Forum Activity for @randy-adams

And a video or two Robin. The vid 'carving the scroll' is worth the price of admission. 

Yes, in the realm of art.  And Dwain posts photos of his processes in building Bear Meadow instruments.  It's neat to see them!   

True enough Randy......................

Ken, John, very interesting to read. Up in the northeast, dulcimer builders do not feature feet, so I thought I was the only one doing so.

Here's an idea passed to me by Walt Martin of Sunhearth: place the feet offset in the major bout, so there is a space for the player's right leg to pass between them, instead of having to shift the instrument to avoid having one's thigh embossed.

So I place the treble-side foot between the bout and the waist, the bass-side foot between the bout and the tail, leaving plenty of room for the posture to shift.  See "Baby Grand" detail .

Looking forward to more discussion of the Tennessee Music Box!

Randy, I blush! I entered this craft standing on the shoulders of a giant, and feel I owe it to the community to demonstrate the craft's evolution at every opportunity.

Ok I'll say it out loud. Dulcimers built by Dwain Wilder have far surpassed the level of craft and are in the realm of art.

Hi Badrepp, Leo, Robin, Ken, Dusty,

Those photos bring back such memories of my old mentor. He was like a second father for me.

And I never knew Walt encountered L. Alan Smith! Ken, thanks for pointing Leo to my website's Sunhearth page. Glad you still have your Sunhearth!

Badrepp, 12 12 14 22PBW will work fine with the Sunhearth. You might find that the higher tension of this set sharps the tone in frets above the 7 (first octave), as Walt didn't know about intonation and compensation. But Sunhearth action was so wonderfully low that intonation problems could only be perceived by those with very keen pitch recognition. If you have trouble with the 14 string sharping, try a 13.

I'd be interested to hear how the guitar players assessed that Sunhearth.

Leo,

Thanks and WOW.

I was purchasing old wooden church organ bellows and the Dulcimer was part of the lot. I restrung it with 12 12 14 22 hope walt approves. I will have to learn to play now.

I looked Lorraine and she is scheduled in a show in Connecticut that I may be able to stop at if a trip to boston aligns.

I am invited to a guitar show in Illinois later this month and I was asked to bring it alone.

I can tell you a number of things! And pictures! 

I met Walt and Mike Martin at the Flower Carol Dulcimer Festival in Watertown, MA (Boston area, near Cambridge), which had been started by Lorraine Lee (now L.L. Hammond), in May of 1982. They invited me out to Roaring Spring, PA, waaay in the middle of the state, near Altoona, a paper mill town, to do a workshop and concert, and 'paid' me with Sunhearth #692, 5-15-83, of course signed 'W Martin.' It was the Lorraine Lee model, which had added Grover geared banjo tuners (inline, with the trad look of friction pegs), a piezoelectric 'pickup' under the bridge (a crystal that converts vibrations to pulses of electrons) (!) (does not work worn on the body!) and an extended body, which required a custom made case at the time.

That quickly became and remains the main dulcimer that I play. Walt was mildly disturbed if not insulted a year later to see I'd put on strings that were "way too heavy" - 12's, 16, 28w! "That's not what Lorraine uses! I designed that instrument for 9-10's, 14's middle, and 22w bass!!" I felt on the spot, quickly assuring him his design and construction, in their excellence, had no problem handling the heavier string!! I think he may have admitted it still sounded alright, lol. That was Walt Martin!

Lorraine wrote a tune for one of his major birthdays called Walt's Waltz, but I don't recall it and can't find it w G or YTube. 

When I was there, the Martin homestead was Walt and his wife Helen, a wonderfully warm matriarch, their son Michael, who did a LOT of the building, and his partner, folksinger Debby McClatchy. It was a visit I wished I'd set aside more time for! 

I'll attach pictures. Wish there were more! 

It was in their workshop that I first laid eyes on a chromatic dulcimer, incredulously. It seemed overwhelming, especially as, on (I think) all of their dulcimers, there were no fret inlays of any kind! Walt said, "Oh, we built that for somebody somewhere who custom ordered it and then disappeared, couldn't reach him. It's been sitting here for years - why don't you borrow it, if you like? If he ever turns up we may need it back, but I doubt it..."  So, in an unparalleled experience of dulci-decadence, I left there with two Sunhearth dulcimers and was basically out a couple days mileage and gas money, which seemed 'bad' then!

BUT, as fate would have it - I kid you not - the very next month they suddenly heard from the guy, and he wanted his dulcimer!

Just as well. The last time I saw Mike Martin and Debby McClatchy was at a Claremont (CA) Folk Festival several years back, and they're living somewhere in California. 

Great memories! On to the photos. Never got any of that chromatic that must be out there somewhere! 

1. At Flower Carol Festival, '82, Walt Martin middle w beard, talking w dulcimer historian and author L Alan Smith, unknown HD player.   

2. Michael Martin at Flower Carol Fest, '82. I think they built a handful of HDs (?).

3. Wall of dulcimers. '83. They built both with and without the 6.5. I don't think they ever did a 1.5

4. More dulcimers and ribbons.  

5, 6: pegheads in progress

7, 8: bodies and templates

 Walt Martin, sunhearth and L Alan Smith.jpg - 403KB

I suggest you contact @dwain-wilder, who is a member here.  He owns Bear Meadow and learned his luthery skills from Walter Martin of Sunhearth, which is why @dan pointed you to that website.

If you send me a personal message and provide me with you email address I can send you two scans for articles about Walt Martin and Sunhearth dulcimers. Walt was quite a character. He could be very cordial and at other times acerbic. I met him at festival and talked with him for a bit mentioning that my in-laws lived near him. He invited me and wife to stop by to visit him and see his workshop. When we did, he wanted to know what the h*ll we were doing there. We did manage a brief but somewhat antagonistic (on his part) visit.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sunhearth instruments are fantastic!  I had one and passed it along to a young person-- I was the caretaker for awhile and it was a privilege to have the instrument.  Enjoy your Sunhearth!  

Thank you very much for the link

Yes those are wonderful pieces with a very "big" sound!

https://www.bearmeadow.com/about/history/sunhearth.html

Those Sunhearth dulcimer are top quality instruments.  Have real good rep

Hello,

1st Post

I bought a Dulcimer at an estate sale. inside one of the star holes it reads:

Sunhearth #526  6-19-79   W. Martin

Looking for history or information on builder etc.

Any direction would be great

I've heard many old hymns (my mom was a church pianist for many years) yet this one is unfamiliar to me-- I look forward to hearing you play and sing it, John.  

I have not heard this John, so I really look forward to you sharing it!  I love the words!

This is a beautiful rendition of that song. Thanks for sharing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Love this, and Sarah! Thank you for posting Robin

My bad. It is the last Saturday in March which is the 25th. Note; the 25th not the 28th. I will go back and edit my post.

Ken

The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, the 'official' International Appalachian Dulcimer Day in 2023 is Saturday 25 March.  In a thread here at FOTMD, we landed on choosing the last Saturday in March as the day.   

Yep. So you're also saying the 'official' day is the last Saturday of March, right?

Wonderful resolution indeed!

It also means that if you're home all day you should... help yourself!  To what is up to you, of course. 

@ken-longfield & @leo-kretzner I just checked my calendar and the last Saturday in March in 2023 is the 25th.  

Yes, better to plan ahead than plan behind, always.

I was trying to remember if it's the last day of March or the last weekend - but the 28th is a Tues, so I remain confused on that. 

In any event, there will definitely be an open jam in Claremont, probly on Sun the 26th, to be finalized.

Dulcimer Day rocks!  

That's strange, Ken! I thought us New Yorkers were supposed to be rather rude, but almost everyone here says ThankYou when you hold a door open for them. Or they wave thanks when you let them into traffic in front of you when driving.

@ken-longfield I'm happy you gave this thread a bump!  I need to plan a tune to celebrate.

Just giving everyone a heads up on IADD which will be on March 25th this year. It's not too early to begin planning both your music and fun for International Appalachian Dulcimer Day.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

John, I look forward to your video. This is a new hymn to me. Thank you for sharing it.

Randy, it has always been my practice to hold the door for anyone following me in to a building. Unlike you Nebraskans, there are few people who say thanks. On our trip across country in October I can count on one hand the number of people who thanked me for holding the door open for them. That would be at truck stops, gas stations, rest areas, restaurants, motels, etc.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Help somebody today---what a wonderful way to pattern your life. Time was, and still is in some of the smaller more rural communities in America, that this was something very normal for everyone. Would it not be a wonderful world if more folks would do this kind of thing and remove themselves from the primary focus of their lives. Some say it takes a Village. I say it takes a neighbor whose focus is on others rather than himself.

Real life Lisa! : ) Yeah the chorus does say 'befriend ' someone  huh?

This is a good resolution John not too hard to keep. : )

If I  may? In my hometown Lincoln NE we almost invariably: hold the door for the next person even if they're 15' away, and they'll thank you for it. Let you merge lanes at rush hr. Put grocery cart in corral or back inside. 

These small everyday kindnesses set the stage for a more general teamwork atmosphere and make for a better place to live. 

Those sound like positive developments and omens, Leo.
I was surprised to see a huge bald eagle flying over my village a few weeks ago. They sometimes hang out at the Hudson river which is near to us, but are seldom seen actually in our village. I saw one in a corn field here about 15 yrs ago while riding my bike. Snowy owls are equally majestic! I think i read there was one in NYC's Central Park last year.

I'm wishing positive new things for all FOTMD friends for this new year!

This is a wonderful thing to practice for the new year- both on your dulcimer and in real life!
There's an interesting lady I know who will be at our small knitting group this weekend, and i have been planning to exchange contact info to get to know her better. She came to this country during the pandemic and likely does not have many friends. She has many fascinating stories to share!

Thanks so much for the suggestions, very helpful.

Well, Happy New Year to all!! 

I have to say, mine has had an auspicious start 'on steroids': Copies of my new album, 'Mixed Colors,' arrived 12/31 and on New Year's Day I saw the wonderful snowy owl, an arctic circle bird making the NYTimes etc for being in Southern California. Yes I am a birder too. AND, so over the top, I saw a rainbow on the way home from that. 

So, I'm either going to have a really good year, or I'm being set up by the fates for a big sucker punch! (Time will tell...)

I'm starting to put some of the tracks from the new album on YouTube, and am working on it 'streaming' and such. My YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9OT1F765UQHoyaB2ChzxeQ  

I can also tell you there will be a '4-Equidistant Strings Dulcimer Day' on March 11 and 'read all about it': https://4-equidistant-dulcimer-day.simplerosites.com/     More information coming on all this.

Let's hope for another great year for mountain dulcimers!! 

Leo 

 Mix'd Clrs Cover.png - 476KB

I have used some of the free programs on line with good results. I have to do that so seldom relearning every time slows me down a bit.

Looking forward to it John. I vaguely remember that hymn.