Hi Erin,

 I want to encourage you to play on your own till you find folks to play with. I am in Central MT and no one around has even heard of a mountain dulcimer. I am slowly introducing it. I am a beginner to music and to the dulcimer and have reached out to folks on this site who have very generously helped me learn everything I am ready for about the instrument, strumming, using a noter to basic music tabs, building and the history of our wonder "sweet strings".

There are many folks that offer skype lessons and instructional videos on this site and U-Tube.

I hope you enjoy your dulcimer journey and I hope you just play and have fun with it.

Lexie

I will pass on the info.

    I hope you do continue with the dulcimer even if on your own. There is lots on here or you-tube on 'how to' Even if there are others around, you still spend a good amount of time playing on your own. So, try and stay with it for one day when you can meet up with some folks. Do you have several dulcimers or is your Smoky Mountain,  the dulcimer you are learning on? AS long as it has a nice action (not too hard to play) and a sweet sound it's as good as any to play.

Good luck, ask a question and strum away.

I have a town & country, a mini-van but much better than the some cars that needed to hop onto the sidewalk at the end of Causeway Blvd. and many other parts of the city Friday. Rain just came too fast for the pumps to keep up. 

Yes, ken, I am very familiar with new orleans and flooding, just wishing erin 'all the best' with her move. Ha, it's not just the level of the water but the pot-holes, they will drop you down sometimes another foot while you're driving. 

I was uptown visiting family and dropping off a dulcimer to my sister-in-law. She has recently became very interested in their sweet music but the weather messed up the amount of time I had to show her much of anything. What is the saying 'hell or high water' well that didn't keep a dulcimer from landing in new hands and a heart ready. 

"high ground" and "New Orleans" just don't belong in the same sentence....

Hope your move is to high ground erin-laine, it was a mess yesterday morning in new orleans

That would be nice having someone to practice with.

Maybe as a thought a group could start on here somehow where someone would video a song and the group could practice alone with it and post back to each other. 

I hope your move goes well

I looked up the music exchange, ha know right where it is. Pass it many times, the owner, jimmy died in Jan. but they are still open and not any dulcimers  now but at times will have a dulcimer, hit and miss type thing but good to keep on the radar. 

Hi erin, glad to hear you are in new orleans. I have a small teardrop also I was going to bring over with me to get my sister-in-law started. Maybe a full size older cripple creek also but no 6.5 fret so she will be using my DAA music. She is very excited to get started, maybe one day ya'll could meet. Are you teaching yourself or do you have a group you meet up with? 

There seems to be a good dulcimer society in Baton Rouge, just had their Lagniappe Fest. and Cajun society in Lafayette - strange not much in new orleans.     

Thank you for answering, would be good to see how many dulcimer players are in the new orleans area. I will check the Exchange.

Hi, I have family in new orleans and I am trying to find a good used dulcimer in that area for my sister-in-law. Do you know where I could look when I get there. Just in the new orleans area, unable to go futrher to look

thanks