Kimberly, that's outstanding!  How neat you've got a mix of instruments to get a stringband sound.  :)

It looks like your efforts have paid off well. Good job!

I would like to thank everyone for all of the helpful suggestions!  Our November meeting had about 6 people there.  Our December meeting had 7.  Our January meeting last Saturday?   We had 22 people!!!  YES!  So, it was not all dulcimer players.  We had a couple of ukulele players and a guitar player, but 22 people!!!!  YES!!!!!  Some of the people that attended are very interested in becoming dulcimer players and they wanted to come and learn what it was like to play the dulcimer.  (I think we have some budding dulcimer players!!!)

Ironically enough, we were SO busy in the library that day (I am the assistant branch manager at the library where we are having the library-sponsored dulcimer meeting), that I was trapped at the main circulation desk helping all of the patrons of the library!  I didn't even get to take my dulcimer out of the case and join in the fun.  :(

Even though I didn't get to join in, I am so excited that there is so much interest in the group!

I just wanted to share an update with you all!  

I would like to thank everyone for all of the helpful suggestions!  Our November meeting had about 6 people there.  Our December meeting had 7.  Our January meeting last Saturday?   We had 22 people!!!  YES!  So, it was not all dulcimer players.  We had a couple of ukulele players and a guitar player, but 22 people!!!!  YES!!!!!  Some of the people that attended are very interested in becoming dulcimer players and they wanted to come and learn what it was like to play the dulcimer.  (I think we have some budding dulcimer players!!!)

Ironically enough, we were SO busy in the library that day (I am the assistant branch manager at the library where we are having the library-sponsored dulcimer meeting), that I was trapped at the main circulation desk helping all of the patrons of the library!  I didn't even get to take my dulcimer out of the case and join in the fun.  :(

Even though I didn't get to join in, I am so excited that there is so much interest in the group!

I just wanted to share an update with you all!  

Thanks everyone!  I have printed out your responses and made many notes.  I can't thank you all enough for your great advice.  We have tried to meet several times and the weather has been against us.  One time, there were dereche-type winds that prevented many from coming out.  Another time, flooding rains.  Now that winter is approaching, we will probably have massive snow storms!  LOL!!!!

About a year ago I tried to start a dulcimer club here in Albany, Ga.  I advertised in the paper (free section) and hung up flyers the two local music stores.  Two wanna be dulcimer players responded, but found it impossible to ever get together.

Fast forward a year later:  I am forming a ukulele club in this area, the first one of its kind, and our first meeting is Nov. 10th.  Two hours on a Tues. night from 06:00pm until 07:45pm.  The library closes at 08:00 pm.  

I began advertising in the community section of our paper (free) back in late August., and again put up posters in the two stores.  

As of today, I am expecting 6 to attend, including me.  As I am, all are pretty new to ukulele, and they all own a ukulele.  I emailed them a list of 6 beginner songs, no more than 3 chord songs, in the key of C.  I encouraged all to please at least be acquainted with these songs, which should prove to move us along and have some fun.  I've also stressed that I am not in charge, just the one forming the group.  We will work as a group.

After the first meeting, I plan to suggest that the first 30 min. of future meetings be dedicated to instruction and discussion, and then the jam.

Also, I have since discovered that three (3) of are are dulcimer players.  So I have discussed with them how neat it would be to work in dulcimer into our jam sessions, as time goes on.  

So, with fingers spread apart, I feel that this time around things will be much different.  And I am excited about the prospects of it all.  

Terry

I recently started a new dulcimer club in Leesburg, Florida called the Celebration Dulcimer Club. We are dedicated to only playing Gospel Hymns with Christmas music thrown in. It took me almost a year to get the club up and going. Our main obstacle was finding a location for the club. After much searching we have a permanent home. The second issue was when to meet. I belong to two other regular clubs that meet on Saturdays so I did not want to do another Saturday club. We choose a day during the week. Since I still work I had to select that we would meet in the evening. We do once a month on the First Thursday of the Month from 6 pm to 8 pm. Since we are playing gospel hymns we started out by creating enough folders with a starter selection of gospel music that we have given to each member. As we progress we will add new hymns. We have a sign up sheet where they list their name and phone number and email address if they have it. We also set up a club facebook page as another way to keep in contact with our members. Our goal is to not only meet as a group monthly but to perform in public as opportunities arise. We are already set to give a Christmas performance the day after Thanksgving. We do a meet in greet at the beginning of our playing and play for about 1 1/2 hours, then we serve refreshments and have an opportunity for our members to mingle and talk about whatever is on their mind.

Dennis

Rob N Lackey, Thanks for sharing. This is a goal for me; I think I will be ready having watched and learned from others, in 2016. There are many fun places in the Raleigh where we could do this. I'd also like to try different days, hence the Meetup platform, because that mixes it up a bit too. Some venues will be better on a Saturday afternoon, some on a Friday night, or whatever. 

Sheryl, we do our Wartz'n'All gatherings here in different places every time.  We've gotten some interest from folks who see us playing and wondering "what in the heck are those things."  It also helps make travel time easier for some, i.e. you don't have to drive the same distance all the time.  We find a park, cheap building, etc and try to advertise it here, on ED, sometimes in the newspapers, flyers in the local music stores and announcements at dulcimer club meetings.  You need a core of 3 or 4 folks is all to start.  If you do it, they will come.

Rob N Lackey, I really like your idea about having the beginner part 1st. Since the advanced players have the option of arriving later, it takes the guilt out holding them up by us beginners.

Do any of you have experience with running a Meetup group for dulcimer jams? Our many groups in Carolina have good, reliable, meeting places, like community centers and churches, but maybe moving around to places like bottle shops, and country stores would help to recruit new players. 

WOW!!!!  Thanks for all of the great advice!  I am going to print it out and look it all over.   I am fortunate because I work at a library and I am doing this as a library program.  We will be moving into a beautiful new library next month, so the facility is wonderful!  I am sure that I will have more questions about your wonderful comments.  Thank you!!!!!!

I would love to meet you too, Robin!!!  Thanks for giving me Laura's name!

Hi Kimberly.  

I started a group here in Northern California about 3 years ago. At first I only had 4 email addresses, but now I have a list of about 40 and we range from 6 to 18 on any given month.  It took some time, but we have slowly developed a decent structure for our gatherings that works for newbies and advanced players both.

We meet for about 3 hours. The first hour is a free beginner lesson.  I tailor that to whoever is the "beginningest," if you know what I mean.  I want to be able to welcome people who have never played before. Lots of people call themselves beginners thinking they are not very good, but they are more advanced than they let on.

The second hour is devoted to group play of a growing repertoire.  Dulcimer standards are included, like Southwind, Morning Has Broken, Skye Boat, etc.. There is some teaching that goes on here, too, as people ask how to play certain sections, and we try to play each song many times so that people can slowly learn the tunes.  Several months ago some people complained that they didn't know chords very well, so when I would refer to a G chord they didn't know what to do even though they could easily play 3-1-0 in DAd off of tablature.  So I started adding some sing-a-long tunes where we just strum chords and sing Hank Williams tunes or Beatles tunes or whatever. When we do this it is in between the beginner lessons and the group play.  We also have a few ensemble pieces that require three or more separate dulcimer parts, and it is in group play that we work on that stuff.

The third hour--which is sometimes just 30 minutes or so--is a song circle when people play a song solo, request a song for group play, or just sit and listen. It was requested by some beginners who wanted to hear what the more advanced players played when they were not trying to teach the beginners.  This section of our gathering has been inspiring for the beginners and also very helpful for the more advanced players since it provides motivation to get a song ready for public performance.

And we always end with some finger food and friendly banter.

Although our group sometimes devolves into me teaching songs to others, I think it is important that everyone feel the group belongs to them.  I encourage people to request songs by bringing in tablature or just asking if we could figure out how to play a song they like.  And sometimes we break this routine. A few months' back some people expressed interest in playing blues, so we spent the time after the beginner lesson on an intermediate lesson on the blues. But on the whole, this three-part structure keeps the group together while bringing in beginners and also allowing an outlet for more advanced players.

When I first started this effort, I was actively seeking members by perusing the pages here and at ED looking for local players and trying to convince them to join us. But I then started a website , making sure to put on the homepage all the terms that people might use in a Google search, and I usually get one or two people contact me every month.  The website also includes tab to the songs we work on as a group, so people are not reliant on handouts at the meetings but can work on their own.  We also moved from a private home to a local music store, and that has gotten us some exposure as well. It is also handy when someone shows up with a decades-old dulcimer with strings as stiff as nails.  A few people have joined us after seeing us in the store and asking what in the world was that instrument on our laps!

That's the most fun part of this, watching people discover a new instrument and learn pretty quickly that they can play it.

I'd have the beginner's part 1st in the meeting.  30 minutes is a good amount of time for them.  That way the others can come in "late" and not miss anything.  New music, techniques, Q & A sessions are all good things for the meetings.  I'd see about newspaper ads or an article: "New Dulcimer Group Forming" as the headline.  A comfortable place to meet is another consideration.   Hopefully, you can get enough interest that you can have eventually have guest instructors hold workshops and concerts.  Wish you all the success in the world.

Two hours is OK, but make sure you dedicate time to beginners, club business -- the usual secretary/treasurer report, minutes from previous, etc., a presentation on some aspect of dulcimer-ness, and then jamming/group playing.  Make your group more than just a jam session -- make it educational as well.  You can set two hours but the jamming can continue for longer if the room/space is available...  Set goals -- learning sets of tunes the group can use for playing out performances,  Christmas performance etc.

Welcome back, Kimberly. Our group meets monthly for two hours. If you have beginners I suggest devoting some time (1/2 hour as you mention is good) for someone to work with the beginners, perhaps separately from the main group. This lessons the intimidation factor. Then, have the beginners join the main group and let them jump in as they feel comfortable. I find that some time for chit-chat before or after the meeting is good for folks to get to know one another. You might even take a ten minute break as the beginners join the main group.

Whenever you perform, aklways get the name and a phone number for anyone who says they have one of those funny looking instruments hanging on the wall. Call them invite them to the next meeting. We have recruited new members this way.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hey, Kimberly!  Laura Elder has been part of a regular group in Lancaster OH for some years.  If she doesn't see this post, you could contact her privately.  

PS- I want to meet you when/if I ever get back to Roanoke! :)

Good afternoon everyone!

I have been absent from the world of dulcimers for several years, but I am jumping back in with both feet!  We are trying to form a dulcimer group in the Roanoke Valley area of Virginia.  The question that I have from you is this:  Can you give me any helpful hints for forming a successful group?   If you belong to a group, would you be willing to share what you do in a typical meeting . . . like what type of agenda you usually follow?  

At this point, we have made plans to meet monthly for two hours.  We are welcoming beginning players so that we can share our knowledge.  Should we set aside something like the last 30 minutes to work with beginners?

Any and all helpful hints would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

Kimberly