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What do you get when you play New Age music backwards?
New Age music.
What does it say on a blues singer's tombstone?
"I didn't wake up this morning..."
Meeting Saturday February 21, 2004.
It should be obvious by this point that the newsletter is an e-letter! If you are reading this on paper, please get us your email address so we can deliver this electronically. E-mail recipients will recieve a notice letter when the newsletter has been posted. Also if errors are noticed they can be corrected immediatly and folks who havent looked yet, never know that some wrong information was ever published! The editor likes that a lot..
If you are looking at a paper copy of the website, you are only getting a part of what we are offering. Log on, Tune up, Play music!
Last week was Valentines Day, but we can still celebrate! Play a tune for that special someone in the play around! Don't forget to add a little extra passion.. that is what a dulcimer is really good at!
Next month our meeting will be on March 20!
Upcoming events in the world of dulcimers:
Saturday, Feb. 28 Stringfling in Neosho MO, at the Community Center, sponsored by the Ozark Wilderness Dulcimer Club in Joplin – ask Dennis for info.
Saturday, Mar 13 Workshops/Concert in Overland Park KS – (816) 763-5040
Thursday through Sunday, Mar 25-28 Old-time Music and Dulcimer Festival in Palestine TX – (713) 432-1058
Friday through Sunday, April 16-18 Winter Creek Reunion Dulcimer Festival in Bennington OK – (817) 297-7854
Friday/Saturday, Apr. 16-17 Kaw Valley Dulcimer Funfest in Topeka KS – (785) 357-5073 for info
Thursday through Sunday, Apr. 22-25 Dulcimer Jamboree in Mountain View AR – (870) 269-3851
Friday through Sunday, May 7-9 LSSDS Dulcimer Festival in Glen Rose TX – ask Dennis for info
In the beginning, there were a few people who had dulcimers in the Tulsa area. To shorten up a long explanation, when an article appeared in the paper about an unusual instrument gathering at a library, all these folks managed to get together at the home of Sam and Susan Compton in August of 1980. They decided to keep meeting, and that's how the Indian Territory Dulcimer Celebration got its start. With the exception of one canceled meeting due to a severe ice storm, we have met every month since then.
The fact that we are still together and still meeting is quite an accomplishment. Some clubs fall by the wayside due to lack of interest, squabbles, whatever. Even though we've had a couple of meetings with only a handful of people there, we've kept on meeting. And we'll continue to do so.
Short term plans? How about getting some scheduled workshops going again? How about bringing someone in to entertain us? Any other thoughts?
Long term plans? How about a shindig in August of 2005 for our 25th Anniversary? Maybe a festival of some kind..? Let me know what you think, okay?
See you on the 21st!
Dennis
When somebody shows up for their very first ITDC meeting it can be overwhelming. What we can do to help newcomers is advise them to bring a handheld tape recorder (or some high-tech modern equivalent). Suggest to them that it helps remember what someone said about where to get an instrument, any advise they got on how to play it.
One of the most amazing things about live music these days is how little time is spent tuning. That was never the case before, as much time would be spent getting each instrument in tune while those already assembled had to wait. Now tuning can be done away from the group with certainty that an instrument will be ready to join in upon arrival. Getting straight to the fun!
Visit other clubs! Make friends and learn the tunes they know. Take your recorder..
http://www.gilamountaindulcimers.com/clubs.htm
I found the following info on the web giving advise for beginning mountain dulcimer players. I have plagiarized it without apology..
Is there a difference in sound between a teardrop or hourglass shaped dulcimer?
You will get differing opinions, but the consensus is that there is little, or no audible difference between them. Sound differences between the types of woods is far greater.
How much should I expect to spend on a new mountain dulcimer?
Prices range from around $65 for a cardboard mountain dulcimer to $1500 or even more. But, you should be able to find a very fine instrument for no more than $250, and many quality instruments for under $200
Why are the two thinnest (highest pitched) strings tuned to the same note?
Volume...pure and simple. These are called the melody string, so it would be nice if they were louder to carry the melody. Many players move, or remove one of these strings.
For a beginner player how do I tune my dulcimer?
I always tell my students to go and purchase a chromatic tuner at a music store. I know that the good dulcimer books tell how to tune a dulcimer but that generally means nothing to a new player. I think it is very confusing and most people don't have access to a piano or even someone that plays another instrument. A new player needs to know that they can do this all themselves, that will give them more confidence.
There is nothing about standard tunes that is standard. You can usually find people play noticeably different melodies under the same name. The standard tunes are just the ones the folks you are with already know. Culture plays highly into this, as well as geography. Go to a different part of the country and often they will never have heard of some of the tunes you might think are standard, and vice versa.
Standard tunes are often called "traditional tunes". Traditions can be amazingly short however, but some can be amazingly long. I think of Ashoken Farewell as a good example. See http://www.jayandmolly.com/ashokanfarewell.shtml. Clearly not 50 years old, yet people seem to think it is ancient. The Olympic fanfare came into existence at the same time as television, yet is thought of as some kind of relic handed down from long ago. It was actually written by John Williams, like the memorable soundtracks of so many recent movies.
A good source for a common ground of "standard tunes" is the fiddlers fake book. Then about 2/3 of the tunes in it I have never personally ever heard played. So much for standards.
What is good about standard tunes is that you can get together with someone you have just met and have a common ground for playing music together. Be aware that there are different "standard tunes" for each instrument. Those tunes each being more suited to that instrument. Nonetheless it pays to learn as many tunes as you can that fall under that vague umbrella of standard tunes. If nothing else it gives you a set of tunes to play when some guest shows up at your house sees the instrument gathering dust in the corner and requests "play something". Standard tunes are usually short, and wont bore the guests!
Continuing the tradition of traditional tunes, means play whatever you want. Play it often and it will become a standard of its own! Just keep playing!
Great group! I would have to guess we had over 20 people, I didn't count, but look at the pictures! Photos
You can probably tell that because you are most likely reading this on your browser! If you are getting this on paper, you are missing out! Get us your e-mail address, so we can send you our newsletter electronically!!
Now its working we are: http://www.itdc.info and at the meeting remember to ask me about domain piracy! It happened to us!
Interested in knowing more? New to the Internet? Words like hypertext have no meaning? See me at the meeting, I will see if I can help with getting acquainted with the connected world!
Dana