New to ED and HD in St. Paul, MN

[bluemoon72]

Hi, folks! I'm taking my very first hammered dulcimer lesson this evening at the Homestead Pickin' Parlor in Richfield, MN, with Stu Janis of Greenwood Tree. Because his availabilty is very limited, I'll primarlily be taking lessons online through Dan Lundrum's Dulcimer School. I've also just ordered myself a used (but in new condition) TK O'Brien 12/11 (natural birch model with the rosewood Celtic knotwork soundholes) from a Music-Go-Round in Lexington, KY. Should arrive in a few days. It was a deal I couldn't pass up; only $149. My budget precludes me buying anything more expensive until I decide I like playing. Of course, I'm already daydreaming about a Cloud Nine, a James Jones, a Rick Thum professional, or Jerry Read Smith *sigh* model someday...

I've toyed with folk instruments in the past--I own a mountain dulcimer, a mandolin, and an autoharp--but have never learned to play any of them to speak of. I love the sounds of the HD, and feel it will be easier for me to learn to play than the mandolin (since I can't fret for beans and my hands feel so big and clumsy on that little neck). I have a percussion mentality and love patterns, so hopefully the HD will be just the right instrument for me to learn! (Nothing like finally learning to play an instrument at age 40.)

I'm interested in exploring the HD as a rhythm instrument backing up bluegrass music, and also seeing how it works when taking a lead banjo or mandolin line in a song. Of course I also want to learn how to play pretty Celtic tunes, too.

Great to meet you all, and I hope to meet other HD enthusiasts while I learn and grow here!

Jennifer Wenzel
St. Paul, MN

[TBurst Std]

Welcome, I am new as well.

[bluemoon72]

Hi, Mark! Great to meet you. Sounds like you got yourself a heck of a good dulcimer to start out with--I look forward to hearing how your learning progresses!

My lesson was fantastic last night--in a half hour, I learned how to tune the HD, how to play several scales, and even a song (okay, so it was "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," but heck, it's a song!) I'm in love with this instrument already and can't wait to be holding my own hammers and playing on my own HD in a couple of days.

I'm joining a nascent beginner's-level folk/old-time/bluegrass jam group that will be meeting for the first time in a couple of weeks, so that should help accelerate my learning curve.

Jennifer

[halfpint]

Jennifer;
Welcome to ED and the Hammered Dulcimer. Sounds like you are getting off to a good start.

I would love to play with the Old time and bluegrass jams when I get the time, but that probably won't be for a couple of years, and then I may be busy with grandchildren instead of my children.

Dawn

[LDDulcimer]

Hi Jennifer. Welcome to ED! Congrats on the new HD! Sounds like you are off to a great start.

Larry

[mrchips]

Bluegrass on/with a HD is a bit weird but it does work!!!. The only problem I generally have is with many preservation style players attune. I agree 100% hd are NOT traditional bluegrass instruments and they flat dont fit if preservation means instruments too. There is a need for pure preservation style and many of these guys have the attune that nothing else is true bluegrass. To me bluegrass is as much of a type of music to be played and enjoyed as any other. A good jam is one where who cares what you're playing as long as it sounds good and everyone is having a blast.

As a rule where bluegrass is involved Ill usually walk up and lean the HD up against the wall or a tree in plain view and just listen. Sooner or later some body wants to know what that over grown cheese slicer is and then that's when the fun begins, either youre in or not and everyone is happy. Just keep the volume down where you can hear a banjo and have fun.

[bluemoon72]

Oh, that's great information. Being up here in the North, we don't have much going on in the preservationist arena--the Twin Cities, where I live, has a really strong music scene and there's lots of "newgrass" and indie folk being played up here. I've never encountered anyone at all who's seemed prejudicial against some instruments being proper and others not. We have a great band up here, Trampled By Turtles, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trampled_By_Turtles who use pretty traditional instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass) but they sure don't use them in a traditional way.

Anyone else want to weigh in on bluegrass on the HD? If so, let's start a new thread (or revive a relevant old one)!

Jennifer in St. Paul

[bluemoon72]

I'm thrilled to say I received my dulcimer in perfect condition (and even in tune!!) yesterday. I've already spent a couple of hours practicing my scales and arpeggios on all six scales on the board. What a great instrument! I don't yet have any beginner's books so I'm not sure what to do next. I am fortunate that some books listed for sale here on the boards over a year ago are still available, so I'm purchasing about 10 books (including the Square One for Hammered Dulcimer #1 and #2, and First Steps for Dulcimer) so that should take care of my learning needs for books for a while.

Anyone with thoughts on bluegrass for the HD?

[Marjorie Orr]

Jennifer,

Bluegrass on the HD? It sounds great! Several months ago I was invited to join a gospel group on the porch at a B & B in the mountains. I went with fear and trepidation. Had a blast and found that I could actually hear chord changes coming and play along even on songs that I was not acquainted with. In anticipation, I decided to try a little on my own. Found a simple piano arrangement of the Tennessee Waltz, listened to it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic9agvmIcuM, then began creating my own arrangement. Swing those eighth notes, add a few grace notes, and a few flams, a few triplets, maybe a chromatic triplet and voila!, you have some bluegrass! Adding those little chromatic turns will get you well acquainted with your HD. Creating your own music is fun. Learning music theory is like a game to find another key that unlocks another puzzle piece.

Enjoy your adventure. When I started I loved it so much that I told everyone that I could play "26 hours a day". If you enjoy it half as much as I do, you have it made.

Blessings,
Marjorie

[bluemoon72]

Hi, Marjorie! What a great post! I cannot wait to learn about the things you mentioned...it's all Greek to me at this point, but you better believe I'll be working on learning chromatic triplets and flams before long!

I'm still working on my scales and arpeggios backwards and forwards, and am now putting the scales together so that I can play the G and C scales in succession. I'm learning where the same notes fall on the board. So grace notes and triplets must be just around the corner, right?

Jennifer

[njt4hd]

I agree with mrchips that bluegrass purists are very reluctant to have an HD show up. I believe a reason is because they've not had positive experiences with HD players who can just "strum" along on chords while another instrument takes the lead. Occasionally you'll actually find someone who'll give you a chance to prove you can "play nice" with them. Keep the instrument's volume in check, blend in with the rest, and take a turn on the lead if they ask you to do so.....and you know the song, of course. Some instrumentalists are good at taking a lead even if they don't know the tune, but you'd better be pretty darn good at faking it!

HDs are considered to be a lead instrument, but that is not....and should not .....be the only thing we can do. Learning to play along well with others, regardless of the music genre, should be a top priority after knowing where notes and chord patterns are.

Good luck with those lessons.....playing HD is a wonderful pasttime!! Take advantage of any workshops presented at festivals in your area (or even outside your area!). You'll find a lot of nice, wonderful, down-to-earth folks.

Norma

[kwl]

Many bluegrass players do not want to include a hammered dulcimer because it is not "traditional." There was a big furor when a band added drums. Basically, if is anything other than guitar, banjo, mandolin/fiddle and upright bass, it is not bluegrass.

Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."