Churning Out Dulcimers Faster Than Santa's Elves
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
We're less than two weeks away from Christmas, and our shop is busy making last-minute instruments and sending them out the door. Almost like Santa's elves are churning out dulcimers, but really, it is just the four of us, taking our good old time making each instrument.
First off in today's newsletter: Wow!!! I asked an innocent question about lichen, and got a real education. Twenty-eight of you wrote back when I asked about this growth:
I figured it was a lichen. But NOOOO, it isn't a lichen at all. It's a...
I'll let one of our MANY erudite responses tell you the answer:
"If you're talking about the log, that's not lichen. It has a look similar to lichen, but that's a mushroom (fungi). The mushroom being the reproductive organs of the fungi, we don't see the fungi growing within the log until it bursts outward to send out spores. That looks similar to turkey tail mushrooms.
But to the question of why on the sapwood only and why on the ends rather than the bark: it's growing on the ends because of the grain of the wood, and that turkey tail and other fungi would push out mushrooms using the path of least resistance. They will eventually push out the side through the bark, too, but this fungi decided that out the end is easier. And why just the sapwood, the heartwood gets rotten slower, even though it's essentially considered "dead wood?" Maybe because of the higher concentration of tannins. Some fungus eat heartwood more than sapwood. So it could just come down to the species of fungi, to explain why this one formed just on the sapwood."
New Dulcimers Added To Our Website
I mentioned the shop being busy. Well, we actually got a handful of new dulcimers up on the website this morning (Wednesday). Click the link below to check them out.
NEW Mountain Dulcimers Ready-To-Ship
This is our "dulcimers ready to ship" page at Folkcraft.com. The top six instruments on this page are new as of a few hours ago. There's a little of something for everyone - including a DulciVox! We haven't been able to keep the DulciVoxes in stock, and I won't be surprised if the one on our "ready to ship" page is gone by the time some of you read this newsletter.
It is fun making instruments for you all, and I know that you have fun making music with our dulcimers. It sure is nice of you to support our craft, and allow us to facilitate your happiness. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Richard Ash, luthier-who-was-always-a-fun-guy-but-now-knows-more-about-fungi-than-he-knew-a-week-ago
P.S. Don't forget about the dulcimer tab books you might want as "case stuffers" for your dulcimer friends. We have 21 music books that are $12 and under. Here's a link to our dulcimer books, sorted by price (lowest showing first). Just click the link below to start shopping:
Dulcimer Tab Books - $12 and Under
Thanks again, Y'all!
Richard
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WENDY HOLLOWAY
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Wendy: I fell in love with the dulcimer in the summer of 2007 at a music teacher workshop. Somehow, I had lived my entire life (25 years at that time) in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina and never seen one, much less played one. There are even people near me who build them, and I had no idea! Our instructor at the workshop let me take a dulcimer home over the weekend to try it out and show my family, and I knew I needed one of my own.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Wendy: That same year, my husband bought me a Folkcraft dulcimer for Christmas, and it is still the one I play almost all the time. It’s all cherry, and has a super sweet mountain twang. On Christmas Day, my new dulcimer travelled with me to every family gathering, and by the end of the day, I had a few carols sounding pretty good!
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Wendy: I play my dulcimer everywhere! I love having an instrument that is so very portable (unlike my piano). I play at home, of course, and enjoy just messing around, figuring out my favorite songs by ear. And I have learned a lot from books, YouTube and online workshops. I play at church sometimes, accompanying songs that I sing with chords. I love how easy the dulcimer is to sing with and how it allows my not-so-loud voice to still be heard (also unlike the piano). I take my dulcimer camping (because it fits in our little camper), and if I play in public, someone is usually going to ask what in the world I am playing.
I also get to play my dulcimer at work! I am a public school music teacher, currently teaching K-2, 6th and 7th grades general music. Several years ago, I was able to purchase a class set of dulcimers through some grant programs. I wanted to make sure the kids growing up here get to play a part of their heritage. Dulcimers are a great way to study music, because getting started is simple, but there is always something more to learn.
Folkcraft: What do you like to do besides playing your dulcimer?
Wendy: Musically speaking, I’ve played piano since third grade and still play all the time. I play for our church and have three private piano students. I also sing at church, at home, in the car, in Walmart… you get the idea! My husband and daughter both love music, too, and sing, whistle, and beat out rhythms all the time.
I also enjoy cooking, baking cookies, reading, camping, writing in notebooks, and just being with family and friends.
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT MORE FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE WENDY & YOU!
HELLO FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - COME JOIN THE FAMILY
We are absolutely delighted to welcome Wendy to our online global dulcimer community today!
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep The Family Growing?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Send an email to: newsletter@folkcraft.com
2) With the 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, we will learn to use a capo to easily play with other instruments or in different keys. Have fun! 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.
DULCIMER TRAINING WHEELS
Simple Arrangements for Mountain Dulcimer
by Melanie & Mack Johnston
Just in case someone gifts you with a dulcimer this Christmas... how about this book of dulcimer sheet music from Melanie & Mack Johnston to go with it? This amazing volume is perfect for the new player. With many (most!) of the popular jam tunes included, this is a really great book.
But what makes it so special? All of the tunes are simplified into quarter notes (or larger values - half and whole!) so that a fresh beginner can "join the jam" and play more than chords! (117 pages) All in DAD Tuning, some capo required.
This book is published by Melanie & Mack Johnston, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SOME OF THE SONGS INCLUDED:
Amazing Grace • Angelina Baker • Black Mountain Rag • Buffalo Gals • Cluck Old Hen • Cold Frosty Morning • Dixie • Dubuque • Eighth Of January • Fisher's Hornpipe • Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss • Forked Deer • Golden Slippers • Ground Hog • Hangman's Reel • Johnson Boys • June Apple • Kitchen Girl • Liberty • Little Liza Jane • Midnight On The Water • Mississippi Sawyer • Nail That Catfish To A Tree • Old Joe Clark • Over The Waterfall • Ragtime Annie • Red-Haired Boy • Sandy River Belle • Shady Grove • Soldier's Joy • Spotted Pony • The Girl I Left Behind Me • Turkey In The Straw • Waterbound • Whiskey Before Breakfast • Wildwood Flower • Year Of Jubilo • Yellow Rose Of Texas