The book has been out for a few years now. But right now it's only available as a download (my printer is in quarantine too).

Online rounds don't work because there is a latency when you stream or video conference. That'll change someday, but we're not there yet.

Like Robin, I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but her books deserve to continue her legacy.  Just went to her website & see the self-published books are no longer available.  Let's hope Mel Bay keeps her other works in print for a long time.

I love rounds.   This is a good one and when is your book coming out?  When raising our 14 children in Hawaii, we did soooooooooo much music.  While in the car, I learned that kids don't argue when they are singing.  So we have a raft of rounds.  There used to be fuguing Tune societies in England.  marvelous tunes.   It's really fun to play these on recorders.  When teaching the dulcimers, I start them off doing rounds.  As I read more about folks that are able to meet "on line" somehow, (how cool is that?)....I bet rounds could have a good go at it that way. aloha, irene

In my book "13 More Tunes Almost Nobody Plays" is the Peace Round by Jean Ritchie. I learned it from Maddie. I was a big jam session at O'Hurley's general store in Shepherdstown, VA and Maddie was there. She had been singing and jamming all night and when she got up to leave, everybody said, "Oh, Maddie sing just one more song." So she divided the room in to four groups (there were probably 30 or 40 of us there) and led us through the Peace Round, singing in parts. Once we got it and were singing loud and boisterously. She waived, turned and walked out of the room to our still singing.

It's one thing to make a great entrance, quite another to make a great exit.

I've attached the tune if anybody wants to download it. Ideally, you'd get three or four people together and play it in a round. Obviously, that can't happen right now.

peace_round.pdf  •  51KB

I first met Maddie when both of us worked in Shenandoah National Park. I can't remember if we first met in 1971 or 1973.  Occasionally my wife and I would drive from our location at Loft Mountain to see and hear Maddie perform at Skyland. This was in her pre-mountain dulcimer days. She played guitar and (I think) was just beginning to play hammered dulcimer. We had some good times in the park, but lost track of each other after my wife and I finished our stint at Shenandoah in 1973. A few years later we reacquainted, when we saw she was presenting a concert in our area. By then she was playing mountain dulcimer and I had begun building them. Over the years our paths crossed a few times and I wound up submitting an article to DPN which led to my doing a few more on dulcimer builders. When Maddie and Ralph began mountain dulcimer week at Shenandoah University, I signed up. This led to my running sound for all the concerts and helping out by making copies for the workshop leaders. I also did a few workshops on dulcimer maintenance. All of this was at Maddie's urging ( she would not take "no" as an answer). She even managed to get me on stage to play with other workshop leaders. I must say that she was very good about getting me out of my comfort zone. She was always so positive and encouraging. Even though we did not see each other often, I will miss Maddie and our friendship.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

many years ago in Hawaii, when I first got my dulcimer, I started getting the DPN and she was the editor of these then.  I wrote her several times about questions I had and she called me on the phone and we talked. .  She is a treasure and will surely have groups playing dulcimers in the Eternal Worlds and I hope to join her when it's my time.  aloha to you dear Maddie.   Irene

Though I did not know Maddie MacNeil, I have been aware of her influence in the mountain dulcimer world in the years I have been part of the mountain dulcimer world.  I have seen where many people have posted Facebook tributes to her which are wonderful.  If any FOTMD members would like to share a remembrance of Maddie, please feel free to do so!  Mr. Bing Futch made a video in which he pays tribute to Maddie and I post it here: