To celebrate, this month I learned his composition, "Minuetto".
"Minuetto" was the featured tune on Ken Kolodner's Sandbridge 2016 calendar (designed by Laurie McCarriar, aka Artist Geek), and one of my goals for the month of January as outlined in my January 27 post. I learned it and I played it today.
Need proof? I recorded it and posted it to the the Sandbridge Dulcimer Retreat Facebook page. How's that for accountability?
Happy birthday, Johann Joachim Quantz! Click on his name to read more about this German flute-playing composer.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
CTO ...Defending Music
Check This Out ... "Music does not need to make excuses for itself, as if it had no intrinsic worth. It does not have to dress itself up in test-taking robes or mathematical masks. It has deep, powerful human value, and all of us who love it should be saying so, over and over and over again." Interesting read at Huffington Post. Check it out!
Defending Music Education
Defending Music Education
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
How's it going?
Just a few weeks ago, on January 6, I confidently wrote that I knew what to do to get my practice back on track:
- Set aside time
- Set goals / deadlines
- Get back to basics
- Try something new
- Be persistent
- Be accountable
I would add:
Since January 4, I have logged 28 hours of intentional practice time.
Here what's been happening at the dulcimer in my personal practice time:
January
February
Beat January's practice time.
Increase number of practice sessions with Betsy.
Prepare for gig that's on the February calendar, with Betsy.
Add another Sandbridge 2015 tune.
March
Annual retreat, with friends. Jamming, practicing shared repertoire, and preparation for minor part in public concert, Sparta, NC
Ongoing
Learn all tunes from Sandbridge 2015, deadline October 2016.
- Find inspiration
- Use creative exercises
- Get out with people
- Lean on network
Since January 4, I have logged 28 hours of intentional practice time.
Here what's been happening at the dulcimer in my personal practice time:
January
- Learn new tune: Minuetta This is a bonus Sandbridge tune for me. We didn't learn it in week #3, but it showed up on the January page of the 2016 Sandbridge calendar. Great tune for practicing arpeggios. As such, it's part of the plan to "get back to basics." I will play it on January 30, as directed on the calendar.
- Learn another new tune: Camel Hump This tune was suggested by my music partner, Betsy, in honor of my recent camel ride. It will be a fun addition to our repertoire, plus, it gives me the chance to polish up double-strokes on bounced 16th notes ... another "back to basics" skill.
- Learn Sandbridge 2015 tunes: Half Past Four and Farewell Trion.
- Copy Ken Kolodner's medley: Lady of the Lake - Farewell Trion - Shenandoah Falls. Thanks to music buddy, Bess Crider, who practiced tunes of this medley with me during our stay at John C Campbell Folk School last week.
- And guess what? Ruth Smith was also at JCC Folk School last week. Yes, that was by design! and aren't we the lucky ones? We were all three taking classes NOT related to music, but we did manage to jam a few tunes here and there.
- Keep up repertoire that I share with my music partner, Betsy. Practice regularly with her. We have had two practice sessions this month.
- Play some well-established tunes just for fun.
February
Beat January's practice time.
Increase number of practice sessions with Betsy.
Prepare for gig that's on the February calendar, with Betsy.
Add another Sandbridge 2015 tune.
March
Annual retreat, with friends. Jamming, practicing shared repertoire, and preparation for minor part in public concert, Sparta, NC
Ongoing
Learn all tunes from Sandbridge 2015, deadline October 2016.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
CTO ... Finally! A light-weight hammered dulcimer that never needs tuning
Check This Out ... Hammered dulcimer for iPad and iPhone ... a cheap traveling companion. Sounds good and is really fun!
http://appcordions.com/dulcimers/
http://appcordions.com/dulcimers/
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
No Place for Hammered Dulcimers at WSDF 2016
Below is a copy of the communiqué from the Camel City Strummers, regarding the 2016 Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival.
Warning: It does not contain good news for the hammered dulcimer community.
The Winston Salem Dulcimer Festival is undergoing significant changes. Of most consequence to NC Trapezoids -- This year's festival will be geared to mountain dulcimers only. A sad moment, indeed!
Let us pause for a moment of silence ... but also a moment of gratitude.
Of course, many others have been involved in the planning and execution of this on-going festival, but I dare not attempt to name them at the risk of leaving somebody out!
It all started more than 20 years ago, when the Brookridge Dulcimer Players and Meadows Music started the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival. The Festival was held at the Reynolda Friends Meeting. By 1997, the Festival had already outgrown those facilities. In 1998 it moved to College Park Baptist Church. By 2007, more than 100 students were attending, with 10 instructors, two concerts, and 30-some workshop sessions! Zoom ahead to 2016, and circumstances dictate change.
Many of us hammered dulcimer players are truly sorry to see this good thing come to an end. When will we see our friends, from near and far? Where will we get our dulcimer fix?
We wish our mountain dulcimer playing friends a successful and fun-filled festival, as we look forward to the next big thing in the hammered dulcimer world. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to join forces again down the line.
Here's the communiqué:
2016 Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival
Greetings from the Winston-Salem dulcimer community!
Folks, we’d like to let you know that, despite rumors you may have heard, there will be a Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival this year. There are some changes in store – some minor, some a little larger – but we will be having an event that is, overall, a lot like what you are used to.
The biggest change is that this year’s festival will be for mountain dulcimer only; it will not include hammered dulcimers. This was not an easy decision to make; and there are multiple factors involved in it. We won’t rule out the possibility that this might change, again, in the future; but for this year our approach is basically to “simplify.”
Other changes include a change of venue, and a slight change of date. Both the venue and the date are not far from what’s been the case in the past, so we will consider these “minor” changes. More details on all this in just a bit.
The festival will be a “one-day only” event this year – no Friday night activities are
planned. Everything will take place between Saturday morning, April 30, and Saturday evening at 6:30 (approx).
Last, but not least, another big change in the festival is in the administration of the event. Terry Lefler is stepping away from managing what has become one of the premier dulcimer events in NC. Terry will still be on our advisory board (and we are grateful for his guidance and assistance), but the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival will now be sponsored by the Camel City Strummers, a newly-formed dulcimer club here in “Camel City” USA.
Instructors that we have signed up for this year include: Joe Collins
Larry Conger
Dave Haas
Judy House and Carol Crocker (co-teaching the "beginner" track)
We have a lot of details still to work out for WSDF2016, but we are hard at that right now. Just be sure to go ahead and “Save the Date” on your calendars: Saturday, April 30, in Winston- Salem, NC.
We will send more details as we hammer them out. In the meantime, you can note these sources of info for WSDF:
Warning: It does not contain good news for the hammered dulcimer community.
The Winston Salem Dulcimer Festival is undergoing significant changes. Of most consequence to NC Trapezoids -- This year's festival will be geared to mountain dulcimers only. A sad moment, indeed!
Let us pause for a moment of silence ... but also a moment of gratitude.
- Gratitude for the good friends and memories made at this festival
- Gratitude for the fantastic instruction and the inspirational performances experienced
- Special gratitude for Jeff Sebens (founder) and Terry Lefler, who have each taken their turn running the festival over these many years
Of course, many others have been involved in the planning and execution of this on-going festival, but I dare not attempt to name them at the risk of leaving somebody out!
It all started more than 20 years ago, when the Brookridge Dulcimer Players and Meadows Music started the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival. The Festival was held at the Reynolda Friends Meeting. By 1997, the Festival had already outgrown those facilities. In 1998 it moved to College Park Baptist Church. By 2007, more than 100 students were attending, with 10 instructors, two concerts, and 30-some workshop sessions! Zoom ahead to 2016, and circumstances dictate change.
Many of us hammered dulcimer players are truly sorry to see this good thing come to an end. When will we see our friends, from near and far? Where will we get our dulcimer fix?
We wish our mountain dulcimer playing friends a successful and fun-filled festival, as we look forward to the next big thing in the hammered dulcimer world. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to join forces again down the line.
Here's the communiqué:
2016 Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival
Greetings from the Winston-Salem dulcimer community!
Folks, we’d like to let you know that, despite rumors you may have heard, there will be a Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival this year. There are some changes in store – some minor, some a little larger – but we will be having an event that is, overall, a lot like what you are used to.
The biggest change is that this year’s festival will be for mountain dulcimer only; it will not include hammered dulcimers. This was not an easy decision to make; and there are multiple factors involved in it. We won’t rule out the possibility that this might change, again, in the future; but for this year our approach is basically to “simplify.”
Other changes include a change of venue, and a slight change of date. Both the venue and the date are not far from what’s been the case in the past, so we will consider these “minor” changes. More details on all this in just a bit.
The festival will be a “one-day only” event this year – no Friday night activities are
planned. Everything will take place between Saturday morning, April 30, and Saturday evening at 6:30 (approx).
Last, but not least, another big change in the festival is in the administration of the event. Terry Lefler is stepping away from managing what has become one of the premier dulcimer events in NC. Terry will still be on our advisory board (and we are grateful for his guidance and assistance), but the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival will now be sponsored by the Camel City Strummers, a newly-formed dulcimer club here in “Camel City” USA.
Instructors that we have signed up for this year include: Joe Collins
Larry Conger
Dave Haas
Judy House and Carol Crocker (co-teaching the "beginner" track)
We have a lot of details still to work out for WSDF2016, but we are hard at that right now. Just be sure to go ahead and “Save the Date” on your calendars: Saturday, April 30, in Winston- Salem, NC.
We will send more details as we hammer them out. In the meantime, you can note these sources of info for WSDF:
Website: http://www.winstonsalemdulcimerfestival.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WSDulcimerFest/
Email contact: info@winstonsalemdulcimerfestival.com
Email contact: info@winstonsalemdulcimerfestival.com
Monday, January 18, 2016
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