Tell Us About It

[southernmiss]

How did PMBDF go? What did you play? How many were there? When can we expect videos?

Lee

[Deb]

Lee we missed you! and everyone else that couldn't make it this year, We had a nice group and a wonderful time,. We learned Alexander's Hornpipe, O'CAROLAN'S Draught and Sally's got mud between her toes. Discussed the Bach project....played a lot, learned a lot and just had a great time Robin's new pardessus is beautiful and has a lovely voice...It was nice to meet Patty..she also got a lovely new bowed dulcimer.I got to try Lorena's frettless BD and it's not as hard as I thought it would be finding the notes. Tried Kerry's Bass...I like it. Tried Robin's new pardessus. The concert by Ken and Jeff and Janet Furman was wonderful. Jamming back at the hotel...just a fun weekend. It's so nice to hear a group of BD play together! Anyhow I had a wonderful time. Am safely home and getting some sleep!! See ya all next year!! I think there were about 24? BD players...will try and post the pic on the group FILES. nIGHT! dEBBIE r

[Robin T]

Lee,
Right after I pulled into the hotel parking lot, I spotted Debbie; it turned out that Patty, Debbie, and I had neighboring rooms!

Deb's right about my Pardessus-- it's a beauty both to the eye and the ear. Well, it sounds really good when someone besides me plays it. Debbie's rather taken with the bass bowed instrument. Sooner or later, I'm guessing, she'll wind up with one. Oh, and I'd echo Deb's comments about playing the fretless-- was much easier to find positions than I would've thought, especially since it felt as though my hand already knew where to go from so much time spent playing my Standard.

A good time was had by all. We thought of you! Hope you are well and that your granddaughter's recuperation is smooth and swift.

Robin T

[southernmiss]

So glad you had such a great time, Robin. Tell me more about your Pardessus. How many strings, and how is it tuned? What kind of bow are you using (vioin, cello, viola)?

That's really interesting about the fretless BD's. Is there a difference in the tone? I'm asking because I can see that fretless would make a difference in finger pressure.

Are you planning on any workshops this summer?

Lee

[Robin T]

Lee, after I get new (or re-charged) batteries in my camera, I'll take photos of the new addition and post them on my page at Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. As an aside, I may start a photo gallery on the Rosin the Bow group there for folks with bowed zitters of any kind. I like having a bowed dulcimer presence there especially for those at FOTMD who may never have heard of such a thing. (If not for my coming to ED, I may never have heard of the BD. Since there are folks on FOTMD who are not ED'ers, it's good to have some BD information there. )

Back to your questions, Lee, my Pardessus is a three-stringer. The viola strings on it are tuned Dad and are in the same pitch as my Standard. For now and, though probably not ideal, for the foreseeable future, I'll be using a cello bow. The sound is more mellow than the Standard due to, I think, all the strings being wound.

Regarding the fretless critter Deb and I tried, I really didn't pay enough attention to note any possible differences in finger pressure or tone. The thing on which I was focused was how the feel of what note was where was already in my 'fretting' hand. I liked the fretless a lot! What are you finding with your OV as you spend more time with it?

No BD workshops this summer for me; Pilot Mountain was my big festival this year.

[southernmiss]

I'll be looking for the photos, Robin. I like FOTMD site, too, even though I don't post there often. It's another opportunity to spread the word about BD's. I'm hoping to recruit more folks down here in the Deep South. It was so much fun to play with other BDer's at Lagniappe.

I'm hoping to practice more on my new OV now that my granddaughter's surgery is over (she's doing really well). Also, I had to concentrate on music for the wedding reception where a few of us played our MD's this past Saturday. That went well. I'll play three times this week at nursing homes, and then next week I'll be free to practice the OV more. I really love its deep, rich voice. It's fun to play the same piece on my higher octave Pardessus and then the lower octave OV.

Lee

[Ken Bloom]

Hi guys,

I finally got enough rest that I can now reflect a bit on the weekend. The advanced class on Friday went very well. I think this is a very needed addition to the program so that I can spend time addressing issues that only experienced players deal with. Having some of the less experienced players there as auditors was also valuable as many of the topics came up in the larger class. We are slowly developing a good way to teach bowed dulcimer in a way that is comprehensive and hopefully fun.
The big Saturday class went very well. I can always tell by the smoke coming out of people's ears that I have indeed covered enough material. One of the major points I always try to stress is playing musically rather than concentrating on technique quite so much. Speed is a simple matter of playing the same thing 1000 times. Playing with dynamics and heart is something that requires attention and deliberate intent. This is where the bow is a wonderful tool. We just have to figure out how to use it.
We played through everything at the Sunday morning wrap-up and everything sounded so much better. There is nothing like concentrating on one instrument over several days to bring out the best in everyone's playing. The way things sounded at the night time jams was also very gratifying. For me, the best thing is to see how people have progressed from one year to the next and to see those faces light up when we do it together and get all the detail in.
My sincere thanks to everyone who came. I get to see how all the participants grow as musicians from year to year and seeing that progress gives me a warm feeling inside. I'm looking forward to the 7th Annual Pilot Mountain Bowed Dulcimer Festival! On to Dulcimerville!

Ken Bloom

[Robin T]

Ken, the weekend was great! I'm both enjoying my Pardessus and not neglecting my Standard.
Reading music and playing an instrument at the same time is a bit of an uphill climb; my musical legs and lungs are up to it, I think. The going will be slow and that's okay. Perseverance furthers, eh?

Robin

[strumelia]

It all sounds wonderful, and I enjoy reading about you guys' BD adventures! I can relate because I'm still learning to play my BP (bowed psaltery)...'the other bowed zither'.

[Robin T]

Much as I love mountain dulcimer, there's just something about bowing that's seductive. Must be bad for me, then. I'll go ahead and risk it.

Robin

[southernmiss]

Robin, I agree with you. Bowing a dulcimer is addictive. I can't pass one of my BD's without stopping to play a tune or two. I rotate between the Pardessus and octave violin and practice on each one every day. While I enjoy playing the MD, I relish playing a BD, even if it's by myself.

Lee

[Robin T]

Playing more than one type of instrument is just so doggone fun! While many will play better than I do, few will have more fun than I do. Good thing since I'll never be a great player of any musical instrument.

Robin