Living In The Future or What They Can Do With Sound Nowadays

Sucks to have missed NAMM this year. Still, the Anaheim Convention Center could scarcely hold back the pure flood of new inventive gear on the market for today's musician. Again, sort of swinging between two very distinctly different approaches to sound: the pure preservation of natural acoustics versus jack your signal into something other than what it actually is. The twain do meet, which makes for wonderful tonal contrast. The primal versus the chordal capitalist.

The solo show has evolved from the keyboard-and-backing-tracks whimsy of the 90's to something that's more organic, yet still very much wired-in. As an 80's kid, there was this huge embracing of synthetic music, with subsequent rejection as the next decade welcomed shabby, dirty rock as the new mainstream. I've discovered that while audiences unfamiliar with mountain dulcimer take to it very quickly - it's lacking the same kind of full-spectrum sound that a guitar puts out. With fewer strings of a lighter gauge and a smaller sound box, the dulcimer sounds typically quaint when on-stage. My approach was to get something to boost and function as the voice of a bass guitar (Octave pedal), a delay for creating tight acoustic sequences and a loop pedal to orchestrate it into parts. Along with drum loops and live percussion samples, this is a multi-layered approach to creating music. It's like the music exists beside itself in a parallel universe. You lay down eight or sixteen measures of chord changes, then start the loop, adding chops, a melody and maybe a harmony. Then, lay down a bass track and then pick up another instrument and solo while all of that is going on.

It's like tap-dancing. As if it isn't hard enough to play an instrument and sing with focus; then all this gandy-dancing going on.

And each little gee-gaw has its own instruction manual, software and little twirly knobs with levels to be set. By the time you factor that into a P.A. system (with or without monitors) and begin to play your set, you just never know how well you'll hear anything. Sometimes you go an entire set, tweaking things on your end to get it right. If you can't hear well, it's a block between you and the music, not to mention you and the audience.

Gee-Gaw #1: Gee-Whiz!

As part of the next phase of evolution for the solo show, I've been using more chromatic dulcimer as a way of keeping the road paved ahead. The modal structure of diatonic dulcimer is not something I'd gladly give up, but taking the same approach and applying it to a chromatic scale serves up multiple layers of benefits, from giving you a foundation based on chord shapes and scale to training you how to recognize chromatic patterns on the standard dulcimer. More mountain dulcimer players should give it a try - it's really not as hard as you might think.

So, Folkcraft has built me a new double with one side diatonic (with a 1+ and 8+) and the other side chromatic. This will be a 29" VSL, which should be interesting, stretch-wise for the fingers, but the tone should be fantastic.

Installed as the pre-amp is the Fishman Aura Pro. The Prefix Pro has been what I've been using and it's been incredible having that control over sound and tone right there on the instrument. Guitars have had it for awhile, why not mountain dulcimers? So many different tones for so many different rooms and surfaces. Shiny floors and glassy windows, wide open tile or tight wooden bunkers, they all change your sound. Being able to adjust the sound of the dulcimer in each different space is invaluable for performers. Not long after, Fishman debuted a pre-amp called the Prefix Pro Blend, which included the under-the-saddle pickup along with an actual microphone inside, which allowed you to blend the signals together.

With an ear towards replicating and amplifying the natural sounds of a gentle wooden instrument so that the original tone is pure and fresh (which makes even better source signal for all the crazywacky effects that you can channel it through - acoustic guitars make for the best distortion - it's true!) the Aura Pro takes that concept a step further. Dulcimers have been hooking up with USB computer ports for some time now, but are increasing in number. The irony is, the closer we get to preserving and projecting natural acoustic audio, the more goo-gads it seems to involve (at least they're getting lighter.)


Gee-Gaw #2: Good-God!

The first time I ever heard a Bose system it was like walking into the path of a bolt of lightning, struck in awe, left standing there thinking that it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. Many years later, a friend and I went to a Bose home theater demonstration and actually left with tears in our eyes. Bose has got a very interesting history. I'm convinced that there is more than meets the eye with them, but in the meantime, they can keep making cool stuff for us gear heads.

Like the L1 System.

By putting the speakers behind you, getting rid of the need for monitors and distributing the sound in a tightly packed configuration of speakers that send sound forward, not up and down, you get a cleaner, purer sound without needing to be loud. It doesn't need to be loud to be heard - it just needs to be clear.

The L1 Personal Amplification System blew my mind when I first heard it demoed and it's been a lusty number of years. After socking away savings and a massive fire sale in December, I chose not to settle for anything less than the Legend. Two bass modules give me support in the bottom end for drums, percussion and bass, one stand. Pedals and microphone, clear space, clear sound. After assembling the parts (the instructions literally are illustrated with pictures), Jae's eyes went wide as I put in a Peter Gabriel song and slowly began to crank it up. At low level - everything can be heard. At medium level - it's putting out a solid amount of sound, yet we're still able to have a conversation standing just feet from the speakers. Getting into more aggressive levels, slowly, the two subwoofers begin pushing more air and the room begins to pump. Extraordinary clarity.

The quest for tone and the communication of sound is something that performers must dance with for all of their careers. If it's not plugged in and demanding adjustment, it's unplugged and needing setting up or redesigning. We're hard wired as humans to push for perfection, however unattainable. The journey that we take while on the quest for anything is part of the training for enjoying those moments when everything becomes clear. With your music, which is close to the bone and next to the heart, you want to present it in the way that you hear it first. And when they come out with the consumer-level tech that allows music signals to be beamed right into the vibrations of your skull, you can count me out on jumping that bandwagon but I'll sure as hell be there for the demo.

Stompin' In The Garden and Barkin' At The Moon

There's always been stomp-box-loving people around me. Stomping. Looping. One-man-banding. I've done a little tap-dancing in my time, but never so much as to necessitate an actual "pedal board."

Well, they make a lot of sense, actually. And I knew exactly what pedals would be right for the job.

The mountain dulcimer is a magical, feathery instrument that has no problem capturing the attention of informal audiences. Its sound spectrum, however, is much narrower than that of comparable instruments that might be up on a stage with a solo performer. When not performing dulcimer in the traditional style, I opt for incorporating the instrument as a controller for this wild array of stuff. At the heart of the operation (for right now, anyway) is the Boss RC-20 Loop Station. I pre-load it with beats and bits, leaving some tracks empty for laying in multiple tracks of dulcimer; leads, rhythms, harmonies, sound effects, whatever comes to mind. Not only can you record your main instrument, you can also plug in a microphone or MP3 player and sample from other sources. Awesome sauce.

After weighing several options, I went with a Boss OC-3 Super Octave. Es chocolate polifónico, you can choose between mono and polyphonic modes and work multiple octaves of deep, fat bass. I kick this in and play on the bass string to lay in foundation on loops or live as a lead. It supports full chords with an earth-shaking pedal tone that, with proper E.Q., can turn your three strings into a seven-string, drop-D monster.

Finally, as a long-time owner of the classic Boss DD-3 Digital Delay pedal, I traded up into a DD-7, which includes a tap tempo feature for matching beats and routing for true stereo effects.

Create a beat on the drum that's being recorded into the loop pedal, now stop recording and switch on the octaver - hit record and play bass string on the dulcimer, switch octaver off and then layer in some normal dulcimer while tempo matching on the delay pedal - activate delay and you've got a shimmering, sparkling echo of your dulcimer playing, locked in to the rhythm track that you've just created. Of course you can see where this would allow for no sleep at the most crazed phases of the moon, it is simply an absorbing experience. It's you as the orchestra.

Anywhoo - there's a couple of Danalectro pedals in the picture up there - a tuner and a Daddy-O distortion pedal. I think I gave the tuner to Stephen Seifert. I don't remember. What I do remember is that I never did like tap-dancing. It has been a learning experience and for the bottom line question: has it accomplished what I was going for? It sure has. And probably in ways that I haven't even run into yet.

Is There Anybody In There?

We live next to an interstate, a fire station and a gentleman in a giant 4x4 who's fond of music with deep bass and, at the most horribly unexpected times, his real McCoy Amtrak air-horn. Floor space is at a premium, so building isolation booths never even entered the equation. After seriously considering giving up a chunk of the studio floor space in order to create a vocal booth, I ran across the VoxGuard.

In order to get that rich, open sound - we needed to be using condenser mics, which are notoriously good at recording everything in a mile radius. Still, with perhaps some more reflection and sound focusing (and post-production E.Q. tweaking on the occasional Silver Meteor) it could be pulled off. After reading several reviews at TweakHeadz, I settled (and why is that?) for the Studio Projects B-1.

This is all great gear, make no mistake about it, but in most of these upgrades, I'm stopping way short of pie-in-the-sky dreaming in the quest for the most excellent set-up. Money is usually the deciding factor, followed quickly and exuberantly by specs and word-of-mouth or good reviews. If people are generally digging it, you know? I'd love a studio pair of AKG-414 mics. At my bracket, 't'ain't hap'nin'.

Doesn't matter though, there's no jadedness here. The first real tests of the mic with VoxGuard have been extraordinarily good (and with that Tube Pac shaping the sound - it gets back to that "preserving" the audio side of things.)

Next Up: Living In The Future

Let Me In The Sound

When it comes to music, sounds as a general sort of array, you're either trying to preserve and present the sound with fidelity or you're attempting to change the sound in one or many ways and create something that's hopefully unique as much as it's familiar enough to resonate with the listener. Most folk musicians are in the former camp, keeping gentle company with acoustic music without amplification or amplified in such a way that it retains as much of its natural quality as possible. I'm down with that. When it boils right down to it, nothing beats the sound of an instrument au naturel.

But face it - sometimes, it's helpful to plug in so that you may be heard. Proper amplification takes whatever it is that you are doing and presents it to the listener as you intended it to be heard. Anything less and you might be settling, but there are many fine reasons for that too.

Take, for example, Audio 2000's AWP6040. I got this from Mike Clemmer at Wood 'N' Strings after he told me about how he uses it when teaching workshops.

It's a little 25 watt battery-powered wireless P.A. system that comes with both a lavalier and a lapel mic plus inputs for guitar cable both 1/4" and 3.5" - aux MP3 player jack - you can get one of the mics on you, clip the transmitter to your belt, plug your instrument directly into the box or splitter into the pack, set the tone, individual channel volumes, add a little slapback to the voice and, if you're strolling - you've got 100 feet to wander while you play and sing or speak.

I use this when I teach workshops at festivals and also in the past for ceremonies, house concerts and, tonight, a birthday party. It's truly surprising just how well this unit punches the sound out there. Better still: I don't know what Mike's selling these for now, but last summer, it was a steal at under $100. Right?

This is the *gear* post, so it's going to get tweaky in here real quick. It'll all end with the story of why I'm expecting a delivery in about twelve hours. Here now, the beginning of the past four month's deeper trip to get into the sound.

Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound, now
God, I’m going down
I don’t wanna drown now
Meet me in the sound - Bono

Is It Warm In Here?

If you haven't seen them already (and you can always access these kinds of posts by clicking on the "gear" label in the label cloud on the right) the Tube Pac probably started this whole move to upgrade, so this has been over the course of a year then. Recording mostly with dynamic microphones (Shure SM-57, SM-58Beta) left me wanting to capture more depth and richness in the studio, which led to this single-channel tube pre-amplification and compression unit. Right away, the difference in sound quality was amazing.

Then came the Digitech Vocalist 4, which is really quite funny to sneak into tunes and watch as people try to figure out where your other singers are.

Finally had to break down and get another audio interface. With one fried channel, the PreSonus Firebox was only half useful, not to mention glitchy. After a horrible side-trip into the world of M-Audio, I settled (a-ha, that word again) for a PreSonus Firestudio Mobile because they didn't have the Saffire Pro 40 at the Guitar Center near the house. Let's not chalk this up to impatience - album deadlines dictated that a glitching interface needed replaced, like, right then. And so you do.

There's still the occasional glitch - but nothing that harms recording quality. Just quality of non-frustration levels while waiting for Apple's Audio/MIDI program to connect the dots. No big. Play a round of Words With Friends. Right?

By the way, that P.A. pictured at the top of this post? That was mine - Fender Passport PD150. Nice unit - 4 channels (well, 3 channels and a stereo auxiliary), great for vocals and light duty work, but don't try and put anything that resembles bass through it. Nuh-uh. And unfortunately, that's exactly where I was attempting to go through all of this tone building and developing performance additions. As much as there is a time to strum the mountain dulcimer unaffected and free of cables, there is also much rejoicing to be had when you can really throw it through a heap of processors and turn it into the paintbrushes of your musical dreams.

Next Up: Stompin' In The Garden and Barkin' At The Moon

The Pursuit of Tone and A Minor Event

Good week to you!

The focus has been on the key of "C." It's the only one out of fifteen keys that has absolutely no sharps and no flats. It's all the white keys of the piano, pure and uncomplicated. To a point. As promised in the last post, we get to the dark side of things now.

Quick recap - we number the seven notes of the Major scale, beginning with the root note or tonic, which is "C".

C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7


C - Dm - Em  - F  - G - Am - Bdim
I - ii - iii - IV - V - vi - vii°

Each of the seven notes can be used to build a chord or a scale. Because of the relationship between notes, scales/chords built from the 1st, 4th and 5th notes are Major; scales/chords built from the 2nd, 3rd and 6th are minor. The 7th note yields the mysterious-sounding diminished chords and scales.

It's because of this particular sequence of distances (or intervals) between notes that the Major scale has its up, happy and bright sound. Now, change the sequence and watch what happens.

If you begin this scale on the sixth note and use all of the same notes as the Major scale, you get the relative minor scale (also known as the natural minor or Aeolian mode.) Since the sixth note of the C Major scale is "A", then this will be known as the A minor scale (note the lowercase "minor" - this is important.)

A B C D E F G
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The order of notes has changed, yet it is still the same seven notes of the C Major scale. When played in this order, the steps between notes become altered slightly, which gives minor chords and scales a darker, more somber tone. Now remember - the point at which we begin on the scale has changed, so the notes have not. Which means that each of those notes retains its Major/minor/diminished quality. You'll just encounter them in a different order like so:

Am -  Bdim  -  C   -  Dm   -   Em   -   F   -   G
i  -   ii°   - III -  iv   -    v   -   VI  -  VII

Leading the way...

Chords have an interesting relationship with each other. Some lead to one another in a natural, expected way while others have a prickly sort of chemistry that seems forced and rough. It's the push and pull of these elements that creates musical tension. Our ears are attracted by (and spirits moved by) certain types of musical conflict and a good road map for that is this charting of chord progressions:

I chord leads to any chord
ii leads to IV, V, vii° chords
iii leads to ii, IV, vi chords
IV leads to I, iii, V, vii° chords
V leads to I chords
vi leads to ii, IV, V, I chords
vii° leads to I, ii chords

These rules were made to be broken, of course, and there's more down the road about borrowed chords and note replacement, but generally speaking, when moving chords through a piece of music - the above standards for western music apply.


So, in crafting a look at the world of the natural minor, I went totally overboard and composed a three-part arrangement for mountain dulcimer ensemble called "A Minor Event." Tuning is CGC. The file has individual pieces for the chords, lead and counterpoint as well as the .tef file for TablEdit users. Even if you don't have the registered version of the program, you can download the free TEF Viewer to listen to the piece.

First off - go to Play > Relative Speed and set it for 62. Experiment with different tempos and see how it sounds to you. If you're not familiar with multiple modules with TablEdit, take a look at the top right hand corner of the main screen when you open "A Minor Event." You'll see three green tabs with numbers. Each one of those represents a part of the arrangement. You can click each one to bring the tablature to the front (unfortunately, no way to watch all three at once, unless you print it out, but then it's not moving and scrolling and playing music, is it? No fun there.) Slowing down the playback will allow you to practice difficult passages.

The arrangement is a demonstration of chord progressions in A minor, how to grow melodies and harmonies out of those chords. A song should be like a little adventure that takes the listener on an exciting journey. Where did that come from? Where are we going next? The twists and turns with each new emotion draw us further into the journey and then, at the end, a logical conclusion, a resolving of conflict and tension to reach the root; our home. Just as long as this trip brings everyone back home, allow your song to roam the hills. Keep melodies moving in nearby clusters of notes - make it easy to hum.

Think of the root note as home. As you begin to chart your way from that root - certain paths will work better than others until you finally bring it home. Once you lay down the chord progressions - weave your melody out of the scales associated with each chord. When the chord changes to C, pick notes out of the C Major scale. When the chord moves on to D minor, concentrate on notes picked from the D minor scale. Of course, some notes will overlap between keys, but this is a good road map for creating melody, rules made to be broken again, of course.

This was written for an orchestra of mountain dulcimers, with several playing each part, but it can be done with just three instruments. With the chords - I've just indicated the fingerings for each one in whole notes. You can either play it just like that, one strum every four beats, or you can apply a bit of rhythm in the form of quarter notes, maybe arpeggiate through the changes. I've tried to create movement mostly with the other two parts - so the whole notes, while not entirely interesting, allow those chords to breathe. Play the tablature as written - so the lead part is sometimes played on only one string at a time. The lead harmonizes with the counterpoint, which also serves as bass for this piece. None of these parts played by themselves is much of a head-turner - it's how they interweave, dance and pronounce the movements of the chords, as mirrored by melody and harmony.

If you don't have two other people to play this with - try recording it! (They have an app for that. And if you're reading this blog you probably do have some kind of digital audio workstation. If you don't, you probably want one and know where to look.)


Instead of hanging out in the key of C and its relative key of A minor, we're going to travel through the different keys and continue to explore how it all works together. Next - we're getting sharp with a look at the key of G.

Tools Of The Trade-Off

I've been living in a cave on eBay for the past few months, carefully implementing a plan that would step up my game a bit here at the studio. Living in the city is hell on recording studios and my modified car port wasn't designed to be sound tight. Since we won't be moving to the country anytime soon, I decided to make a huge sacrifice and invest in a major upgrade for both my recording and live performance rigs.

Jae and I love to watch HGTV for all of the shows about people buying and selling homes, re-designing and decorating, adding on, etc. With an eye towards better space management in the studio, with the side benefit of fund raising for one of the upgrades, I began selling some of the mountain dulcimers from my personal collection. Dulcimers with names like Nikki, Bridget, Kamalani and Helen. Each with their own stories, sometimes caught in a moment and posted on a Facebook page somewhere, some of the instruments used to write and record albums, they went flying off the shelf to some eagle-eyed folks on eBay and now, I can almost see the chromakey blue of the walls.

A few people seemed surprised that I would part with a part of my musical history so easily. Taking a page from the great Pixar film "Toy Story 2"; great instruments were meant to be played and enjoyed. These instruments have now gone on to places where they will be a vibrant, living part of the melody of love instead of stored in a dark case for most of the time.

The money doesn't hurt either. Needed that.

Here, on many different levels of importance for doing the dance that is the dance with music, some of the gear-head stuff that I've been embracing to step it up.

Genius App



Music Theory Pro can be addicting and, for an application that is basically drilling pure music theory, that says a lot about its draw. A real bargain at 99 cents, this application is sort of like having a set of digital flashcards with you at all times (or as long as you've got your smartphone around.) Four areas concentrate on Note Names, Key Signatures, Intervals and Chords, allowing you to set certain parameters to customize your learning experience (include just triads or other chords as well?)

The fifth area focuses on ear training in the areas of Tempos, Intervals, Scales and Chords. Right answers are greeted with approval ("Great Work!" "Keep Going!" flash at you like electronic cheerleaders) while incorrect answers are gently corrected ("You guessed Bb I'm sorry the correct answer is E" Polite, even.)

While you wander through the various pop quizzes, seconds whiz by at the top right hand corner. A gauge in the top left corner keeps track of how you do. Accuracy and speed pay off in high scores that can then be posted on a global ranking viewable through the app and on the website. Cool. Whoever added the competitive angle was a genius. Nothing like seeing someone else's score and thinking "I know C# in bass clef better than them!"

The customization aspect is also great. Play speed rounds of ten questions or marathons of five hundred. Drill on major and minor keys or add sevenths, diminished and augmented. You'll find yourself running through the quizzes whenever you've got a spare moment. The repetition is fantastic for putting into practice what you've just learned - so much so that you can jump in without knowing your way around and then begin to figure the rhyme and reason as you continue to play. Great all-around music theory app - I use this even more than Karajan now, though that app is far superior in terms of keeping data on your strong and weak points (!)

Even though you may not know what you're doing with it right away - ear training is an invaluable tool for playing and understanding music more fully.

Next: Let Me In The Sound

Mucking about in the key of C: More diatonic study

If you're familiar with the concept of music therapy, then you're probably aware of the connection between the various keys and their respective characteristics. Out of all the colors of the rainbow, it is the total absence of color, white, that is most often associated with the key of C. From this page comes the quote "Pure, certain, decisive; expressive of innocence, powerful resolve, manly earnestness and deep religious feeling." No flats. No sharps. Not complicated. It's a basic "home key."

C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Seven notes. In a scale, we typically play a total of eight notes. The seven notes of the scale beginning with the root or tonic note (in this case, C) and ending with the same note an octave higher (from the Latin octavus - meaning "eight".)

You can build chords from each note by skipping every other letter. Remember that 1, 4 and 5 are Major chords, 2,3 and 6 are minor chords and the seventh is a diminished chord.

C E G = C Major
D F A = D minor
E G B = E minor
F A C = F Major
G B D = G Major
A C E = A minor
B D F = B diminished

Major = root, Major third, perfect fifth
minor = root, minor third, perfect fifth
diminished = root, minor third, diminished fifth (or "flat fifth" or b5 or 5b)

and while we're at it

augmented = root, Major third, raised or "augmented" fifth

All of these chords are possible on a standard mountain dulcimer. So far, we're sticking with triads; these chords with three notes. Later, we'll get more into so-called "chroma" or extended chords like 6ths, 7ths and suspended chords.

Working out of the possible chord progressions for basic fundamental key of C, I came up with this piece called "C Musing Myself." No strum instructions have been included, so you'll need to fill out and propel this piece once you've mastered playing it through as written.

Now, one thing about playing in CGC tuning is that it requires a light touch if you're using moderately light gauge strings such as .011 - .014 on your melody and middle string. Heavier strings (I sometimes use .016 - .017) will hold up better on most instruments that can tolerate being tuned down a whole step from what they're used to. After talking with several builders, it can be said that some dulcimers are built to sound best when tuned to variables of D (DAA, DAD, DGD, etc.) so you may need to play around with the tuning a bit.

For each movement to a different chord, the bits of melody are taken from that chord and its corresponding scale. Using chords and notes that are not in the scale is standard practice - I just kept it simple for this first composition. It's a tremendously fun exercise. Just choose your key (know the territory), lay out your chord progressions, build a melody and explore the many different personalities of the various keys.

At least a couple of music theory websites made note (pun intended) of a dual-personality for the key of C, which also swung towards the "war like" side. Perhaps that's best reflected in the relative minor key of C which can be found by going to the sixth note of the Major scale, whatever it might be. In this case, the note is A - so the key is A minor. Same notes as the C scale - just started in a different spot:

C D E F G A B C

A B C D E F G A

(a good mental mind-map = six up or two back from the root is the relative minor. C minus two = A)

A look at the minor side of the C coming up next!

Studies in C for Diatonic and Chromatic Mountain Dulcimer

• Download the .pdf for C Diatonic Scales



• Download the .pdf for C Chromatic Scales



• Download the .pdf for C Scale Harmonizing

I've decided to take a walkabout with the music and I'm inviting you to come along for a journey into the not-so-scary world of music theory. Some of this will skew easier to chromatic mountain dulcimer, but there's absolutely no harm in learning the bigger picture. You just never know when the urge to purchase that first chromatic instrument may come, so be prepared.

Creating music really is all about knowing how to say what you want to say when you want to say it. That's it. If you can hear it in your head and your heart, you can bring it to life. It requires active, constant engagement on your part, because the music is all there. Most importantly, knowing what your instrument is capable of will give you the opportunity to make full use of its versatility when you're ready to explore.

Get In Training

Like going to the gym, there are lots of exercises that you can do to help fine-tune your sense of music. Beating out rhythms on coffee tables, with and without a metronome to sync up the beat, is a great groove developing tool. Ear-training is something I've mentioned here before and I cannot stress the importance of dialing in the various pitches and how they relate to each other as intervals, chords and melodies. Seeing them written on paper is an important part of the equation, but it's the hearing of these things that will solidify them as part of your developing vocabulary. There are a number of ear-training sites on the web as well as apps for iPhone and Android ( Ricci Adams' newly-refurbished theory site is my favorite spot online while Karajan keeps me studying when I'm mobile. )

Every day, like you're training for the big event, do it just for a little while as part of your rehearsals or even separately. You can quickly run through ten sets of intervals with your smart phone during the day at work at some point. How will this help you? As you continue to work with scales, those combinations of notes that inform so much of what we play in western music, you'll have a better sense of "place" within musical phrases by training your ear to hear the distance between notes. Not only between two notes, but between three, four and beyond even five notes in beautiful extended chords. The more you train, the more you'll be able to incorporate those colors into your playing.

Scales & Chords: Building Blocks

The musical 'alphabet' is a twelve-note scale called chromatic. Out of those twelve notes, a smaller series of seven notes serves as the basis for most Western music. This scale is called diatonic. The traditional mountain dulcimer is diatonic in nature, it's built around the seven steps of a seven-note scale. Each note of the scale has its own personality through chords and other scales that it can influence.

Some notes on the above tablature. I'm experimenting with a different way of formatting for chromatic dulcimer. You'll see a fourth line at the bottom; just ignore it. Think of it as a place to rest your pick. There are only three lines/strings of tablature data - also, for chromatic dulcimer, I'm using the straight numbering system - which is 1 through 12 for the frets. Most of you went with positioning dots at the 3, 5, 7, 9, and double at the 12 as is standard for guitars. Though the tuning is different, by approaching chromatic dulcimer this way will open up a world of discovery for you on other instruments as well. Forget about the + symbol for the time being - it's hard work on the eyes.

Learn your scales, know where every instance of the note lives on the fretboard. Start with the first octave (7th fret for diatonic, 12th for chromatic.) Make sure you're tuned CGC for diatonic and DAD for chromatic. We're gonna hang out in the key of C for a while and see what we can come up with. For now, let's consider this. We're building chords in triads. Each note of the scale has a number. We're in the key of C.

C - D - E - F - G - A - B

I - ii - iii - IV -V - vi - vii°

If you build a chord out of every other note in the C scale, you get either major or minor chords depending on the various relationships.

C -> E -> G = C Major

D -> F -> A = D minor

E -> G -> B = E minor - etc.

This is just how the math works out. I, IV, V will be major scales/chords and lowercase ii, iii, vi will be minor scales/chords with vii° representing something called a diminished which is either a minor chord with a flattened fifth note or a scale based off of the Locrian mode. Playing through the tablature will show you what each of the possible chords sound like for not only the key of C but for C minor as well. What I'm doing is setting up some muscle-memory exercises for working the scales into patterns. So instead of going to the relative minor scale of C (which would be A minor), we're going to make changes to the major scale in order to play three different types of minor scales; natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor.

Beyond Three Notes

This is where the ear-training will really pay off. By the time you began playing in C minor (if you have a 1+ fret on diatonic) you have crossed the threshold between diatonic and chromatic. Once over, it's a world full of rich, complex chords that are possible on both diatonic and chromatic. The key here is: learning the scales first, knowing where the notes are located across two octaves of fretboard, then beginning to build chords using those memorized notes. Exploring the number of ways that a chord can be not only shifted and molded within itself, but also how certain movements of chords work more favorably than others.

To review, based on a seven-note scale, a chord is made up of at least three notes - a root, a third and a fifth. Some of those notes can go up or down a half step (sharp or flat #/b ) and create other kinds of chords. Finally, you can add other notes for color.

Major chord - R (root) + 3rd + 5th

Minor chord - R + minor 3rd (down a half step) + 5th

Seventh chord - R + 3rd - 5th + minor 7th

Major Seventh chord - R + 3rd + 5th + Major 7th

Minor Seventh chord - R + minor 3rd + 5th + minor 7th

You can use rootless voicings if working in three string mode - dropping the root is often enough.

Remember:

L-Shaped chords have the root of the chord on the bass string (1st position - non inverted)

Slant-Shaped chords have the root on the middle string (1st position - non inverted)

Extended-Slant-Shaped chords have the root on the melody string (1st position - non inverted)

During your own chordal explorations, try moving the root, the 3 and the 5 around. Half-steps on the dulcimer are the narrow spaces on the fretboard. Two of those spaces fit within one of the wide spaces on diatonic fretboards. Where ever there is a wide space, there is a fret missing (though some people have put some back in, like the 6+ the 1+, etc.)

The final exercise, scale harmonies - is a great exercise for exploring the variety of color chords available to you on chromatic dulcimer.

Diatonic dulcimers - experiment with second inversion chord shapes to see how that changes the texture and feeling of your chords. Inversions in DAD tuning are easy since it's a symmetrical tuning (234 D-chord becomes 432 D-chord with lower bass tone)

Next up we'll look at chord movement and melody!

New Year's Night

Every New Year's Eve, it's just about the same thing. I have to work on something and not just be content to sit back and let the year roll in. Why? Might be lots of reasons.

Still, keeping with a basic spirit of "sharing is caring", I posted a new track tonight called "New Year's Night" which probably won't stay as it is, but has risen out of two days that required me to embrace the new recording set-up.

The track isn't done, by any means - just my first emotional rendering for the new year. Equal parts texture and tension, it speaks of the ease of rolling in loosely-defined meadows before buckling down and allowing the inner monologue to kick in. What do you think?

Retrointrospection: In Brief

Just exactly who reads this stuff, anyway? If you're reading this, please leave a comment. Want to see if this thing is working. You've got plenty of interesting stops on the Information Superhighway to make, so I'm chuffed to bits that you've chosen to stop and have a scone or two here in my own little ghetto of the grid.

"Let There Be Peace On Earth" was released this month after missing the opportunity to release it during last year's holiday season. It features the incredible pipes of Benjamin Dehart: The Cracker Tenor and you can check it out here, if you haven't already.

Also, if you missed the album that flew under the radar, check it out here.
A project for the good people at Folkcraft Instruments.

Christmas is over. New Year's Eve is never a big deal around this household. A couple of movies. A bottle (or three) of bubbly. Kiss. Snuggle. Chill.

What this means is: time to dig in.

There's lots of exciting new stuff that's been developing over the past month or so and it's all been kept very under the hat. I'm looking forward to the Key West Dulcimer Fest in January, of course hoping that our good weather isn't on back-order come that third week.

Looking back on the past year, I see a lot of those days spent planning were put to good use. That just reinforces the time that I spend studying. Researching, working through test books and memorizing elements of music theory. Practicing scales, bouncing improvisations off of the wall. Sitting at the computer for infinite stretches of time putting it out into the universe; data salvo!

Times are tough all over and they're going to get tougher before they get better. That, coupled together with the ongoing studio improvements here at Casa de Milagro has seen a sort of bittersweet decision to sell a lot of my dulcimer collection to raise funds for equipment upgrades. To be fair, these were instruments that were not being played on a regular basis and would probably only be engaged on special occasions in the foreseeable future, though they'd all seen their share of stage-time. They each went to good homes where they'll be loved and played as a primary instrument, meanwhile leaving me with enough cash to do some shopping.

What I got (and what's on the table) will be the focus of the next couple of blog posts as we begin a brand new year of renewed production.

For everybody who reads this blog, watches "Dulcimerica", listens to my music or attends my workshops; if you've paid any attention to me this year: thank you. Somewhere between time wasted and a worthwhile time spent is a place where everyone is grooving to the same beat. Happy New Year and many blessings to you for a great 2011! The beat goes on.


If this year was any kind of forecast, then 2011 is going to be a great one for everybody (keep putting that good mojo out into the universe.)

"Dulcimerica: Volume 2" - NOW AVAILABLE!

Now available! You can preview all the tracks and download two full tracks as well.

The first 30 copies are signed and numbered - plus no shipping! I'll have some this week at McWell's for the December 8th edition of The Pub Thang.

The Dive Chronicles - "Speechless"

As production has once again resumed on "Dive!", I'll be posting some of the process here so you can get an idea of how this stuff comes together.

Above is a perfect example of how it starts - or not. Basically, this latest tune evolved out of playing a riff on the chromatic mountain dulcimer and then seeing what would happen with it after awhile - what kind of inspiration would come out of the notes. After laying down a basic drum pattern and some bass - it became clear that this would be a rocker of some sort. Seeking a comfortable spot for my voice to begin creating melody, I laid out some basic changes using piano, which would then get transferred to the chromatic dulcimer. I'm more familiar with piano voicings and part of my learning curve with the chromatic dulcimer is to take those voicings and then make them work with three strings. Or not.

Well, as it stood - I miscalculated the key for this tune - pegging it at F when I later found it to be much more easily sung in Bb. Notice in the scrawlings at the top of the page that I've been careful to write out the chord progressions using scale degrees such as I - IV - iii, etc. That way, if I decided to change keys again I could more quickly transpose the chords and, in some cases, the melody (which, in fact, happened.)

The tune, called "Speechless", takes some unusual twists and turns, but I wanted to use chord leading to make it feel more natural. Chord leading refers to the fact that some chords naturally lead to other chords.

For example, I'm beginning the tune in an odd way:

V - V - II - V
Fsus - F - C - F

Instead of starting on the I - which would be Bb - I've begun with a chord based on the V - which happens to be the 5th of the root chord. (Bb - D - F are the ingredients of a Bb major chord.)

Getting into the tune gets a bit more conventional. These scale degrees are based on the Bb major scale, which is: Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - A. Remember that the chords and scales built off of the 1st, 4th and 5th notes tend to be major while the 2nd, 3rd and 6th tend to be minor with the 7th being diminished.

I - V - II- V
BbMaj7 - FMaj7 - C - FMaj7

The above is pretty much the verse progression. I've kept the scale degrees simple, even though I've chosen to use extensions on the I and V chords. Why not the II chord? Sounded too complicated. The progression moves three times this way, and the final way replaces the last V chord with a minor third or Dm. To my ears, with so much in a major key - the minor chord signals that something big and dramatic is coming in the chorus.

I - iii-II - I
Bb - Dm - C - Bb

There you have the chords of the chorus. It repeats twice before heading back into the verse. Pretty simple, eh? Except for the second time through when and additional Bbm6 chord serves as a very dramatic transition to the bridge.

Let me tell you, I had a devil of a time trying to figure out where the bridge was going to go after that crazy bit of color - and, after trying a number of things - this is what I ended up with:

iii-VI -II - VII -VII-iii -IV - vi - VII - VII
Dm - G - C - Asus - A - Dm - E - Gm - Asus - A

Here, I've completely leapt outside of the box and gone with changes that are very classical in a nature. Take notice of the Major VI - a recurring Major II and a Major VII. I've also included a minor VI as well - to really create a bit of urgency and darkness.

After this - the tune goes to the chorus progressions for a solo run and then one more pass through the chorus before ending. At just over three minutes long, it's probably one of my shortest tunes, yet it packs a powerful punch. Once I get a bit more polish on the tracks, I'll post it as an exclusive streaming track for members of my mailing list (so you still have time to sign up if you haven't done so already! You can use the form at the top left of this page.) In the meantime, here are the lyrics:

Speechless
Music and Lyrics by Bing Futch
© Copyright 2010 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.

The door's closed, the light's out
and we got nothing to talk about
on my side of a one way street
don't know why I feel so incomplete

so much pain in your eyes
and it's my fault, one too many lies
in the darkness with a flashlight
searching for the words to make it right

CHORUS

oh - mercy me
can you see this? (see this)
oh - can't you see
that I'm speechless (speechless)

remember when we used to
talk for hours, I felt so close to you
but emotions met with violence,
damned the flow, now there's nothing but silence

and the time comes, and the time goes
still I'm comin' up with nothing but zeroes
forgive me or please try
let words, like rain, fall from the sky

CHORUS

oh - mercy me
can you see this? (see this)
oh - can't you see
that I'm speechless (speechless)

there's no way to begin
we can't go back again
the signs say that we're through
because of what I've done
I've ripped out my own tongue
how am I supposed to talk to you?

CHORUS

oh - mercy me
can you see this? (see this)
oh - can't you see
that I'm speechless (speechless)


That's it for this week - I've got quite a few new tracks for "Dulcimerica: Volume 2" recorded this week and will be working quickly to have that one mastered before the end of December. "Dive!", however, will continue to flow as I write new tunes and work with the ones already in production. I hope this process serves to shine a light on how songs go from idea to recording and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to post them to the threads here.

Until next time -

"Juke Joint Hen" with Stephen Seifert at Suwannee Dulcimer Retreat!

Getting down to it.

Just got back from the Suwannee Dulcimer Retreat in White Springs, Florida and had a sweet time hanging out, playing music, teaching under the clear blue sky and catching up with friends old and new. I missed last year due to a scheduling conflict, so it was nice to be back. Stephen Seifert and I once again paired up on a tune. This time it was my already pretty messed-with version of "Cluck Old Hen" that I've tended to title "Juke Joint Hen." With him on bass dulcimer, we took it around the block a few times.

This was also the second time that I've taught a workshop on performing with your mountain dulcimer and it's been incredible, not only to see people stepping up and wanting to take their music in front of audiences but also, to have the environment to pause and reflect on my own journey from fledgling musician to professional performer. One of the key themes that is brought up has to do with The Gift. No matter what your spiritual beliefs might be, the living entity that is Music comes from some place deep within the soul which, in turn, takes its cue from the Divine. Music is a pretty magical thing, in playing, in listening, in communicating and sharing; it's probably the best thing that we engage in as humans. So, in taking this Gift that we've all been given and bringing it forth to share with others, you should be bold in your efforts. Banish away all fear, all butterflies and doubts, all hesitance and anxiety. For the gift of the Divine has been entrusted to you for the purpose of sharing with others. Whenever you sing or pick up an instrument and begin to communicate in that wonderful language, you are doing exactly what you need to be doing at that time. You belong there doing it, where ever you might be, and it doesn't matter whether that music is accepted or rejected - that's not for you to worry about. Just put it out into the world. You plant the seeds and someone else will water the garden.

11th Annual Patrick Smith Day

This Saturday, November 20th, I'll be participating in the 11th Annual Patrick Smith Day at Forever Florida in St. Cloud, Florida. It'll be a fun day of "storytelling, arts and crafts vendors, musical performances and special cracker cattle and horse demonstrations. It's the perfect day to enjoy the special "A Land Remembered" Coach Safari through Florida's wilderness, the setting for so many of Patrick Smith's great literary works."

Starting at 1pm and running into the evening, the mini music festival will include some of the best local folk and bluegrass musicians performing in a beautiful outdoor venue. This will be the third year in a row that I've participated in the fall festival at Forever Florida and it's really a beautiful time all around. I'll be taking the stage at 3 p.m.

The Pub Thang

"The Pub Thang", that odd mixture of traditional and modern music that I take to pubs, clubs, bars and grills now has its own Facebook page! Be sure to give it a "Like" if you've ever enjoyed the show (or want to) and help get it filtered out into the Facebook universe! Tomorrow night's show (November 17th at 7 pm) will feature special guest Big Ron Betts as well as the usual treat of The Simon Time Trivia Show beginning at 8 pm. 50 cent wings, drink specials and a good-timing crowd make for a fun weekly happening in Orlando! Hope to see you there!

Dulcimerica 179!

NEW Dulcimerica! #178

Catching Up With Dulcimerica

On Vacation

I've been relaxing for the first time in months! So updates have been either:

a) slow

b) few

c) nonexistent.

But that will change in November when I officially get back on track. In the meantime, I do believe the backyard hammock is calling.

Wrestling with it

This week marks the last of the major tour excursions for this year as I travel back to Beaumont, Texas for a show at the Logon Cafe this coming Saturday night and then carry on to Austin for a show there (while staying with Scandinavian dulcimer virtuoso Mark Gilston) and finally wrapping things up in Bennington, Oklahoma at the Winter Creek Reunion for an unprecedented second year in a row.

Besides my regular Wednesday night gig at McWell's and two more festival gigs in November, I'm pretty much done for the year 2010, which means a few very important things. More time spent at home with the family, in the garden and catching up on all the new projects that have been brewing over the past year. Honestly? I'm behind on my list of things to do. But this has been the busiest year of my career and a highly rewarding one - I just wish I had staff! Working for myself is highly rewarding, but you begin to reach a diminishing law of returns; a cap on what is eventually possible because one person can only do so much. Between making music, teaching, keeping tabs on all the administrative stuff, booking shows and festivals, shooting and editing video, etc., it feels sometimes like I'm wrestling alligators.

That's why I've slowly been removing things from my plate all season and trying to find a way to delegate some of what I do to others. That began in earnest this week as I discovered someone to take over designing reigns on my oh-so-cluttered website. What a blessing that is! I've also made a pretty big decision, though it wasn't too difficult. Except for my own productions, I'm no longer doing any videography work. It just takes too much time away from music, which has largely been the main focus for a couple of years. I may do the occasional outside project, if the price is right, but for the most part it will all be internal shoots and edits.

That frees up even more time to write, rehearse, teach and otherwise continue to "become." It's been incredibly humbling and flattering to have students, festival organizers, fellow instructors, performers and fans of music lay kudos on me, some with the idea that I've reached the top of my game. However, every day that I live and breathe is spent climbing the mountain because, as an artist, plateaus aren't the way to go. It should never be "it" - you should never have "enough." There's always room for improvement, clarification, imagining the possibilities. That sort of thing takes time and effort, continuously pushing for better. Every once in a while it's good to sit back and reflect upon the journey thus far, seeing how far you've come and what you've accomplished. Then, when you've caught your breath and become appreciative of your trip up the mountain, it's time to grab ahold of some rock and start climbing towards the next ledge heading skyward. Does the ascent ever cease? Not while you breathe, it shouldn't. The zenith isn't so much insurmountable as it is taller than your dreams. For each level you attain, your dreams shift and change, grow more vivid and include bigger things. And while you can always sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors, there's always just a little something else that will plus that experience.

This fall is going to be a serious sort of mountain climbing - Half-Dome in scope. So many things I still wish to accomplish and won't be able to until I take slow, methodical action to engage the side of the cliff and put some sweat into it. Some of that may involve sitting down with an instrument and studying. Some parts may be simply existing with others, sharing life's moments and gaining inspiration from the day to day, or weeding in the garden and gathering wisdom from the soil. The School of Life is everywhere and all we have to do is look and apply.

But first, we have to make room for it in our rucksacks, or it will just fall down the side of the mountain. And at the bottom of the mountain are just a bunch of alligators, ready to be wrestled.

Dive!: The Update

As I posted here, the album Dive! is an ongoing work of raw passion that is serving as my personal psychotherapy. I hope it's enjoyable to listen to - at the same time that I'm not terribly concerned with that. The line between art and entertainment is very much intact with this one.

That said, it's taking quite a while to write and record for a number of reasons and I'm not going to rush it. Originally planned as a spring release, then a fall debut, now - I'm quite sure that it's going to drop when it damn well wants to, even though we're quickly approaching a usable number of tracks. It just doesn't feel complete yet - and until it does, work will continue. Some other recordings may surface before then - in fact, I've decided on a couple of concepts that will probably be out in time for Christmas, but we'll see. One will be called "xxx Days" and will reflect a stretch of recording whatever leaps into my mind for x number of days (be very scared of that one.) The other will be an instrumental album of lullabies. The first tune, "Dare To Dream" began to take form yesterday.

It's been a bit of a tug-of-war, recording Dive! As I've explained to a few people, it hearkens back the Castaway trilogy that I released in the late 80's - songs of such brutal honesty and vein-opening candor that I can't believe anyone actually bought the stuff. But that was the artistic outpouring of a young twenty-something still not quite sure what the deal in life was all about. Dive! is more reflective and, perhaps, still very restless. My biggest worry is that people will either be put off by the edge of it, or shocked by the admissions, or even still, convinced that everything they hear will be a statement of absolute fact and conviction. Some of this stuff will be fictional - and then again, some of it won't be. There's the danger - in trusting that people will know the difference.

Basically, I don't care.

To paraphrase Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas, what you've got in you, bring it forth and it will save you. What you've got in you, keep it hidden and it will kill you. Music is a pressure release, an avenue of emotion, and for so long, ever since those early records, I've kept myself just a little bit removed from the subject matter I sing. This summer, I began to take down the shields, open the curtains and once again let it all hang out. The response has been encouraging, and with that behind me - Dive! is once again chugging into balls-out territory.

Some of the songs I thought would be on the record are no longer passing muster, tunes like "April Fools" and "I Am An Artist". They've gone by the wayside in favor of fresher, more accurate tunes that will weave all of the album together into something that actually makes sense when listened to as a whole. The latest addition to the roster came about as kind of a surprise and basically wrote itself. Cobbled together and cannibalized out of a tune called "Your Dreams And You" which had lyrics written in October of 2006, the basic feel and chord changes came to me this morning while I was preparing to continue work on the lullaby waltz "Dare To Dream." Obeying the muse, and thanking her for returning this way, I leapt right into it, knowing that a chromatic dulcimer would be needed for the changes. Influenced by the great Sam Phillips and urged on by the recent work of She & Him, it's a deceptively perky tune about the falling away of scales, the healing of wounds through deliberate emotional self-mutilation; the retraining of a barren heart. This is "How To Cry":


How To Cry
Music and Lyrics by Bing Futch
© Copyright 2010 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.

raindrops are falling from the sky
blue eyes have come to say goodbye
no reason to be upset
I've finally gotten used to it - since you taught me how to cry

I couldn't move and couldn't speak
back then I was such a freak
didn't know and sure didn't care if
the world reflected in my stare took notice - till you taught me how to cry

bridge -

every window shows a scene
close enough to touch, and when you do
fingers leave a smudge on the glass in between
your dreams and you

you came from miles and miles away,
didn't even know the time of day
found you sleeping in my yard
come, let's go stroll the boulevard - won't you teach me how to cry?

bridge -

raindrops are falling from the sky
this is where love comes to die
right here on the highest shelf
what's wrong, don't you recognize yourself - the one who taught me how to cry?
you're the one that taught me how to cry

You can hear a rough demo of this tune over at Reverbnation.

Now that things have slowed down a bit, I expect production to pick up on this album and the other projects. I've decided NOT to produce any more Mountain Dulcimer In The Band books until these recordings are finished. It's hard enough to focus without too many things going on at once.

That is the update - and I'm going back to working on this tune.

Dulcimerica 168 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 10"

Videos from Bluegrass Creek

2010 Bluegrass Creek with Bing and Guy George.wmv

Aloha from Evansville, Indiana!

Check out video of me and Guy George performing "Shady Grove" and "Road To Lisdoonvarna" at Bluegrass Creek Dulcimer Festival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir_LQmkHffI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This e-mail was brought to you by aloha and iPhone!

Travel

It's interesting what playing mountain dulcimer in an airport will do. People move closer to you, ask questions, and in what is ultimately the biggest blessing, thank you for playing.

It's a great way to pass the time between flights and also an opportune moment to introduce or re-introduce the instrument to people. One of my favorite things about flying with the dulcimer.

Cabin doors are closing - next stop: Evansville, Indiana.

Dulcimerica 167 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 9"

Manitou music

We're en route to Denver after a crazy couple of days at the Mountain Music Festival. Manitou, the group, had a semi-reunion in the town where we were first brought together.

Dave Batti and Quintin Stephens weren't able to join us, but with the remaining collective (me, Robert Force, Roger Zimish, Bud Ford III and Judy Piazza.) on-stage, coupled with the magic of the area's energy, the spirit returned and the music flowed as it has always.

It's hard to blog in the vehicle, so until Denver....

Hello from Manitou Springs

Dulcimerica Updates!

Back On The Mountain

Jae and I rode into Black Mountain, North Carolina while the Sourwood Festival was in full swing. The tiny downtown was stacked with traffic as people sought parking spaces. We were headed to Cabin Creek Lodge, our digs for the weekend during which Steve and Kay Fernandez would renew their wedding vows high up on the mountain. Steve and Kay are good friends and have had me over at their Orlando home for a couple of house concerts - they also come out regularly to see me at Dicey Reilly's (now, once again, called O'Doherty's) and had asked me to participate in their ceremony, providing music.

Not only was it an honor to do so, but they also booked me into the Town Pump Tavern for a post-ceremony/reception party. The Town Pump Tavern has been around for 30 years and is a magical little place with a warm feel (partially due to the lay-lines that intersect at the stage.)

Just prior to our time in Black Mountain, Jae and I had stopped in Asheville and spent a couple of days there exploring the place. It was great to be back in the Swannanoa Valley and to be sharing it with her - even though the winding roads to get here nearly took her out. An avowed flatlander, Jae has a low tolerance for heights and curves.

All in all, it made for a magical weekend and the pictures from this North Carolina leg of the tour can be found here.

The Town Pump Tavern gig was a lot of fun (again, I played for three hours straight before a broken string forced me to take a four minute pause) and I'm looking forward to coming back some day. In the meantime, the next gigs on the horizon are this coming Friday at McWell's in Orlando; Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom on August 31st with Manitou and a return to The Logon Cafe in Beaumont, Texas on September 25th! Details on these shows can be found by checking out my gig calendar at http://tinyurl.com/bingcalendar!

Have a great week and thanks to everyone who made this weekend such a blast!

Ending On A High Note

The Swannanoa Gathering rolls out over the course of five weeks in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with the final week devoted to the music of mountain and hammered dulcimer. It was my first time experiencing this mix of community, family, instruction and beauty, leaving me breathless from the journey. Besides wonderful students in intensive workshops throughout the week, the fantastic fellowship among everyone, the gorgeous campus of Warren Wilson College and incredible food in the cafeteria and during mid-morning breaks, there was plenty of jamming to be had and evening concerts that entertained as well as enlightened. I, once again, had the distinct pleasure of sharing the stage with Ken Bloom and Ken Kolodner at the Monday night instructor concert, as well as joining Kolodner and Rob Brereton during the informal lunchtime concert series.

Jae and I are actually heading back up to this area of North Carolina this weekend to spend time with friends who are having a vow rededication ceremony in the mountains. I'm looking forward to sharing this beautiful spot of the country with my wife and also getting a chance to explore it some more, as I never left the campus during the week, picking and visiting and hanging around near the beer tent with the other students and instructors (now, a dulcimer festival with a beer tent, that's a novel idea!)

Next up: I'll be starting early tomorrow night at McWell's (5 pm) and performing throughout the evening for Simon Time Trivia, which begins at 8 pm. Then, Manitou is having a partial reunion in Manitou Springs, Colorado on Saturday, August 28th where our album "In The Garden Of The Gods" was recorded, followed by a gig at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver on Tuesday, August 31st. After that, I'm actually home for awhile (imagine that.)

I'm working on getting back into the groove of things - including updating "Dulcimerica" - but for now, I'll settle for cleaning the studio, getting caught up with e-mail and, of course, picking.

Texas Sized Fun!

Well, to say that I had a blast in Texas is sort of understating the plot point. The Bayou City Music Festival was a lot of fun in Houston while t.v. appearances, workshops and a wild three-hour show at the Logon Cafe organized by Linda and Barry Evans of Sweet Sounds Dulcimer Shop was an exciting end to this stopover in the Lone Star State. I'll be back in September. Check out my three friends Gwennie (with floppy ears), Molly (all shaved up) and Briona (whom you can't miss, even if you tried.)



Now, I'm en route to Kentucky Music Weekend in Louisville. Here's a great summation of what I'll be doing there along with Stephen Seifert, from Stephen's page:

"Bing Futch and I will be teaching, performing, and contest judging THIS WEEKEND at Kentucky Music Weekend 2010 in Louisville, KY. Here's the details:
Mountain Dulcimer Workshops

10 to 11:30 AM, Saturday, July 31 - Bing Futch and I are each preparing a 90-minute lesson plan covering a kind of greatest hits of each of our most popular topics. ($20 per person) We are both presenting our material in a way that easily scales from novice to intermediate. Before we begin, we'll each talk briefly about what we're going to teach so we can split into separate groups. In addition, we will both be available throughout the weekend for private lessons at $25 per half hour. If you want to be a better player, we want to help. Just let us know.

Performances

I will be performing a 20 minute set during Friday night's concert while Bing will be performing a 20 minute set during Saturday night's concert. You might catch us both sitting in on other sets as well.
Contest

I don't care how good a player you think or don't think you are. Come to this contest and play something you've been playing for a while. Don't try anything new. Some years, there's not very many contenders. Seriously, come give it a shot."

Thanks, Steve!

Now, I'm checked into a place in Forest, Mississippi where there is a Mexican restaurant within sight across the parking lot. How cool is that? Looks like I have a date with destiny. See you soon.