iasi2424

Remember the games we'd play, catching leaves as they fell on those windy fall days? I wrote this tune yesterday after getting plunked on the head by an acorn, and am playing it on a baritone dulcimette made by Ron Ewing of walnut and red cedar and tuned G #D #g#.

I need a better mic; this dulcimer sounds way better live than it does recorded. Here are fingerstyle versions of the Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) tune "Fanny Power" and the traditional "Will Ye No Come Back Again."

I am playing a Blue Lion IC tuned C #G #c#.

I dedicate this tune to Bagoon, who made a trip up north but I was too busy to see him. Love ya, brother. This is a Charles Mingus tune I learned off a CD by Maceo Parker. I am playing a mountain dulcimer tuned DAd and made of cherry and spruce by Rick Probst.

Traditional Cajun waltz sung in French (What can I do? I studied French, not Cajun). I am playing a lacewood Modern Mountain Dulcimer tuned DAd. I learned this tune from the Savoy/Balfa/Menard album En Bas du Chêne Vert/Under a Green Oak Tree.

My playing's a bit sloppy, but here is a Haitian méringue by the violinist Arthur Duroseau called "Bonne Humeur," which means "good mood." I am playing a lacewood Modern Mountain Dulcimer tuned DAd.

I play a fingerpicking arrangement of the old Carter Family song "Give me the Roses While I Live" on a brand new octave dulcimer made by David Beede. I learned the song from Stephen Seifert at the Dulcimer School.

For David Beede: http://www.davidbeede.com./

For Stephen Seifert: http://stephenseifert.com/

For the Dulcimer School: http://www.dulcimerschool.com/

This traditional Irish reel is played on a mountain dulcimer made of cherry and redwood by Terry McCafferty and tuned DAd. I originally learned the song from a lesson by Steve Eulberg at Dulcimer Crossing.
For Dulcimer Crossing: http://www.dulcimercrossing.com/
For McCafferty Dulcimers: https://www.mccaffertydulcimers.com/

This version of "We Three Kings" is based on a lesson Stephen Seifert posted at the Dulcimer School. I am playing a lacewood Modern Mountain Dulcimer tuned DAd with a capo on the first fret, putting me in the keys of Em and G.

For Stephen Seifert: http://stephenseifert.com/
For the Dulcimer School: http://dulcimerschool.com/
For Modern Mountain Dulcimers: http://www.modernmountaindulcimer.com/

This traditional fiddle tune was used by Woody Guthrie as the melody for "Union Maid." My version here owes a lot to another dulcimer version by R.N. Lackey. I am playing a Modern Mountain Dulcimer made of Lacewood and tuned DAd.

This is a South African song of freedom which I learned at the Redwood Dulcimer Day in August 2012 from Neal Hellman, who is working on a book of songs from around the world arranged for the mountain dulcimer. Look for his new book and check out his other music and arrangements at Gourd Music: http://www.gourd.com/.

Don't listen to this. Listen to Stephen Seifert's version at http://youtu.be/ZiJtEsPG8Ls. About 2 years ago I bought an instructional DVD from him on how to play this 19th-century hymn. After a couple of weeks I had gotten about half way through the intermediate part of the lesson and gave up. Someday soon I'll go back and work on it some more, but this is what I have so far. The second verse strays a bit from Stephen's arrangement, but my fingers are not as nimble as his.

I am playing a Modern Mountain Dulcimer made of lacewood and tuned DAd.
Sorry about what appears as flickering lights. I don't know what's up with that.

For Stephen Seifert: http://stephenseifert.com/

Three years ago today I first got a mountain dulcimer. This is the second of three videos I am posting today to celebrate the event. My version of "Home on the Range" is inspired by Stephen Seifert's version available at the Dulcimer School.

For the Dulcimer School: http://www.dulcimerschool.com/