Hi Cindy,

Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed it!

All the best,

Peter

For an amazing spectacle of waves of dozens ofnyckelharpa (Swedish folk "keyed fiddle") players and fiddlers marching down a street in Uppsala, Sweden while playing "Munga Laten" check out this link:

Each wave of musicians plays a different Swedish tune. A second wave of "Munga Laten" playetrs happens at about 3 min into the video. It's worth watching all 5 min of the parade (IMHO).

Hi Jennifer,

So glad to hear that you enjoyed our playing of that wonderful Swedish tune! Mike Rugg is an incredible and innovative dulcimer player who was my most important MD mentor, so playing with him is always a BIG treat for me!

I just went to visit Mike at the CapriTaurus shop one day, we started playing, and his brother (Howard) started videoing. This is what came out.

BTW, CapriTaurus (Mike & Howard Rugg) are back to making incredible custom dulcimers again!

How was the dulcimer fest in LA?

Best,

Peter

Thanks, Karen! It was unrehearsed (we hadn't played that tune together in years), but it was a lot of fun to play with Mike that day!

Thanks, Gayle. We had fun!

Hi Carrie,

Thanks for your comment! The only sound better than one CapriTaurus is two of them! :D I love playing tunes with Mike!

Thanks again,
Peter

Beautifully done, I really enjoyed this!

Hey,

If you'd like to see a young Michael Rugg and Neal Hellman playing some Old Timey fiddle tunes on 7/4/1980 (with hammered dulcimer and guitar) check this out:

Thanks, John! It was a special treat to play with Michael on our 2 CapriTarurs dulcimers!

Best,

Peter

Hi Wayne,

Thanks so much for your kind words!!!

The CapriTaurus custom dulcimers of the mid 1970's and beyond are truly amazing instruments! Mine sounds sweet and gentle when finger picked, yet delivers quite a punch when I play it hard on an up tempo fiddle tune. The sound is also amazingly well balanced, with sparkling highs, solid and clear mid range, and satisfying bass. And it is a visual feast as well. Plus, a beautiful fiddle type carved scroll atop a practical guitar style peg head gives you the best of both worlds--beautiful form and ease of changing strings! The best part of all: it feels as if it almost plays itself!

BTW, CapriTaurus is BACK IN PRODUCTION! They are making their custom dulcimers again, including one's with a short scale length (about 26"). I saw a prototype a few weeks ago, and it was gorgeous (though not yet strung up, so I couldn't hear it). I heard from Howard Rugg yesterday that "new" CapriTaurus # 3 has just been completed and is ready for playing. I hope to visit there and take her for a test drive sometime soon.

Didn't realize you had grown up hearing Swedish tunes. Let me know if your sisters recognize the tune!

All the best.

Peter

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"only one word, Peter - Amazing - those CapiTaurus - what great voices they have and it has been absolutely years since I have heard this tune....my grandparents were originally from Sweden and my grandmother use to play one that, I believe, sound much like this. Have sent the link to my sisters to see what they think. Thank you so much for sharing this. Great duet."

Thanks RN! I think we loved every note as well!

Peter

Sam,

Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed this!

Peter

Hi Dusty,

You're right--I think we may actually be getting younger! Kidding aside, this was a great moment for me, playing with my duci-hero, Michael Rugg, on a tune I learned from him 36 years ago! It brought back wonderful memories of hanging out at the CapriTaurus shop in the 1970's, playing with Michael and learning new tunes from him. He is still hands-down my favorite dulcimer player! Back then, Neal Hellman nicknamed him, "the fastest thumb in the West."

BTW, Howard Rugg, Michael's luthier brother, is responsible for the interesting camera angles in this video. I think it's kinda cool to see two players playing opposite one another in this way. I had never seen anything quite like this until I saw the video for the first time about a year ago. Hats off to Howard!

All the best,

Peter

Very regal sounding tune. Nicely done.

At first I skimmed your comments and thought the recording was from 1976. I was going to comment that neither of you have aged in all that time!

Loved it. You guys harmonize really well. This is a real treat.

Marvelous! Loved every note.

That's an experience that I would love to have myself one day! Y'all played very well together!

BTW, We're both playing on our custom CapriTaurus dulcimers from the later 1970's.