I hope you've had a nice Valentine's Day. I think we can love people, pets, etc. but also love doing things. On my refrigerator I have a cutout from a cereal box saying "Do What You Love." It's important to make time to do what you love. Not everyone has time to go on a week long retreat but perhaps fitting in some time for a call to a friend, going for a walk or yes - playing some music can be special.
We had fluffy snowflakes falling yesterday but not much accumulation. Our total snow fall this season has been well below average. Does that mean storms will come over the next month with many inches of snow? We don't want the fire season to be extra scary this year because of less moisture in the soil. Plants will also need moisture to grow. I bought mixed nuts with shells this winter (partly to slow down eating nuts - I love nuts). The nuts are beautiful. I like to imagine a walnut being planted as I play one of my dulcimers made with wood from a walnut tree. I wonder if almond tree wood is every used. A tip for shining up your dulcimer fretboard that might have a scratch or two is to rub a nut on it.
I have several new McSpadden dulcimers in stock. Two have the Ebony fretboards. I was in Africa about ten years ago and was able to go to the trees where ebony comes from. The variety of woods is pretty incredible and for some of the woods that 'grow up to be" a dulcimer have the bonus of beauty and sound. I also like the aspect of the life of the tree bringing spirit and joy to a room - or even healing - to a room and the people in it.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Registration now open for May 5 Dulcimer festival in Duluth
I'm pleased to announce the Dulcimer Day in Duluth registration is now open. I hope you will find plenty of classes to sign up to take to learn more about playing assorted traditional instruments - ranging from either dulcimer to autoharp or even tin whistle. You can also try out Sacred Harp shape note signing or clogging or learn more about more comfortably to use your arms to play your instrument. The Make It class this year will be local origami extraordinaire Todd Olson. The 3 main dulcimer guests are - Lucille Reilly, Sue Carpenter, and Dick Weinberger. Dulcimer Day participants Claudia and Pat Hogan will be teaching the tin whistle class. Find out more by going through the www.DulcimersInDuluth.com website.
I'd also like to thank the sponsors: Visit Duluth, Duluth Grill, Voyageur Lakewalk Inn, Whole Foods Co-op,and Pearl Swanstrom.
Other news - thanks for the nice turnout of 11 players in the beginner mountain dulcimer class I taught through Duluth Community Ed last night. It's great to be passing on the basics to get people playing these wonderful instruments.
I have plenty of dulcimer tab books in stock (and am working on putting together one myself on Norwegian tunes). I now have the Baker's Dozen books listed separately for your convenience. Tablature is a helpful way to play tunes using number. The books are mostly written for dulcimers tuned to DAD but some dabble in other tunings.
Hope you can make it to DDD in May whether it's your first time or you are a returning participant.
I'd also like to thank the sponsors: Visit Duluth, Duluth Grill, Voyageur Lakewalk Inn, Whole Foods Co-op,and Pearl Swanstrom.
Other news - thanks for the nice turnout of 11 players in the beginner mountain dulcimer class I taught through Duluth Community Ed last night. It's great to be passing on the basics to get people playing these wonderful instruments.
I have plenty of dulcimer tab books in stock (and am working on putting together one myself on Norwegian tunes). I now have the Baker's Dozen books listed separately for your convenience. Tablature is a helpful way to play tunes using number. The books are mostly written for dulcimers tuned to DAD but some dabble in other tunings.
Hope you can make it to DDD in May whether it's your first time or you are a returning participant.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Dulcimer Day registration opening soon
The schedule is coming together nicely for Dulcimer Day in Duluth #11 which will be held on the 1st Saturday in May. As soon as the workshop descriptions are in I will be posting the schedule and opening up for registration. DDD is a great chance to get together with dulcimer players throughout the upper MidWest and to hear and learn from wonderful players. Check again soon for signing up.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
More than Dulcimers
Hope you've had a nice holiday. We finally did have snow 2 days before Christmas. The day after Christmas was a record breaker with high temperatures. It's been a strange December with not much snow but there still is more winter to come.
Just wanted to remind everyone that besides dulcimers, I also carry Strumsticks (very portable, played like a dulcimer fret-wise, but you can stand and play) and Bowed Psaltries (notes are written on, simple to play, interesting sound). I also do have assorted percussion instruments : Box Drum (also known as a cajon), wooden spoons, and the always fun to play and watch - Limberjack.
I have a few assorted whistles - the basic pennywhistle and some ocarinas. Ocarinas come with a cord that you can wear this instrument. I have them in plastic and ceramic. I actually just saw on the internet you can even make them out of a carrot - maybe I'll give that a try as a year-end project. I'd wonder about making one out of a chunk of ice. In Ely, MN - about 2 hours north of here - there is a neat snow sculpture weekend in early Feb. Master carvers from other parts of the word turn giant blocks of compacted snow into masterpiece sculptures. There are some blocks for the amateurs. Maybe I'll make a good size dulcimer. Dulcimers make great sounds and actually are neat to look at. One wall in our living room is covered with the assorted hourglass and teardrop dulcimers. So many sweet sounds out of 3 strings.
Speaking of 3, here is a recipe I just used today from a recipe book my brother from Texas gave : Quick Beer Bread: 3 cups of Bisquick, 2 tab of sugar and one room temp beer. Mix (don't over mix) and bake for 20 min at 400F. It was pretty good and yes, nice and easy.
Happy and healthy new year all - time to play Auld Lang Syne.
Just wanted to remind everyone that besides dulcimers, I also carry Strumsticks (very portable, played like a dulcimer fret-wise, but you can stand and play) and Bowed Psaltries (notes are written on, simple to play, interesting sound). I also do have assorted percussion instruments : Box Drum (also known as a cajon), wooden spoons, and the always fun to play and watch - Limberjack.
I have a few assorted whistles - the basic pennywhistle and some ocarinas. Ocarinas come with a cord that you can wear this instrument. I have them in plastic and ceramic. I actually just saw on the internet you can even make them out of a carrot - maybe I'll give that a try as a year-end project. I'd wonder about making one out of a chunk of ice. In Ely, MN - about 2 hours north of here - there is a neat snow sculpture weekend in early Feb. Master carvers from other parts of the word turn giant blocks of compacted snow into masterpiece sculptures. There are some blocks for the amateurs. Maybe I'll make a good size dulcimer. Dulcimers make great sounds and actually are neat to look at. One wall in our living room is covered with the assorted hourglass and teardrop dulcimers. So many sweet sounds out of 3 strings.
Speaking of 3, here is a recipe I just used today from a recipe book my brother from Texas gave : Quick Beer Bread: 3 cups of Bisquick, 2 tab of sugar and one room temp beer. Mix (don't over mix) and bake for 20 min at 400F. It was pretty good and yes, nice and easy.
Happy and healthy new year all - time to play Auld Lang Syne.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Blue - and green, red, yellow - Christmas
Actually, right now Duluth is covered in fog. You can hardly see the house across the street. It's foggy because of the warm, mild weather. The little snow we had melted and we don't have any more in the near forecast. I'd really like to have a blue Christmas - I mean a Blue Sky Christmas. When the sun is out it changes everything. What is nice about Duluth is that we have the beautiful great lake, Lake Superior along miles of our border. The color of the lake changes all the time based on time of day and weather. When the lake is blue, blue and the sky is blue, blue it extra gorgeous. Another wonderful sight is come February when more ice has formed on the lake and some chunks of it displace and stack up on the shore. The chunks have yet another shade of blue - almost a glowing blue. Have you ever seen this? You can also hear the ice chunks move and shift in a bass tone. I do like blue in the winter.
Other colors this time of the year is the Bentleyville light exhibit. It covers our Bayfront Park and has many many lights and figures up. There is a giant steel Christmas tree - tallest in the U.S.? - that lights to the music. There are tunnels of lights, scenes of lights ranging from dinosaurs, to musicians, to 12 days of Christmas, and even golfers. An outdoor ice rink is nearby and the silhouettes of skaters and people walking on ice are there with the lit skyline of Duluth. Pretty nice.
I hope you have a great holiday season and that you color your world with music. Play some Red Wing, some Greensleave, some Yellow Rose of Texas and Orange Blossom Special. Dulcimers had no-calorie sweetness to the day and a sound that is sweet by day and by night.
Other colors this time of the year is the Bentleyville light exhibit. It covers our Bayfront Park and has many many lights and figures up. There is a giant steel Christmas tree - tallest in the U.S.? - that lights to the music. There are tunnels of lights, scenes of lights ranging from dinosaurs, to musicians, to 12 days of Christmas, and even golfers. An outdoor ice rink is nearby and the silhouettes of skaters and people walking on ice are there with the lit skyline of Duluth. Pretty nice.
I hope you have a great holiday season and that you color your world with music. Play some Red Wing, some Greensleave, some Yellow Rose of Texas and Orange Blossom Special. Dulcimers had no-calorie sweetness to the day and a sound that is sweet by day and by night.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
'Tis the Season
Are you hearing holiday music on the radio, in the stores, even out on your main street? It's that time of year for hearing music but even more so to Make Music. Holiday tunes often make great beginner tunes because you already know how the tune goes. Even beginner players will learn Away in a Manger or Jingle Bells quite quickly by ear. Or, if you'd like to use tablature, I have assorted books. Some are simpler (either Christmas volume of the Shelley Stevens Baker's Dozen books)and mostly use your melody string only for the melody versus the Helen Johnson book - Favorite Christmas melodies has a bit more harmony and melody from other strings. I also carry a Christmas song book with duets to add more variation when two or more players are playing together.
I'll be having a dulcimer book at the Holiday Center in Downtown Duluth on Dec 1. I'll have dulcimer books, other instrument books, instruments, CDs and accessories.
As a reminder or if you didn't know I can make custom metal buttons. Maybe you'd want to wear an I Love Dulcimers button or Music Makes the World Go Around. Or, I can also put your picture with you with your dulcimer on a button. Send it over. Custom buttons are only $3.75 and there is no minimum order. Go to WendyUpNorth.com for more information. I also would love to put your pet photo on a button. I also can have the button be a magnet instead for $4 (25c more than the pin button). The button size is 2.25". Maybe your dulcimer club would like their name on a button to wear or to pin to their book bags. Order early.
I'll be having a dulcimer book at the Holiday Center in Downtown Duluth on Dec 1. I'll have dulcimer books, other instrument books, instruments, CDs and accessories.
As a reminder or if you didn't know I can make custom metal buttons. Maybe you'd want to wear an I Love Dulcimers button or Music Makes the World Go Around. Or, I can also put your picture with you with your dulcimer on a button. Send it over. Custom buttons are only $3.75 and there is no minimum order. Go to WendyUpNorth.com for more information. I also would love to put your pet photo on a button. I also can have the button be a magnet instead for $4 (25c more than the pin button). The button size is 2.25". Maybe your dulcimer club would like their name on a button to wear or to pin to their book bags. Order early.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Holiday shopping in November
I'm pleased to announce that I'll have more Dudley Quick Trip capoes in stock again starting the 2nd week of November. I also would like to offer free shipping (in the continental U.S.) on any in-stock order over $150 before November 15. Maybe you'd like to give a dulcimer to a child this year or pick up another one for yourself. I will also have an Open House in December with some specials. Pick up a dulcimer CD to give as a host thank you gift or to give to a school teacher. I do have a couple apple shakers left, too. The Dulcimers In Duluth dulcimer tab books are quite extensive with a tunes ranging from old-time to holiday to classical to hymns. A hand-painted dulcimer wood magnet makes a nice gift for a dulcimer enthusiasts.
Depending on who you are you can call yourself a musician, a folk music fan, or a part of the dulcimer family. All of us are part of carrying on traditions. Play some traditional music, enjoy the sounds from a strummed or fingerpicked dulcimer or let hammers bring out the fun sound on the hammered dulcimer. Add a little vibrational acoustics to your day. I'll end with an adventure from last weekend. In Duluth, there is a place along Skyline Parkway in a park area called Twin Ponds. Enger Tower sits up on a hill from the location. My husband and I happened to go under the bridge separating the 2 ponds after we were caught in the rain. I started doing a little singing and the acoustics were pretty neat - both the bridge and the water made the voice ring. For the last 2 weekends I've invited people to sing under the bridge. Seven people joined it over the 2 sessions for a little chanting on 'aut(d)umn, welcome, flow and other words. Pretty cool. Now I want to go back again before it's too cold and bring an ocarina and yes, a dulcimer, too.
Depending on who you are you can call yourself a musician, a folk music fan, or a part of the dulcimer family. All of us are part of carrying on traditions. Play some traditional music, enjoy the sounds from a strummed or fingerpicked dulcimer or let hammers bring out the fun sound on the hammered dulcimer. Add a little vibrational acoustics to your day. I'll end with an adventure from last weekend. In Duluth, there is a place along Skyline Parkway in a park area called Twin Ponds. Enger Tower sits up on a hill from the location. My husband and I happened to go under the bridge separating the 2 ponds after we were caught in the rain. I started doing a little singing and the acoustics were pretty neat - both the bridge and the water made the voice ring. For the last 2 weekends I've invited people to sing under the bridge. Seven people joined it over the 2 sessions for a little chanting on 'aut(d)umn, welcome, flow and other words. Pretty cool. Now I want to go back again before it's too cold and bring an ocarina and yes, a dulcimer, too.
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