you !!!

John

Very cool, Ken! And, yes, make it cooler by taking along a dulcimer next time.

Oh wow, so beautiful! Did you save any damsels in distress while you were there Ken?

I spent the last week as a Spanish hillbilly! My Lady Sally's father retired to Catalonia (a Spanish province) about 30 years ago (he turns 90 in March), and Sally goes twice a year for a week to visit him on his finca (think farm or homestead). Brits seem to retire to Spain the way New Yorkers retire to Florida, and for much the same reasons. This time I got to go along and meet him for the first time.

He lives about 30 miles up a dirt mountain track from the village of Llado, which is in turn some 20 miles from the town of Figueres (where Salvador Dali lived). In another direction he's only about 30 miles over a mountain from the Mediterranean and France. The finca is now only about 18 hectares (think 40 acres), although it was once much larger.

Although there is piped water, his only electricity is a mix of 12 volt solar panel/battery and a gas-fired generator if/when he decides to fire it up. He is not computer literate or interested in them. The nearest occasional access is a neighbor, about a mile away but they were only home one day while we were there.

The main house and outbuildings are, as you can see, stone, and have been built, re-built, and added to over the years. Goats and sheep and horses and 'javelin' (wild boar) roam the property and the valley in general (I got to help cut down on the size of the sounder of pigs that inhabit the valley).

We were gone just a week, flying in and out of Barcelona. In some ways it felt like forever, and it some it was far too short. Next time I will take a dulcimer.

I made a little beer & wine years ago, but I don't drink enough to make it worthwhile. I can buy expensive beer for the 6 or 8 cans a I drink every year. I never did achieve high quality results, either.

Paul

I use beer to make my beer bread, my beer bbq ribs, and beer butt chicken (as Dana described). The food tastes sooooo good. However, I sometimes wonder why I'm wasting all that beer. Haha. Several years ago I was brewing my own beer too, though I've scaled all that down lately due to my multiple love affairs (with instruments that is).

I bet there was a lot of beer, the last beer would likely have been fought over. "You did what with the last beer? I'll slap the taste out of your mouth, you dern fool!" We make beer can chicken a lot, it's probably my favorite chicken recipe.

Paul

LOL John Most redneck experiments end with those famous last words..HAHAHA

We used to make "Chicken on a beer can" on the grill, you juststick an open canof beerup the chickens rear(a dead one of course) and let the beer steam it. Makes the meat really tender and moist. Always wondered who it was that first thought of that. Two rednecks with a chicken and a half drunk beer. Hey bubba wonder what would happenif we........and threw it on the grill? And a trend is started!

That does sound not only interesting, but most important, really good!

Please let us know how it turns out, Dennis!

Somehow I came across a recipe for crock pot beer chicken today on the Internet. I copied the recipe and will be trying it out. Not very many ingredients but uses a ca of beer for the broth. Over some rice sounds like it will be delicious.

I agree with Mike. Forget waxing over tung oil. Use 4, no more than 5, coats of tung oil and buff between coats.

I used tung oil on my dulcimer when I put my kit together. I finished it with three coats and it sounds great. Didn't deaden the acoustics in the least. In my opinion. I even put the finish on the fret board right over the fret wire. No ill effects that I can notice. That's been going on four years now. I have pics of it on my page, take a look for yourself. Even did a few videos, so you can hear how it sounds.

Little of both.

Randy & all, maybe the idea of getting a feel for tunes is what serves best in the long haul.

Randy, you're also hitting on how a person can join in to play on tunes you don't know when in a music jam. At least I think you might be hitting on this: where there's both by ear play and drawing on past experience as far as understanding the structure of folk or fiddle tunes and playing along with others on tunes you either haven't heard before or don't know well.

Randy Adams said:

These types of threads about memorizing tunes, or the similar topics 'how do you learn a new tune', or 'ear vs tab' come up occasionally here.

I don't mean to be condescending, or to disrespect the way that works the best for others to learn how to play the dulcimer but there is a higher level to aspire to that never gets mentioned. Well sir, I'm going to take a deep breath and say it out loud.

Most folk tunes, or fiddle tunes, are simple in structure and melody. Many musicians with some experience and competence can hear these tunes once, understand how it goes, and play it. In fact many tunes are simple enough and move in such a predictable manner, they have queues that indicate where they are going, that they can be played adequately the first time through, like as the tune is being played.

How a person gets to this level is dependent on several things. How much are you willing to practice? What are your musical goals? How much innate musical talent are you blessed with?

Assuredly this is a learnable skill. Nobody just picks up an instrument and does it. But it is not only the domain of the musical genius either. Many amateur musicians I know and play with can do it.

Thanks for that Randy, it's what I was getting at in my first post when I talked about getting a small start and the rest of the tune falling into place.

The Curra Road I mentioned fell out very quickly with just a few repetitions once I had a start and then a few more listens to hone it up and pull it into shape, After that comes the more difficult part of holding on to it or refining it further,

john

Little tip for you Paul and Ken, there's no need to listen hundreds of times before you dive in.
Try and get the first line, or find a phrase that stands out for you and try to play that. If you can get that anchored to the fretboard then go back and listen again. You'll find that more of the tune will fall into place quite easilly once you have a start, no need to have the whole thing fixed before you try.

I used to do the writing it down thing and have scribbled sheets lying around somewhere with aide memoires and such. I don't bother anymore and just use Youtube or Spotify or something when I need to refresh my memory.

Repetitions and practice is the thing then to keep them in mind. The problem I have all the time is remembering what tunes I can play, For example someone mentioned 'Aseika Tali' not long ago, a tune I know well and could play straight off, but something I hadn't played for 40 years.

john

By ear player since the beginning nearly 40 years ago. I listen to a tune a hundred or more times until I can sing/hum or whistle it, on command, anytime. They I sit down and pick it out on the dulcimer. At that time I write the melody line tab as a memory aid. After I've played it a day (by ear not tab) I don't need more memory than the first few measures of tab.

Great discussion. I play mostly by ear now. I'll listen to the song (if it's not already stuck in my head) and pick it out. Or I'll have a song in mind and look up the guitar chords to it and play some stuff out of the chords. I'll spice it up by playing some alternate chords or a few melody notes here and there depending if I'm playing dulcimer or banjo. I began learning with tab and though it has gotten me here, I wish I could almost start over (not really just metaphorically) and not get dependent on tab. I think it slowed me down.

Plus picking things out by ear is so much fun. Once you realize you can actually do it and it's not as hard as you made it out to be it's a total blast. And you can play around with notes with in a chord and add in harmony notes and things.

I play with the fingers...found it hard to hit the right notes with my ears....