thanks! The mando player (that was out of tune) called off for this week so I don't have to worry about that this time. I asked another player about it via email and he noticed it also (so at least there is another person to help me deal with it next time). LOL
Tonight is our second meeting! I'll have 2 new showing up, can't wait.
Dusty - I'm guessing here but I think the banjo player coming to the next jam will probably already know it and be fast at it, LOL. He's been playing clawhammer for a long time and it's a pretty standard tune I'm guessing. I just learned whatever I wanted and never really tried to learn the standards or anything. I'll see how it goes next time. For now I think what I'll do is just try and get the chords down so I can do a little backup version of it while others play the melody notes. I'm really wanting to learn how to back (since all I pretty much do ever is play the melody on stuff). I really need to work on transitioning into playing a backup part and a lead part. Call it OT or not, I don't really care what it's called but it's how I would like to play.
We sort of did that in our session. I'd just play a quieter version of the melody while someone took a lead, but I'd like to switch from the melody back and forth to backing. I'm only able to really accomplish this on one song so far on my banjo. Red-haired boy, which I worked on for a solid month. The longest I've ever worked on any song really. Maybe I'll get RHB in the rotation! Haha.
Jennifer - It went great!! We talked a bit, played some tunes, and created a list of things to work on for next time. I was happy with it. Thank you for asking.
Everyone - funny, i sure never thought tuning would be a problem. kind of a no brainer to me and i tune often because nothing is good about that cringe my ears feel when a string or two are off. yeah i guess i'll have to use one of the good suggestions here for next time. maybe once everyone is there i'll just say - let's take a few minutes and get all our instruments in tune before we start. Hopefully that will get the message across to him, and it wouldn't hurt for everyone just to double check.
I'm excited to say that I now have another banjo player who wants to come! So that will be 5 for next time if everyone can make it.
I played my dulcimer for a few tunes too
.
I have a LOT of work to do though also. I realized I like to play slow basically. Haha. Slow is easier I guess for me anyway. I had a heck of a time keeping up on blackberry blossum. I am familiar with the tune but have never learned it. We wrote down the chord changes so me and one other guy who didn't know it could both read it. Geesh I could not even come close to keeping up with that. Maybe I shoulda said - can we do this a little slower. Haha. Anyway it was a great time and I can't wait for next time.
I'm a jammer now baby!
Yippie! Just had my first jam at my house. It was fun. Had 2 show up playing mando and guitar. One couldn't make it but says he will next time with a dobro and harmonica.
We messed around and did a few tunes each where everyone followed (not me very well, but eh I'm a work in progress HAHA). We sang and it was pretty cool except I'm pretty timid and quiet I guess with singing. I'm still trying to gain confidence singing.
We did a few OT tunes, some newer folk/contemporary not sure what to call it. I lead Wagon wheel and Swept away. They liked those! One guy did a version of Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly that I MUST LEARN (it was good).
I made a list of 2 songs from each of us to work on for next time so hopefully we'll be a little more ready ( i say we, but of course mean me!!!! )
I think we all had fun and can make the next meeting, so I'm psyched about it. Question though-
What if one person is really out of tune? I mean like pretty bad. I'm no great player or anything but this mando was seriously out of tune and the guy is like a pro guitar player, so I wasn't sure how to approach the subject. He plays blues guitar like nobody's business but dang that mando was BAD out of tune. Not sure how to handle this because here I am a basic newb at jamming and didn't know what to say. The other guy even said something (can't remember exactly what) but the dude messed with it for a minute and it didn't sound any better. I can't even believe I'm dishing on a guy who is really friggin good (even on mando his runs were amazing) but the dang thing was out of tune!!!! GGRRRR.
Anyway, I'm excited about next time and have a list of songs to work on! WOOT
Ok this is great. Gives me a better idea of what each really is. It seems there is a huge variety in all this stuff that I really didn't know about. I'm more of the "hey let's get together with a bunch of acoustic instruments and play" sort of thing. I like both the old and the new. I'm not worried about playing any copyrighted songs at all though (it's my front porch).
I wasn't sure how to word the craigs listing really, so I titled it Folk/Bluegrass/Old-time acoustic jam. So it looks like I did that pretty good I'm thinking since I kind of tried to hit everything.
I don't know if I'd be down for a fiddler ruling the whole show though, LOL. I would want it to sort of go around and everyone pick something they would like to play. I guess more of a folk circle thing like you said.
I'm going to keep running the ad and try and get more people as time goes on too. The response has been pretty small so far. LOL.
thanks, anyone with any more tips about how I should do this please let me know.
I asked for the advice, so yes I want it. That was sort of my plan as far as just starting a regular jam session first. I just also mentioned the possibility of forming a band in case someone was already in a band or knew of a band. There really seems to be no old-time scene here other than bands who come around from elsewhere and even those seem really rare. Unless I'm looking in the wrong places that is. The people coming didn't seem to receive what I said as anything requiring them to be in a band or anything like that and that was not my aim.
I've been looking around online and search craigs regularly in the musicians section, and it's just normally all either open mic announcements seeking bands to play, current bands looking for specific instruments or vocalists (all electric stuff), or agencies selling recording time-slots in Orlando. The people who have responded to me say that there's not much going on here in the old-time stuff.
Can someone tell me how regular old-time (not necessarily just dulcimer groups) jams are done? It's my understanding that an old-time jam would basically be everyone playing the notes together with no breaks or leads. Is this correct? The ones I've been to (only a handful) weren't really OT per se, more bluegrass I guess. Everyone would play together to begin with and then each person would take a lead or break until it went around the room.
I've been trying to work on my backing skills on banjo and dulcimer (banjo backing seems harder to me for some reason). Anyway, any tips on how to run these sessions would be appreciated. I've also told them that if any of them have suggestions or ideas to feel free to speak up and we'll go from there.
I've never really jammed much or played in front of groups of people. I've played at parks a couple times but never more than two or three people at a time would walk by where I was. I made a goal this year to get involved in something, so I decided that it's time I found a good jam and started thinking about getting involved in a string band also. There are none that I can find close to me without a long drive.
So I placed an ad in craigslist asking for people who were interested in jamming and possibly forming a band together. I've (so far) got 3 people scheduled to come over this Sunday evening to play!!!! I'm thrilled and a little nervous at the same time. Looks like I'll be the only one with a banjo or a dulcimer. We'll have guitars, mandolin's, and harmonicas too. I can't wait! I'm actually hoping some of us will mesh well together and want to go further with it and form a band to play at small local things.
Anyone with tips or ideas for small sessions like this I'd appreciate the advice.
Ok, in doing a quick search on youtube I see there are no dulcimer versions of this yet on youtube. There is a great tutorial on a tin whistle though. I've watched this girl before because I'm learning that instrument too. But, the whistle is a D whistle so you can literally copy the notes by sound. You could play the lower notes and it would sound great. Here's the vid if you want to try it My Heart Will Go On - D whistle
Heck i really love that song too and may try it on whistle and dulcimer.
Hey Linda,
This is an idea. Have you ever tried to pick out a tune (a simple version of it) on the dulcimer? You would really be surprised at how it's not as hard as you really think. Picking out simple versions of tunes will allow you to add in filler notes that compliment those simple notes also. I have ZERO music theory. I have no clue the names of any chords or notes on the dulcimer, but I can pick out simple tunes and spice them up a bit. Here's how I would go about it if I were you.
First see if there are any dulcimer vids out there already of that particular song. If so, if you like the arrangement try to mimic it by watching their hands or listening to what is being played. If I can see round about where someone is on the fretboard I can usually pick it out. If there aren't any dulcimer vids, then I would either listen to the actual song or a vid of someone playing the tune (on any instrument) where you like the arrangement.
Then if you can get a few notes here and there you can start to fill out in front and behind the ones you are sure of just by trial and error. In my opinion you will get so much more satisfaction out of picking out a tune yourself vs. reading some tab. Tabs are great, but they are limiting IMO. I feel so much more freedom doing it this way, but I do still sometimes use tabs for certain parts of songs (knowing that I will change them to suit me).
Good luck and I hope this helps a bit.
Holy cow Dana, what a SCORE!!! And the jimbow too. Dang girl that is awesome! I love that she pulled out a tin whistle and ya'll played some. The universal language of music will make friends for you! Great find and great story!
Susie - hey, yeah got it last week. Like it. Haven't used it on the bike yet, but I've carried it around the house and stuff. Like the pocket it has, wish the straps were a bit longer and padded though.
Absolutely beautiful pics Robin. Improvising is always best, worked out good for you it seems anyway.
I've already got a case coming. Hey Bobby - I'd rather have the assault rifle anyway. LOL
Thanks, I already ordered that one Linda Jo. And Paul - I didn't have a case or anything to put it in, but throughout this thread I ended up ordering one that already had the backpack straps on it. Thanks
, I've caught it bad too. So I'll dream of new dulcimers until the day comes when I can get one.
Cool thanks Geekling. Hey that's my dulcimer too (bought from elderly). the model 58 deluxe, I like it. I'm super bad about bashing things into other things and breaking stuff (but at least my hubby is too). It's not that we're careless I just think we are both driven (yeah that's a nice word) and want to mess with something until it breaks. Hahah. I have dings a few dings already in my new dulcimer from dropping stuff on it or banging it. I'm super careful about my $$ banjo, so I don't mess with it as much. I'd rather get the play-time out of it and not worry about dripping a drop of water from my drink or anything else on it.
Glad to hear that everyone thinks this will work well.
Hahahahah!!! That's great! They've actually raided my wallet quite a few times as well. I like dealing with them. Bought my first banjo through them, and most recently my first dulcimer through them as well. Thanks for getting them to stock it, made my day with their reasonable shipping charges. I've had great service through them each time I've bought something.
Now Barbara! You are trying to get me into trouble. I can hardly scrape up enough for a bag let alone a new dulcimer. Haha.
FYI - Mcspadden wants $40.00 for the case and $25 for shipping??????? That's insane IMO. The thing is a soft case and weighs nothing. Elderly has it for $40 plus like $8 bucks for shipping, at least they are reasonable.
Just talked to my wonderful hubby at lunch and he said to go ahead and get it for mother's day!! Yippie.
Hey Barbara, thanks for measuring it for me!! I'm gonna get one!
You all have been such a great help. I probably would have ended up with something crazy if not for you all.
I just found the navy Mcspadden one but it says it won't fit my dulcimer. Mine is a half inch wider than what it will fit.
My dulcimer measures 32 1/2 by 7 1/2 and that would be a tight fit.
Do ya'll think this one might work? It doesn't look like it's got the backpack straps but it looks like it's got a long strap to go around and I could cinch it up so it's almost vertical. I may have to wait until I can get a better one, short on cash until I can craigslist some more stuff, LOL.
Susie , thanks for the pic that really shows it. I'm hoping something like that will do the trick.
Ken - when i said messenger bag style I meant diagonally on the back. that sounds great, I'm gonna see what I can find.
I wonder if I can get one in cool colors though too. Thanks for the help ya'll.
Susie,
That's awesome! We used to ride almost every day. We had a 30 mile loop that we did with several good hills in it and one huge climb in it. Here's a quick pic to give you an idea of the grade, it's the mens portion of the race held there annually. It was like a block from where I worked, so my husband would come with the bikes when I got off and I'd change and we'd hit it with some other riders all the time. Man I was in serious shape then, now UGGGHHH.
We did that all the time and went down the road to the Gaps in Georgia. Did a century ride in Tn. called the 3 State 3 Mountain challenge. Couple half centuries too. Mtn. biked Tsali a ton (the views are amazing). I miss cycling. Had a sweet full carbon Titus Oseo bike with full Campy Record on it too. Since we had our daughter we stopped riding. Now that she's 5, we can ride some, so we are excited about riding again.
Susie said:
Mandy,
Yes, my husband and I ride. We've ridden DALMAC, 6 times, which is a 5 day ride from Lansing, MI to the Mackinac Bridge (connects the two peninsulas of MI). It's about 350 miles. When we get to the bridge, we are escorted across the bridge by the MB Authority. It's really cool. We've done several other rides here in MI. It's good exercise and you get to see the sights that you don't see and appreciate in a car. Glad to see you are getting excited about riding. Nice thing is, you can ride however and wherever you want.....it's your choice. Taking the dulcimer along for the ride is a great idea. It's not a heavy instrument, so it would work well for that.
Hey Susie,
I didn't realize they had good straps. I've never seen one up close, LOL. I was really looking for something with a messenger type strap, but the backpacker straps sound good. I guess I see my dulcimer as larger than it really is because I would have thought that having it vertical wouldn't work. Haha.
I would prefer to have something I've made or something homemade over that, but I'll probably end up with that.
So you ride? Ummm I may need to talk bikes with you. I used to really ride (mtn and road) but that was awhile back before my daughter came along. I love talking bikes! Thanks for your idea, I'm going to go look at them.
Great idea SAM!! Oooh I gotta go look in the garage and see what we got. Cool!
Ken - good idea about the sweatpants, that would get me started anyway. Thanks!
Cool Phil, thanks for asking her.
Ok so I want to ride my bike on the local rail to trail and bring my dulcimer. Thing is I have no strap or case. I want something that I can strap around me like a messenger bag only it be a dulcibag. I want an adjustable strap so I can tighten and loosen, and I want something like thick canvas in case it rains I'll have a bit of protection until I can get to cover. To top it off it's gotta look cool. Any solutions anyone? Something I can either make myself or get on the cheap is preferred of course. Haha. I haven't really seen anything like this out there but maybe I missed it. Regular canvas carrying cases won't do because it almost needs to cradle my dulci like a baby. I don't want it bouncing around on the rides either. I don't have a sewing machine or I'd already try and make something.
With any title with the word Redneck in it i have to stop by and see what's up. Eating and music always appeal to me, bet they had a great time, but downtime is great in it's own way.
Great way of explaining things PAUL. All this time I was the one who was right and everybody else was playing wrong. MUUUUUUAAAAHHHHH. I am a lefty and must whole-heartedly agree with everything you have said. The strumming does get much easier (after all it's really only repeated patterns), while the fretting hand needs to be very dynamic and free flowing. Fretting was no big deal at all for me when I started playing. Harder chord shapes were easier to accomplish for me on my first instruments.
What's a challenge for me now really is the thumb. I really need practice with it, even though I'm left handed and that's my most dexterous hand it's still difficult to master that thumb.
Go enjoy, dance with the one who brung you - Love that Paul
This helps me (but it may not help you). My brain sort of thinks backwards sometimes. Anyway I recognize a bunch of guitar chords by sight just from watching guitar players play (and I play a bit too). So if I have my banjo or my dulcimer I'm watching the guitars in the room for the chord changes.
Good luck!
Hey Barbara,
My take on this is a little different actually. I want one of everything! By that I mean lots of different instruments. After I got my first banjo I realized within a year that it was going to stick and I needed to upgrade. So I upgraded when i could and sold off my first one to help pay for my new dulcimer. I'm getting my very own guitar as an anniversary present from my husband . Now I figure all I need is an upright bass, fiddle, and maybe a mando and I'll be all set!
I've seen this affliction you speak of called BAS (banjo acquisition syndrome) in banjo circles, MAS (mandolin acquisition syndrome) in mando circles and I suppose it's the same here DAS (dulcimer acquisition syndrome). But mine would be called IAS I guess (instrument acquisition syndrome). LOL. The great thing about any of them is that once you start playing a musical instrument you have so much fun you want MORE.
See how much fun it is to show your head???? Even with a bag over it, it's just pure fun.
Hahaha, well this is better than no heads at all i think. LOL
LOL this thread has gone to the gutter! LOL
Ok I guess I should just give up on wanting the heads then
I really do understand but a gal can wish right? But when I do a search for dulcimer vids on youtube (recent ones) I've noticed several things. First, there really aren't very many. Second when they are there they are headless. Dang it all. I'm definitely in the minority here but my viewing preference on youtube is as follows-
1. I like a homemade video (professionally done ones are nice, but it loses some coolness for me)
2. I want to hear your voice. I just would like to see your face and you say "here's amazing grace tuned to DAA" or whatever. Maybe also a quick little bit about how hard or easy it was for you to learn. I don't want you to talk your head off (pun intended) or anything, but just a short and sweet little talky talk. Sometimes I do this and others I don't when I do vids. If I could do them all again though I'd add a little talkin' in the beginning.
I guess my whole goal of the youtube experience is to be entertained instead of worrying about seeing your hands. Yes it really does make sense to show as much of the dulcimer and hands as possible for people who want to copy you, but I'd rather just see your head. When people ask me how I did a certain song I'll just tell them the chords I used and maybe if I used a specific pattern or whatever. I did do some basic instructional banjo vids (have had good feedback) where I did some close-ups of my fretting hand, but after the close-ups I went right back to regular head included stuff.
Here's a question though. I'm not trying to get under anyone's skin here with this either but is every single video everyone makes supposed to be a tutorial on how to play that song? If that's the case it sort of takes some of the fun out of it for me. I'm not trying to judge anyone here either I just really enjoy seeing you.
I also completely understand the limitations people have as far as recording equipment goes. I was using a very old camera to record my stuff until very recently and all my videos turned out really dark.
Well thanks everyone for enlightening me on this serious matter. Dusty - I see what you mean. Brian G. - Good idea!! I like everyone's vids regardless of whether or not I can see them but if anyone was reluctant to show their face in the past, hopefully you've seen this and see there is a demand out there to see your face and maybe just maybe some of you will indulge me.
Thanks everyone
