A Dulcimer Builder Takes A Walk In The Woods
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
It's been utterly gorgeous weather here in Woodburn, yet we've all been staying busy inside our windowless workshop, focused on dulcimer-making activities. But all that busy work doesn't mean we can't get out and enjoy the cool, fall "after-work" hours!
There's a nature preserve with a mile (ish) of nicely wooded trails just north of Woodburn that I like to visit a lot. As I walk through the woods, I keep spotting downed trees and thinking "Ooh - Oak - great body wood for dulcimers," or "Ooh - Birch - more resonance, but a little less warmth," or "Ooh - Walnut - one of my favorite go-to woods for dulcimer making." Unfortunately, I'm sure the landowners would frown on me bringing my chain saw into their woods - even for downed trees. But I can dream, can't I?
This river (pictured above), the Maumee River, starts just a few miles west of Woodburn, and flows through Northwest Ohio before terminating at Lake Erie - 130 miles from where this photo was taken. Huge (36" or more in diameter) shagbark hickory trees line the south side of the river here, and any one of the trees would make several hundred dulcimers. There I go dreaming again...
Here in the shop (the windowless, daylight-free wood shop where we labor to make your dulcimers every day) we've been working on all kinds of neat projects.
What Kept Casey Busy This Week
Casey took several planks of katalox lumber and was able to make up eighteen sets of trim pieces - fretboard veneer, fretboard inlay, racing stripes for the back, and heel cap - for mountain dulcimers.
Each stack has all the parts for trimming out one complete Custom Series dulcimer.
What Is Katalox Lumber?
Katalox is from Central and South America, and is also called "Mexican Ebony." This stuff is hard, hard, and hard. Seriously, it is about 20% harder than ebony, and is quite a bit more dense, even. Aly and I picked out this wood at a lumber yard in Hickory, North Carolina, about six years ago, and the wood has been sitting, uncut, in the Folkcraft shop ever since. We went through a lot of planks of katalox at the lumber yard, picking out the best pieces. And we paid a lot of money for each plank, since we picked out the curliest of them all.
Limited Run Of Dulcimers With Katalox Fretboards
Now that Casey's gotten the rough cutting done, we're going to make some dulcimers with this wood. If you want one of the 18 dulcimers we're going to make with katalox fretboards, email me right away, or order online ASAP. I have a feeling this wood won't last for long. Katalox pricing will be the same as ebony pricing, and will be available only on our Folkcraft Custom Series dulcimers. Click this link and design your own instrument (with ebony as your fretboard veneer choice), then email me after ordering to tell me to swap out the ebony on your order for a nice piece of curly katalox.
Mentioning Hickory, North Carolina, makes me think of all the hickory trees I talked about in the first part of this newsletter. Having a hickory theme wasn't intentional, but it worked out that way this week.
KEANE KOLLECTION BOOK ON SALE THIS WEEK:
DULCIWHISTLE
By John & Karen Keane
Pennywhistle and mountain dulcimer duets? No problem!
Join in the fun with John and Karen Keane as they get your blood pumping with some great original tunes. Full notation is included for the whistle (in D, thank you very much) and the recommended chords are included for your (DAD) mountain dulcimer. Enjoy!
On sale for 1/2 its regular price until next week. Also available (but not on sale) at DulcimerDownloads.com. CLICK HERE to download it.
Thanks for reading, Y'all - have a great weekend, make some music, and go for a walk in the woods. Let me know if you see any cool hickory trees!
Richard Ash, luthier-who-loves-walking-in-the-woods-and-dreaming-about-making-you-dulcimers-from-the-trees-he-sees
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: GREG ROHALL
I’ve always played some type of instrument. Dating back to my high school days, when I played clarinet and bass clarinet, in the concert and marching bands. And more recently, when I’ve played the recorder and then the harmonica, my instruments of choice for many years have been woodwinds.
I’m a visual artist by profession - and have been since the 1980’s - but after a 12-hour day holding a brush, I’m ready for something different... something creative, relaxing, and decidedly not of a visual nature: thus, the music in my world.
After six years of tuning and replacing its numerous strings, yet still wanting to play a stringed instrument, it was goodbye to the hammered dulcimer, and Big Hello’s to both my current involvement with the mountain dulcimer, and to my recently arrived FolkRoots H Series - in walnut with butternut top and a Galax back. My new Folkcraft works perfectly, superbly, and ‘to a T’ for the flat-picking style and Celtic-flavored music to which I am drawn.
Thank you, Richard and staff, for an amazing instrument!
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE GREG & YOU!
HELLO FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE'RE STILL WAITING
TO HEAR FROM SOME OF YOU!
No new Folkcraft Player today, but we are glad to re-feature Greg Rohall, and his FolkRoots H Series walnut-butternut dulcimer.
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep This Thing Going?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Reply to this newsletter email
2) With answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to hearing from you and featuring you in our newsletter real soon!
1. How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
2. When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
3. Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
4. What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE LONGER WE'RE OFFERING A $25 FOLKCRAFT GIFT CARD TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE FOUR EASY QUESTIONS LISTED ABOVE, AND SENDS IN A PHOTO (OF YOU WITH YOUR FOLKCRAFT DULCIMER)
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week Mandy shows you another fun bluesy lick using that 1.5 fret. With these licks we are practicing using the 1.5 fret, practicing our alternate string picking, using our flat picking techniques, and paying attention to specific fingering. Please use these licks as examples to build your own, spice up your arrangements, and remember to have fun! (TAB included below) Just click on the image below to watch.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luthier word for "bunch") of videos for you to watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the full list. Be sure to comment on a video, and subscribe to the channel - either action helps us a LOT with YouTube's suggestion algorithms.
FINGER-PICK STYLE PLAYING - FOR THE MOUNTAIN DULCIMER
by Dana Gruber
This method book from Dana Gruber contains a variety of songs. They're complete pieces, but the focus on each tune isn't the song itself, but rather using the song to develop a specific skill. We've listed the skill introduced for each song next to the title, so you can get a feel for the pace of the book's instruction. Be sure to zoom in on the Table Of Contents image for more information. All songs are in DAD tuning. (32 pages)
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SONGS & TECHNIQUES INCLUDED:
Mary Had A Little Lamb (Playing A Melody)
Mary Had A Little Lamb (Adding Chords)
You Are My Sunshine - Jimmie Davis (More Chords And Picking Individual Notes)
Brahms' Lullaby - Johannes Brahms (Waltz In 3/4 Time)
All Through The Night - Welsh Lullaby (More Pattern Variation)
Believe Me, If All Of Those Endearing Charms - Traditional Irish (Strumming Chords)
Lavender Blue - Traditional English (Some Left Hand Techniques - The "Slide")
Plaisir D'Amour - Giovanni Martini (Plucking Chords)
Slumber My Darling - Stephen Foster (More Variation Of Patterns)
Farewell - Traditional English (More Techniques And Variations Of Patterns)
Wilson's Wilde - Variations On A Theme - Traditional English (Putting It All Together)