ceadach

[Dick Glasgow]

WELCOME

Hello ceadach & welcome to the Dulcimer Player's Forum.

We are all delighted that you are now a member here and we look forward to your contributions to the discussions here.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your music & your Dulcimers.

Then, why not hop over to our geography poll & click on your own area: Where are you?

Cheers
'Ptarmigan'

Cheers
'Ptarmigan'

[Dick Glasgow]

N. B. This reply was posted by ceadach & moved here by 'Ptarmigan' to this 'Welcome' thread on 26th June.

Hello everyone,

First, I’d like to thank Ptarmigan for organizing this electronic gathering!

About me...I'm horrible at introductions... I live in Minnesota, US, I've played Irish traditional music since childhood thanks to my grandfather (himself formerly of Antrim, God rest him.) He got me started on whistle, which led to everything else including a degree in music. In addition to playing I’ve taught music and built various instruments.

For over twenty years I played wire strung harp but had to set it aside to due chronic physical problems with my right hand. Luckily my injury wasn’t totally, so in the last year, after being a “closet” dulcimer player for some time, I took up the instrument in earnest. Along with the dulcimer I can still manage to play flute and uilleann pipes.

My dulcimers…I have two, one is an Indian santoor, used back in university days. My other dulcimer is one I built a few years ago, a rather humble 13/12 instrument with chessman bridges. I’m building another larger one for myself, as sessions and dances in this country are LOUD!!!!(or at least louder than those I remember when in Ireland)

Aside... We can't let the accordians have all the fun, eh?

Chad McAnally

[Dick Glasgow]

Hey Chad,

Sorry I missed out your Welcome Matt, but that's sorted now (I Hope?)

Great introduction Sir.
Delighted to have yourself on board with us here - especially me, since you have Co Antrim connections!
Just for the record, one of our other members here, Dulcimike (of Chattanooga), has connections with Co Antrim too.
So can you tell us what part of Antrim your family came from?

Wire strung harp eh. There seems to be a big interest in those over here again.
Mrs Ptarmigan ( has a small Wire Strung Harp, but she finds it very hard to keep those little Brass Strings in tune for any longer than one tune, & they often don't last to the end of the tune!
I guess she'd need to buy a better instrument, but it's only really for demonstration purposes, so we couldn't afford to splash out, really.

Flute & Pipes too eh ...
Great, We must have a few tunes, next time your 'back in Ireland' cause I love playing my H-D with Uilleann Pipes.

So you build them as well - excellent.
I hope you will find time to keep an educated eye on the 'Making Dulcimers' Discussion Board here?

Aye Accordions! They are loud all right, but then of course you do need that volume for dances, don't you.
I must say though, in their defense, that when I have to organise a band for a Ceili I always get meself an Accordion player cause they're just what the doctor ordered when it comes to Ceilis, but then, being a Fiddle player (of sorts) myself, I always enjoy playing with a good Box player. I prefer the Button Boxes ... of course!

Anyway, I look forward to reading your posts here.
Perhaps your familie's Antrim accent will come back to you, as you visit with us & write here? ;D

Cheers
Dick

[ceadach]

Hey Chad,

<<Sorry I missed out your Welcome Matt, but that's sorted now (I Hope?) >>

No Worries Ptarmigan. I've just moved again and was so busy in the last few weeks this is first time I've had to post anything!
<<Great introduction Sir.
Delighted to have yourself on board with us here - especially me, since you have Co Antrim connections!
Just for the record, one of our other members here, Dulcimike (of Chattanooga), has connections with Co Antrim too.
So can you tell us what part of Antrim your family came from?>>

Glad to here!! Greeting Dulcimike! At risk of boring everyone... Most of my family is orginially from Ulster, on my father's side, grandfather (who got me on music) was from Belfast, grandmum from a little village on Lough Foyle, the name of which escapes me.

On my mother's, mother's side were from Portballintrae Co. Antrim, and had came to Ulster via Scotland some centuries before. Mother's father was from Athens....Greece, just to keep things lively. Family reunions are a thing to witness!!

<<Wire strung harp eh. There seems to be a big interest in those over here again.
Mrs Ptarmigan ( has a small Wire Strung Harp, but she finds it very hard to keep those little Brass Strings in tune for any longer than one tune, & they often don't last to the end of the tune!
I guess she'd need to buy a better instrument, but it's only really for demonstration purposes, so we couldn't afford to splash out, really>>

Yes indeed, they are sensitive beasts! There are tricks for getting those wire strings seated that I found handy, I can send a separate post or e-mail about that if you or Mrs. Pt are interested. Hopefully my after extended break in harping I'll be able a bit again. Having to give up the harp was heartbreaking; the dulcimer really helped fill that musical void for me and helps me cling to what passes for sanity around here!
<<Flute & Pipes too eh ...
Great, We must have a few tunes, next time your 'back in Ireland' cause I love playing my H-D with Uilleann Pipes. >>

Apparently I'm quite a glutton for punishment. My wife and I hope get over there some time next year and we'll definitely have to have some tunes together!!!

<<So you build them as well - excellent.
I hope you will find time to keep an educated eye on the 'Making Dulcimers' Discussion Board here? >>

Will do. I built my first dulcimer and harp back in 1986. Funny thing, I had to explain the dulcimer to my parents, but my Irish grandparents immediately recognized it and would ask me to play whenever they visited.

<<Aye Accordions! They are loud all right, but then of course you do need that volume for dances, don't you. I must say though, in their defense, that when I have to organise a band for a Ceili I always get meself an Accordion player cause they're just what the doctor ordered when it comes to Ceilis, but then, being a Fiddle player (of sorts) myself, I always enjoy playing with a good Box player. I prefer the Button Boxes ... of course!>>

Agreed. Having a good box player is a godsend in ceili or stage band. Even the sound of uilleann pipes can get swamped in the clatter of dancer’s feet. I have a couple good friends who play box, and it was grandfather’s primary instrument. As luck would have it, one of the great wizards of that instrument, Paddy O’Brien lives here in town. He is empathetic to the plight of dulcimer players and said dulcimers “like the box are much maligned instruments…” he has been very generous to me over the years and I have a few rare tunes from him.
<Anyway, I look forward to reading your posts here.
Perhaps your familie's Antrim accent will come back to you, as you visit with us & write here? ;D>>

That it may. My grammar and syntax already are fairly bizarre for an American, and my lovely long suffering wife has difficultly understanding many family conversations!
Chad

[Dick Glasgow]

Portballintrae eh! Aye that's just up the road here:

Portballintrae

Any Harp tips you have, I'm sure Sabine could make good use of them - Ta

A photo of your own built instruments would be good to see here too.
Might even encourage others to have a go at making one, too!

Paddy O'Brien eh? Ha Ha Small World. Next time you see him, ask him about the tune, The Antrim Rose!

He actually wrote that tune for one Kathleen Smyth (now King) & I was playing tunes with the bold Kathleen, in The House of McDonnell bar, Ballycastle, just last Friday.
She's a lovely Fiddle player & a lovely person too.

Speaking of accents, my Scottish brogue fits in here not too badly.
In fact some of the folks here sound more Scottish than the Scots themselves!

Cheers
Dick

[ceadach]

Back in 87-88 I lived down in Bray Co. Wicklow, with my late great uncle. I was able to visit Portballintrae to see a few elderly cousins that have since passed on saw some other lovely sights up there.

I'll email you the harp tips separtely. They are worth the effort.

"The Antrim Rose"? Thanks for the link...I'll have to learn the tune. I noticed that it's recorded on an album entitled "From a Northern Shore" by some chap you may have heard of, perhaps a relation??? Great album title BTW. I'd love to hear "The Toast Rack" or "The Witch of Glentow"!!! I'll have to ask Paddy to play The Antrim Rose next time I see him, I suspect he has already and I may have forgot.

<<Speaking of accents, my Scottish brogue fits in here not too badly.
In fact some of the folks here sound more Scottish than the Scots themselves!>>

Of course! You are part of a very old tradition. The interaction betwixt Eire and Alba in Ulster goes way back, I think dating to a week or two after the Ice Age ended, people were going back and fore between the two. ;D

This influence can be heard in the Ulster dialects of Irish you can hear a distinct burl and some borrowed vocabulary from Scottish Gaelic. My wife's family is Scottish and some choice Scots terms have entered the lexicon here of late. One example... the pets are frequently refered to as the "Numpties".( or was she refering to me???)
Chad

[Dick Glasgow]

Hey Chad, while you are waiting, you can check out a few of the tracks from the aforementioned Northern Shore thingy at my:

Banjo Hangout

....... in amongst the Old Time Dulcimer stuff.

Speaking of that old tradition of folks crossing the Irish Sea, both ways, my Dad's family were from Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders, while my Mum's Dad was from Letterkenny, so I can't escape the links!

Cheers
Dick

[Dick Glasgow]

Recognise anyone here? ;D

[ceadach]

Hmmmm......