November is here - a great time for music

The new calendar page is up for the new month.  The time change is coming up.  One of the things I do is work at an elementary school as a paraprofessional.  I get to go to the specialist time that that the boys I'm with go to and music class is part of the rotation.  Today was patriotic music.  Great tunes have been with our country for hundreds of years.  Immigrants brought many of the tunes and some were written in the early days of history.  So many instruments have been invented and whether you hear a tune on a piccolo or a dulcimer it's all part of propelling a touch of history into today.  Before people could read they could hum or sing - and some played instruments. 

Maybe you'd like to give a dulcimer a try and America the Beautiful could be one of your first tunes you learn. As Election Day is around the corner you could make new words to This Land is Your Land to include how you feel about the election this year.  Playing with lyrics is yet another fun piece about making music.

My next classes will be in April through Duluth Community Ed and the 1st Saturday in May will be the 16th year for the Dulcimer Day in Duluth festival (I need to work on it soon!).   I have about 70 different dulcimer tab books - books where the songs use numbers as the notes.  Holiday favorites, hymns, folk tune  - and yes patriotic tunes.  Some books come with CDs.   I even have Dulcimer CDs to just listen to some of the great players, including Mark Gilston who won the National Championship as a mountain dulcimer player this year. 

Another fun instrument that I carry is the Limberjack.  I like to bring them along when I play at a local nursing home or at a school.  It's a percussion instrument that anyone can play and it's fun to watch the 'man' dance.  I have been playing with a skeleton "Bob" who is plastic and about 1 foot high.  He can kick high, do the splits, do somersaults, and like one of the 4th graders I work with release his arm or leg (or all 4) temporarily but keep on dancing.  

Okay - before I go - here is a WONDER question for you.  Music really enters us as we listen or even make music.  It resonates through the water in us and again becomes part of us as we listen to it.  Yesterday in a biology class I teach (college level) the topic was energy and we were getting into photosynthesis and cellular respiration.  The last part of the class was a tour of Lake Superior Brewery where yeast are the work crew and the people crew do what they can to make the crew happy.  Music was being played during our tour - a bit of soft rock from the 80s.  Can the yeast here it?  Do they like it?  Does the music or beat of the music influence their output?  Just wondering.  What do you think?   Would some Irish music jam music up the output?  Would classical music reduce their stress - do they feel stress?  Okay, I better end now. 

More music - dulcimers and more

Sam, one of the instructor/performers this year was recently interviewed on a folk music program.  Here is the link to it.
http://folkworks.org/columns/dulcimer-jazz-joellen-lapidus/46117-sam-edelston

Dulcimer Day over the years has had assorted other instruments and activities from autoharp. ukulele, bowed psaltery, guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, clogging, singing - this year the 'other' instruments are the tin whistle and "pocket instruments."   Pat and Claudia Hogan will lead the tin whistle class first session and will play for a bit and both concerts.  One year students made whistles out of PVC piping.  If you need a tin whistle (key of D) there will be some for sale in the vendor area.

The making it class this year is to Make a Limberjack.  It's a good-size wood one that will be fun to play.  There are 3 more kits available at $15 each so if you want to take that 4th session class go ahead.

Does your spouse want to come to Dulcimer Day but doesn't want to take classes?  The vendor area will be the place to hang out.  Chat with local vendors who make soap, woodcut prints, jewelry, artwork, and weave.  There also will be snacks all day.
A person can take an individual class for $15.  The classes are one hour long.  Just ask the person at the front or come to the vendor area where the performer CDs and books are being sold.

I'm ordering a cake as its the 15th year for the festival.

Thank you for people coming for the first time and to those returning year after year.

I'm looking forward to the gathering and the people coming together carrying on dulcimer playing - both kinds - and sharing music.

Wendy

March into Dulcimer Day

Now that the calendar page is flipped to March, here's a reminder to sign up for Dulcimer Day. It's going to be a fun day in May and an opportunity to expand your skills.  Besides dulcimer classes, you might want to do the build a limberjack class, the two singing classes with Ross - one that focuses on songs that are good to sing with youth or young at heart folks, and there is a tin whistle class.

I'd love to see a few more youth at Dulcimer Day to keep the dulcimer player 'line' going.

It's great to have registrations coming in from returning festival folks and from several new people.

Don't forget to sign up for meals - even the lunch.

If you have any questions, shoot over an email.

There is space for area craft vendors.

Wendy

Registration is open for Dulcimer Day 2016

You can register online for Dulcimer Day or print a sheet and mail it in.  A limited mailing will be done later this month - the brochure is now at the printer.

It's a fun line-up of performer/instructors this year - Ross Sutter, Mike Anderson, Sam Edelston, and Anne Lough.  The make it class this year is to make your own quality wooden limberjack.
Tshirts will be available again this year with the new logo for the 15th year!
I'm still picking the color of the shirts - possibly a shade of purple shirts with bright green letter.

Thank you to hotel sponsor - Days Inn by the Miller Hill Mall.  They will also give a discount to Dulcimer Day guests!
Thank you to more community sponsors:  Whole Foods Co-op, SuperOne, Visit Duluth, Food Magic, and Pearl Swanstrom.  

Please pre-register for the food this year both for lunch and dinner.  The lunch will be delicious gourmet wraps with chips.  3 choices are available.

The date again is May 14 - which is a week later than usual.  Maybe all the snow will melt by then :-)  Remember 2014!

See the DulcimersInDuluth.com website for more information on the classes, performer bios, food, and registration.

I hope you can make it.  It's a great opportunity to learn basic skills and advance your skills and repertoire on these folk instruments.  Singing opportunities are also part of this year as are pocket instruments (bones, etc).

There are vendor spots open.  Inquire if you are a local craft/artisan or dealer or maker of instruments.