Surprise!
Good Morning, Y'all & Happy Friday!
Some weeks are full of big surprises. Some weeks are filled with the usual smaller/daily surprises. This week we had some of both, which is always fun!
The First Surprise
I'll start with a "daily" surprise. We received a load of lumber this week. We get lumber from one supplier or another several times a month, so having a truck bring us a bunch of walnut (and other woods) isn't any different from our usual. But this time? We had some HUGE planks of wood...
Getting a sense of scale can be tricky. Look in the background of this photo - the yellow forklift isn't a small one, and the red truck is pretty good-sized, too. Our longest boards were 16-feet long, but it was the width, of both the walnut and the African mahogany, that was the surprise! Here's a piece of the mahogany, with my (rather large) hand for scale:
From fingertip to fingertip, my reach is about nine inches. The board pictured above (it's 16-feet long...) is two inches thick, and a bit over 20 inches wide. It cost almost $1000 to buy a plank like this, but it is also a great deal for us. Larger boards like this one allow us to make parts with a lot less waste than we can with smaller boards.
Cheyenne's Been Chunking
Cheyenne spent most of yesterday taking the huge planks down to manageable chunks. His goal was to make "as many clean/knot-free 32-inch chunks as possible." Here's some of the walnut he chunked in the afternoon:
And to give a sense of scale:
It is really rare to see walnut this wide. Walnut lumber is so valuable that the trees are usually harvested long before they reach this size.
And Now For The BIG Surprise
This week's "big" surprise for me? A type of pine tree with needles that turn yellow in the autumn, and fall to the ground, just like the leaves from oaks, maples, and other hardwood trees. Yes, there's a deciduous pine tree! I always thought that all pines had green needles, which stayed green all year long, and never fell off.
So yes, I'm a grown man (by most accounts). I'm not young. I've lived a lot of my life outdoors, and love being in the woods. How have I not known about this amazing tree?
This is a "tamarack" tree. At this point, a lot of you are probably nodding your heads, saying to yourselves (or to your cats) "How could you have NOT known about the tamarack tree, Richard?" I've lived in parts of the country where similar trees (mostly the Western larch) thrive. I've backpacked a lot in Glacier (and Banff, and Jasper) national parks, the Colorado Rockies, and even the AT in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. But not once have I noticed these trees.
Why? Because they look (to untrained eyes, mine included) like regular, normal, stay-green-all-year pine trees. And all of my backpacking trips in Canada, the US Rockies, and the highest parts of the Northern Atlantic states have been in the summertime.
Until the weather changes, and the snow is ready to start collecting on the ground, tamaracks look like plebian year-round-green pine trees. But when it gets chilly? That's when tamarack trees turn spectacularly gorgeous. Here's a closeup:
When I did an inventory of our new Michigan property's trees, I totally missed that some of our pine trees were actually tamarack trees. So now, even with our maple trees' leaves brown and on the ground, and the last of the aspen leaves starting to fall, the tamarack trees are keeping the fall color alive.
But Can You Make A Dulcimer Out Of It?
Many of Y'all know me pretty well, and you guessed where my thought process was heading. And you're correct, if you were wondering if I can make dulcimers from this wood? A quick search of the internet tells me "maybe." I'm definitely going to experiment. From what I read online, it sounds like tamarack lumber has a good combination of stiffness (maybe from the high silica content?) and flexibility (it's a reasonably soft wood, like all pine trees). Visually, it looks like Engelmann spruce, and tamarack's technical specs (hardness, stiffness, grain patterns) seem similar to Engelmann spruce.
I really like Engelmann spruce dulcimer tops, so if tamarack turns out to be an equivalent, that'll be awesome! But I think it'll be a bit stiffer and lighter than Engelmann spruce, somewhere between Engelmann and Sitka spruce, which will be even better. I'll find a big Tamarack on the property next fall and harvest the lumber then. I'll let it air dry in the workshop for a year - at least - and then make a few dulcimers with tamarack tops.
We'll know then. I'll keep you posted!
Thanks for reading, Y'all - have a great weekend.
P.S. I found a great article about tamarack trees, in case you want to know more:
Tell Me More About Tamarack Trees
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: LYNNA JACKSON
I first played a cardboard dulcimer in 1980. Up to that point in my life I had taken lessons on a number of different instruments; recorder, trumpet, guitar, etc. When I heard that first sweet sounding dulcimer I was immediately hooked!
I played that cardboard dulcimer for several years. Then, when I was able, I purchased a handmade, wooden dulcimer from a local dulcimer builder. At the time I didn’t know anyone who played, so I had no one to learn from. However, the sounds I could make, and the few simple songs I taught myself, filled me with joy.
Unfortunately, after a couple of years that dulcimer was destroyed while I wasn’t home. I’ll never know what happened to it, but it wasn't repairable. My life was taking a few twists at that time and having another dulcimer wasn’t possible for many years.
In 2001, my husband, who had heard my dulcimer story exactly once, purchased an Applecreek dulcimer for me. I played the heck out of that Applecreek. I also was fortunate to be able to join a couple of groups of players in Connecticut. Both the Shoreliners and the Nutmeg groups were inspiring and I’ll always be grateful for their encouragement.
During this time I purchased many different dulcimers. None of them was the right instrument for me. Finally in 2004 my husband encouraged me to go to Folkcraft in Winsted, CT, and have a dulcimer made specifically for me. I’ve played many other mountain dulcimers over the years, but my Folkcraft (pictured above) is the instrument that I return to again and again. I believe it has made me a better player because...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF LYNNA'S STORY & ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE LYNNA & YOU!
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM MORE OF YOU!
No new Folkcraft Player to feature again this week (Deep, deep sigh), but we are still glad to be able to re-feature Lynna Jackson. How's life been treating you, Lynna?
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 receiving your submission & 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?
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). IT'S REALLY SO EASY TO DO!
YOU COULD ALSO, AS SAM DID A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, WRITE A LETTER TO THE LUTHIER. NO QUESTIONS TO ANSWER, NO PHOTO REQUIRED. WE JUST LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week Mandy will show you a melody line version of "Silent Night" - sight-reading style. Try to sight read it by playing it back several times, pausing it, and playing through short sections. Have fun! Click on the image below to listen & learn.
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.
1 1/2 FRET: USING IT AND GETTING THE MOST OUT OF IT
by Aaron O'Rourke
So you just bought a new dulcimer (or you're hoping to get one for Christmas this year), and it has a 1 1/2 fret (also known as a 1.5 fret, or a 1* fret). What now? How do you "get used" to it? And what, other than fumble over it, can you do with it?
This book will take you, in a methodical and purposeful way, through the process. It is like having Aaron O'Rourke (arguably one of the best dulcimer players on the planet) sitting at your side, helping you make the transition. How to get used to the fret, how to make some new (or newly-accessible) chords, how to use the fret as a melodic enhancement. This book has it all, and you really ought to know the stuff he's teaching here.
To supplement this already outstanding book, we've included (with your download) a folder that has 28 audio files, with demonstrations of the most important examples and exercises.
Take your playing to the next level, and have some fun at the same time with this amazing book! (50 pages)
Check Out The Great 5-Star Reviews For This Book
✮✮✮✮✮ Great Instructional Book! I found this book easy to follow and very useful in my goal to learn playing my dulcimer with a 1 1/2 fret. I highly recommend this instructor's approach. (Susan - 7/12/23)
✮✮✮✮✮ New Sounds Abound! I have found this book easy to learn from and it's fun to learn the difference in the sound the 1 1/2 fret contributes to songs when used. I am having fun trying this new fret on my new Folkcraft dulcimer and applying it to other songs I find when and where it can be used. (Deborah - 1/21/23)
TOPICS COVERED IN THIS BOOK:
Flatpicking with the 1 1/2 Fret
The D7 Chord
C, F, and Am Chords
Playing in Different Keys Using the 1 1/2 Fret
Making Arrangements Bluesy With the 1 1/2 Fret
Blues Licks and the 1 1/2 Fret