Factfiction

[Dick Glasgow]

WELCOME ;D

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

We are all delighted that you are now a member 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 Where are you? poll and click on your own area!

Cheers
'Ptarmigan'

[Harriet H]

hello!

well, i'm nearly 16 years old and hoping to soon start playing the dulcimer
it seems like a fascinating instrument and my parents say i can have one for my upcoming birthday, so i'm v excited about that.

if there's anything else you want to know then please ask

[Dick Glasgow]

A warm welcome Harriet - you must be our youngest member, so far, so you clearly have a long way to go before we can class you as an Old Fart! ;D

I'm wondering what other instruments you play already?
Obviously, you don't have to play other instruments before taking up the Hammered or the Mountain Dulcimer, but it'd be interesting to know if you already have experience playing a stringed instrument?

Also, I'm curious to know how you came to the Dulcimer? Did you actually see one being played, in real life? Or did you see it on TV or Film? Or perhaps you just heard one & thought you liked the sound of it?

Well, that'll do. I don't want to frighten you away by asking too many questions. I'm sure you get enough of them at school!

Cheers
Dick

[Harriet H]

thankyou for the welcome! (:

actually, i used to play the classical guitar (grade 4) but then stopped because my teacher moved away and i didn't get a new one.

and i'm not sure how i first heard about the dulcimer. i think it was from me and my little sister watching disney's 'the aristocats' where one of the cats is playing a harp, so i googled it and then somehow found my way to the hammered dulcimer! i think the best thing about it is that it's so rare, and looks like such a unique and fun instrument to play!

[Dick Glasgow]

Hmmm I played a little Classical Guitar myself, many years ago. A truly wonderful instrument the Guitar, when you look at the huge variety of magnificent music that has been created for & with this very versatile instrument.
In fact I still have John Williams & Julian Bream LPs lying around here somewhere!
( Please don't ask me what LPs are? ;D )

Aye good old Walt Disney. Some of the most popular movie songs from recent years have come from some of those classic cartoon films. My own particular favourite has to be The Jungle Book - who amongst can possibly sit still when they hear - "The Bear Necessities", it's a classic!
Hmmmm maybe it's time I tried that on my Hammered Dulcimer!

Yes, the H-D can be a fun instrument to play, but please bear in mind that you will have lots & lots of strings to tune, each time you go to play it, so it is a good idea to buy the best one you can afford, as, like most musical instruments, the cheap ones tend to go out of tune much faster, & so can be a real pane!

The flip side of that of course is that good ones hold their tuning well & with the help of an electronic tuner, are easy & quick to tune, especially for someone like you, who has years of experience already, tuning a Guitar.

Getting your hands on your first Dulcimer will certainly be a fantastic experience for you & I wish you lots of fun & many, many years of great music making with it.

Please keep us posted on your musical journey.

Cheers
Dick

[jenny4dulc]

And Harriet, if you'd like to make contact with other dulcimer players not too far away from Nottingham, take a look at www.dulcimer.org.uk/ and consider joining the Nonsuch Club.
Jenny4dulc

[Harriet H]

thanks jenny!

dick - yep, thankfully i do know what LPs are!
i contacted dave clifford by e-mail and he said that most of the tunes played on the dulcimer are classical, but i could be the first at trying something like coldplay or mcfly!

i'm currently in process of finding somewhere i can borrow a dulcimer (and have arranged to visit a player in my area, who was very friendly and says i can come along for a cup of tea and a go on the instrument). will keep you updates

[Dick Glasgow]

Good Luck Harriet, I'll look out for your name on Jenny's

Dulcimers in Popular Music - thread

That news sounds very promising too Harriet. Sounds like you'll be thrashing away on a Dulcimer very soon. I'm sure you'll really enjoy the experience .... have fun.

Cheers
Dick

[dulcimike]

Welcome to the forum, Harriet!

And welcome to dulcimer-land.

You got from Googling on Harps to Hammered Dulcimers, eh? It's amazing what you find out when you go to Googling.

As for people mostly playing classical on dulcimer, maybe that's what the person you talked to played mostly. It depends on where you are, and what your musical community is. For instance, I play American Old-Time, and Irish, Scottish and English traditional music, as well as some original tunes.

And I know some people in Ireland, in the north, who play Irish and Scottish traditional. But then, there's a fellow near me here in the States, Dan Landrum, who plays all sorts of musical styles on the dulcimer. In a former musical life, he was a Rock Drummer. Others I know play lots of Classical. Others Rock and Roll (I heard a fellow play Stairway to Heaven on a dulcimer once. Amazing!

So, you can really play whatever you want and can coax your instrument to let you play.

Have fun with it!