Happy New Year - BTW, the Club Blog is Moving

First of all, Happy New Year.  This will likely be the final post to this blog by me.  As 2013 comes to an end, the Club blog is moving HERE.  Come take a look!  Later. . .

December 2013 Meeting Report

Thanks for all who made our December meeting, we had a very nice turnout, 9 in all. Welcome to our two new players as well as all  those who keep the group going. It was a real group effort with Colleen, Clay and Vic contributing holiday tunes and Clay teaching us Good King W. We had a mix of religious and secular music and everyone did great with picking up the tunes so fast. It really does make an difference when the tunes are so familiar. About 4 of us lasted until 4:30 just playing and talking.. Hope you get to play a few tunes for yourself and your family over the holiday. Have a relaxing and fun time. See you all in the New Year.

FOR SALE

I am going to temporarily list items here for sale. We are having some problems with our blog spot and can't post these things under proper headings.

DULCIMER
Medlin hand made 3 string TD 160 (1988) $150.
Will be available for viewing at club meeting Dec.14

December 2013 Meeting Announcement

The December Bellingham Dulcimer Club meeting is Saturday afternoon December 14, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at 1207 Elsworth St. between H and I Streets in the lettered streets section of Bellingham. We will start at 1:30 and end at 3:30 with some extra time for snacks at the end of our playing time so we can chat a bit before heading out.  This month we will forgo our regular circle and concentrate on holiday music so bring along a tune that you like to play and enough copies for group, (6-10) or just come and join in some familiar tunes.

Hope to see you at Heidi and Bob's concert on Tuesday night Dec. 3rd.

November 2013 Meeting Report

It was an interesting meeting to say the least. First,  it happened that there was a meditation session at the same time so we moved to a classroom in back which turned out to be a good space for us , smaller and acoustically better. Secondly we had a laugh about the time change, a week late! The six of us, plus a couple from B.C. just sitting in to listen, continued to practice "Spanish Fandango" , A Soalin, River, Acres of Clams" etc.. The new song was "Crooked Ridge " and everyone seemed to like and picked up rather quickly. 

We encourage all dulcimer players to come by and join us for the month whether you are experienced or just beginning. Also, if you would like to try the instrument let us know so we can bring extra instruments for you.

Let me know if you are interested in presenting a new song for December, otherwise just bring some Holiday tunes you would like to play and we will forgo the usual practice and celebrate the winter solstice.

Concert Starting Time Change

Just learned that the Heidi Muller/Bob Webb concert at the Roeder on Tuesday evening, December 3rd, 2013, will, IN FACT, begin at 7:30PM.  Sorry about the "back and forth"!  Later . . .

UPDATE: Heidi Muller and Bob Webb Concert

Heidi's website now shows more accurate information regarding the upcoming visit of her and Bob Webb to Bellingham next month.  First of all, their concert is to begin a half-hour earlier than was originally stated, 7PM.  A $10 donation is also indicated.  To check out her website, click here. Later . . .

November 2013 Meeting Announcement

The November Bellingham Dulcimer Club meeting is Saturday afternoon November 9, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at 1207 Elsworth St.  between H and I Streets in the lettered streets section of Bellingham. We will start at 1:30 and end at 3:30 with some extra time for snacks at the end of our playing time so we can chat a bit before heading out.

We will continue with our new format for meetings; starting with" Happy Land "we will  to play our list of songs: A Soalin,  Acres of Clams, River and  Spanish Fandango. This month I will present Crooked Ridge as our new tune. We will then have time for playing our favorites. Please check out the list of songs under the posts to let you know the songs we are familiar with playing.

Heidi Muller and Bob Webb Concert

HEIDI MULLER & BOB WEBB Concert, Tuesday December 3, Roeder Home, 7:30PM. Heidi and Bob perform an eclectic mix of original songs, traditional tunes and contemporary instrumentals. From Charleston, West Virginia, their shows feature Heidi's songwriting and crystalline vocals backed by both on guitar and Appalachian dulcimer, and by Bob additionally on electric cello and mandolin. Co-sponsored by the Whatcom Family & Community Network, Whatcom Home Made Music Society & Bellingham Dulcimer Club.

Read more here: http://calendar.bellinghamherald.com/bellingham_wa/events/show/360655203-heidi-muller-and-bob-webb-concert#storylink=cpy

October 2013 Meeting Report

A beautiful afternoon found six of us happily playing along to some new and old tunes. We did have a new player, Jerry, bring along his dulcijo and strum stick and  "Old Joe Clark"  was a perfect tune for all the instruments. We continued to practice "Spanish Fandango" and will keep it on the list for a few months. Putting a little time with practice on "The Three Ravens" we decided to wait until we have a good rendition to follow along. We also had fun reviewing "New River Train" along with old favorites; A Soalin, Butchers Gap, Rythum, Acres of Clams, River etc.Having our snacks at end of meeting was a good way to relax and chat.  Hope to have you there next meeting if you couldn't make it this time.

October 2013 Meeting Announcement

The October Bellingham Dulcimer Club meeting is Saturday afternoon October 12, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at 1207 Elsworth St.  between H and I Streets in the lettered streets section of Bellingham. We will start at 1:30 and end at 3:30 with some extra time for snacks at the end of our playing time so we can chat a bit before heading out.

We will continue with our new format for meetings; starting with" Happy Land "we will  to play our list of songs: A Soalin,  Acres of Clams, Butcher's Gap and our new song Spanish Fandango. This month Colleen will teach us "The Three Ravens in Em".  We will then have time for to play your favorites. Please check out our list of songs under the posts to let you know the songs we are familiar with.

September 2013 Meeting Report

We had a small turnout for our September meeting but enjoyed playing together. Jillian introduced "Spanish Fandango" and we will add this to our practice list for next month. We had plenty of time to play through many old favorites; A Soalin, Butchers Gap, Rythum, Cluck Old Hen, Acres of Clams, River etc.Having our snacks at end of meeting was a good way to relax and chat and will try to continue this for our next meeting. Hope to have you there next meeting if you couldn't make it this time. 

September 2013 Meeting Announcement

Fall is in the air and we are ready to get the club started in full swing. The September Bellingham Dulcimer Club meeting is Saturday afternoon September 14, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at 1207 Elsworth St.  between H and I Streets in the lettered streets section of Bellingham. We will start at 1:30 and end at 3:30 with some extra time for ... thinking of crisper weather maybe we can strum up some crisp treats for our get together at end of meeting! I will bring the munchies.

We will continue with our new format for meetings; starting with" Happy Land "we will  to play our list of songs: Butchers Gap,  A Soalin,  Acres of Clams and Lynchburg Town. This month Jillian will teach us "Spanish Fangdango".  We will then have time for to play your favorites. Please check out our list of songs under the posts to let you know songs we are familiar with.

August 2013 Meeting Report

The  "dog days" of summer are here and we did have a guest canine at the meeting along with 11 other hearty souls. It was good to see many older club members and have their expertise among us and would love to have such a well rounded group at every meeting.

We are experimenting with our new format for meetings; starting with Happy Land we then proceeded to play our list of songs getting in Harrison Town, Lynchburg Town, A Soalin, Acres of Clams and Butcher's Gap. We spent time reviewing some tips and taking apart a few of the songs so that we all understood the tune. We did not have a new song this month. We then went to calling tunes and played Old Joe Clark, Liza Jane and June Apple. The meeting ended at 3:30 and a few people stayed to chat.

Please let us know your thoughts on the meeting and how you would like to see the club evolve. Next month Jillian will teach us "Spanish Fangdango".

2013 Club Song Titles

The following is an ongoing list of song titles that the club has played beginning

MAY 2013

HAPPY LAND

ACRES OF CLAMS

RHYTHUM

WILDWOOD FLOWER

WHISKEY BEFORE BREAKFAST

CLUCK OLD HEN

JUNE APPLE

LYNCHBURG TOWN

HARRISON TOWN

LADY MARY

RIVER

THE THREE RAVENS

A SOALIN

BUTCHERS GAP
OLD JOE CLARK
DAD Back Up Chords
NEW RIVER TRAIN
SPANISH FANDANGO
CROOKED RIDGE

July 2013 Meeting Report

The July meeting was a great success with a record number of players. We again began with "Happy Land"  then quickly got involved with learning some new techniques taught to us by Darcy Fusch. Everyone enjoyed her explanation of DAD chord variations and tips she had picked up at dulcimer camp. We continued to call tunes and had three new melodies introduced; "Spanish Fandango", "Death of Queen Anne", and "Tear My Still House Down". Our discussion continues on how to keep everyone interested and more experienced players interested and coming to share the great sounds of the dulcimer. 

June 2013 Meeting Report

Even though the day was beautiful we had a good group for our June meeting with 8 musicians attending. Dick Wightman from Seattle stopped in to share his experience. He has several dulcimers that he is selling and even a dulcimer making kit which he would love to pass along. Contact me if you are interested.

We began with "Happy Land" and played on for about 2 hours. Several new tunes were introduced and we had a good time singing along to learn the new tunes. There was a discussion started about how we could keep track of tunes that we are practicing and will be called at meetings. Please add to this discussion and let us know your thoughts. Traditionally if you would like to introduce a tune it is good to bring copies so that we all can follow along. For now I will make a running record of the songs we have played starting with May 2013 and post them here. I will also let people know in my email what songs we have been practicing and will review at the meeting. 

All in all a very nice afternoon and thanks to all who came and awed us with all the musical talent we have in the group. Looking forward to learning from this talent pool and hearing all our dulcimers "sing" together.

June 2013, BDC meeting Announcement

The June Bellingham Dulcimer Club meeting is coming up quickly on Saturday afternoon June 8, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at 1207 Elsworth St.  between H and I Streets in the lettered streets section of Bellingham. We will start at 1:30 and end at 3:30. We will again warm up with "Happy Land" and go on from there. If you have a tune to introduce please bring copies of music if you can. We would love to review "Acres of Clams" and "Lynchburg Town" that we were introduced to last month. So if you just want to play or are ready to introduce a tune come on and join the group for the afternoon. We love to have newcomers and young and/or the young at heart strummers!

May 2013 Meeting Report

Thanks to all who attended the meeting this month from both near and far; thanks to our Canadian neighbors. After introducing ourselves and our instruments we began with the tune "Happy Land". We took some time on this since it will become our new warm-up tune for awhile. Youtube has several renditions you can check out. The song circle continued with "Rhythum, Wildwood Flower, Whiskey, Cluck Old Hen, June Apple, Lynchburg Town". A new song was introduced, "Acres of Clams" which we all enjoyed learning.

The club members present and those who emailed input have decided to continue meeting throughout the summer months; June, July, August. We also decided to begin at 1:30 and end by 3:30.

Hope to see you all in June, keep strummin !

May, 2013 BDC Meeting Announcement

Judith Atkins recently posted the following to Bellingham Dulcimer Club current and potential members:

"Greetings to All,

This month's Bellingham Dulcimer Club meeting will take place on Saturday afternoon, May 11, 2013, at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at 1207 Ellsworth between H and I Streets in the Lettered Streets Neighborhood of Bellingham. New and newer players are encouraged to come early at 1:30PM with more experienced players welcome to join us at 2:00PM.

The Song Circle this month will include tunes of your choice, so please come to the meeting prepared to "call a tune" if you would like or just  strum along.

I will also like to introduce myself, I have assumed the role of the club coordinator . . . I am not an experienced player and will rely on the many great musicians we have in the group. I am very happy to assume this role . . . There is also a team of other players that have willingly stepped in to fill the other duties. We will introduce everyone at the May meeting. Looking forward to seeing you all and sharing some music with you on the 11th.

Judith Akins" 

April, 2013 Bellingham Dulcimer Club Meeting Report

Wow, it must have been the cold AM weather - even some snow - that contributed to awesome meeting attendance today.  Twelve players, including first-timers from Canada and from south Bellingham and one left-handed guy who played "backwards", joined in the fun.  During the Song Circle, many great tunes were "called" and a couple of "new-to-the-group" tunes - "Jamaica" and "Eleanor Rigby" were shared.  And it looks like several of the folks who showed up today are more than willing and capable of keeping the Bellingham Dulcimer Club growing.  Later . . .

April, 2013 Meeting

The next meeting of the Bellingham Dulcimer Club is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon, April 13th, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship.  As with previous meetings, new and new players are encouraged to arrive at 1:30PM.  Everyone else should join us starting at 2PM.    At 2PM, a discussion of the future of our Club will include an exchange of ideas aimed at sharing the responsibility of planning and leading meetings starting next month.  Also please note that this month's Song Circle will include only tunes "called" by those in attendance. So come prepared to "call a tune" to share with the Circle.  Later . . .

March, 2013 BDC Meeting Report

Pretty much the "usual suspects" at the Club meeting yesterday, with the exception "first-timer" of Sarah H. from Deming, who did very well with the her "borrowed" dulcimer.  First, we recognized the Club's 4th "birthday" and then revisited "Suzanna Gal".  The version of "Happy Birthday" we shared left a bit the be desired but working with a re-tab of "Suzanna Gal" was great!  We played a some of our "standards" - "Bile Dem Cabbage Down in the Arkan", "Cluck Old Hen" and "Li'l Liza Jane" - and then moved on to some "revisits" to tunes we have not shared for awhile - "Baby-O", "Happy Land", "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie", "Lady Mary" and "Rhythum".  Though turnout was "underwhelming", our Song Circle play was extraordinary!  A discussion of the future of our Club included an exchange of ideas aimed at sharing the responsibility of planning and leading meetings starting in May.  Later . . .

Feed Store Play Out

Your read it right!  Three of us - Jodie Barbour, Judith Akins and I - provided some music this past Saturday afternoon at the Whatcom Farm Coop on the Southside.  WFC was putting on a seminar about raising backyard chickens which brings to mind "Cluck Old Hen" in Em, right?  Not the most logical of segways, I have to admit, but the hour long set of our music was very well received.  Click above on "Club Pics" to check us out!  Later . . .

Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas

Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas

30 June to 6 July, 2013

Details

Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas is a mountain dulcimer camp held at beautiful Wallowa Lake in the high country of northeast Oregon. We have morning intensive classes at all levels, afternoon electives, time off to explore the scenic area, and evening activities. Instructors this year are Aaron O’Rourke, Dave Haas, Heidi Muller and Bob Webb.

Times/hours/schedule: 5:00 pm Sunday, June 30 to 11:00 am Sat., July 6

Cost: $295 student registration till March 31, then $325 $85 for non-participants Meal plans and lodging choices listed on website

Getting more information

Website: http://www.wvmusicalliance.org/dulcimer-week-in-the-wallowas/
Contact: Heidi Muller
Call: 304-382-9422
Email: blueheron29@gmail.com

Venue Information

Wallowa Lake Camp
Joseph OR 97846

Directions: From I-84, go east on Hwy 82 to Wallowa Lake. From the north, come south on WA-129 and OR-3 to Enterprise, then continue east on Hwy 82.
Closest airport Lewiston, ID - also Pasco, WA and Boise, ID
Six hrs drive from Portland; four hrs from Boise

Columbia River Gorge Dulcimer Featival

Columbia River Gorge Dulcimer Festival

30 May to 2 June, 2013

Details

Play music you love, learn from top-notch instructors, relax and enjoy the view! Our 4th annual festival's workshops will be led by Nina Zanetti, Robert Force, and Amber and Erin Rogers of Scenic Roots. Workshops range from Fingerpicking for the First Time; to Folk Hymns from America’s Past; to Wellyn & Cornwall; to Ear Training for the Tone Deaf; to Music Business 101. We focus on the mountain dulcimer but welcome other instruments to our jams.

Cost: OVERNIGHT GUEST cost varies depending on lodging you choose. Program Fee $250 Food: 9 meals + snacks $111 Lodging (Choose the type of lodging you prefer) Private Lodging (designed for 1 person) $381 Semi Private (share with 2-3 roommates) $281 Community Lodging (3-4 roommates – bunk style) $181 COMMUTER GUESTS Program Fee $250 Commuter Fee $100 Food: 3 lunches + 3 dinners + snacks $81.75

Getting more information

Website: http://menucha.org/programs/dulcimer-festival
Contact: Scott Crane
Call: 503-695-2243
Email: scott@menucha.org

Venue Information

38711 E. Historic Columbia River Highway
Corbett OR 97019

Directions: Menucha is located on the south side of the Columbia River Gorge, in Corbett, Oregon inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Menucha is 30-40 minutes from Portland's airport, bus, and train terminals. Freeways I-84 and I-205 provide easy access by car from all directions. Detailed directions are here: http://menucha.org/about-us/directions.

Other comments: We invite you to check out our Facebook page for more photos and information: https://www.facebook.com/Columbia.River.Gorge.Dulcimer.Festival

"Inland Folk" on NPR on Saturdays

Starting at 11AM on Saturdays, Dan Maher hosts "Inland Folk" on NPR stations throughout Washingston.  On the South side of Bellingham, I listen to it on FM 91.7.  You can also listen on your computer at  http://www.nwpr.org/programs/inland-folk-dan-maher.  It's a great listen . . .

February, 2013 BDC Meeting Report

Great Club meeting yesterday.  First, we shared D-Mixolydian versions of "Kumbayah in D" and "Skye Boat Song in G".  Then we played seven Club tunes, everything from "Cluck Old Hen in Em" to "You Are My Sunshine in D".  Revisiting "Mississippi Sawyer in D" and "John Stinson #2 in D" was certainly great fun!  It was great to meet "first-timer" Andy Whitmore from BC and have Margaret Harshfield and John Simurdak back from way down south of Bellingham. Later . . .

February, 2013 Meeting

The Bellingham Dulcimer Club's second meeting of 2013 is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon, February 9th, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship.  As with previous meetings, new and new players are encouraged to arrive at 1:30PM.  Everyone else should join us starting at 2PM.  This month's Song Circle will include sharing of a couple of tunes, in D-Mixolydian tuning, that we have not played at previous meetings:  a "strummed with chords" arrangement of "Kumbayah in D" and "fingerpicked with chords" arrangement of "Skye Boat Song in G".  Hope you can join the fun!  Later . . .

January, 2013 BDC Meeting Report

Flu notwithstanding, six healthy ladies attended the Club meeting yesterday.  First, we took a run at a two dulcimer rendition of "You Are My Sunshine".  Then Club members Pat Maden and Judith Atkins shared "Spanish Is a Loving Tongue" and "Amazing Grace" with us. And, as always, it was great to revisit familiar tunes like "Harrison Town", "Lady Mary" and "Old Molly Hare". We look forward to learning what Judith opts to challenge us with next month. Later . . .

First BDC Meeting of 2013

The Bellingham Dulcimer Club's first meeting of 2013 is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon, January 12, 2013 at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship.  As with previous meetings, new and new players are encouraged to arrive at 1:30PM.  Everyone else should join us starting at 2PM.  This month's meeting will include a discussion of ways to "facilitate" the on-going success of our Club and the sharing of a new/old tune, "Your Are My Sunshine" during our traditional monthly Song Circle.  Hope you can join the fun!  Later . . .