Please Note: The February 18 club meeting will be at the Belle Meade United Methodist Church, 121 Davidson Road. We will be back at Two Rivers Mansion for the March meeting.

The January club meeting was certainly Fisher's Hornpipe Sunday. We viewed two showings of David and the Cactus Brother's 1991 CMT TV clip (with Sandy in the audience) and had Lee's "play it by ear first" instruction of that version. It's at "fiddler speed," and Lee emphasized that to play it at that speed you have to have the easiest of fingering. Lee walked us through it phrase by phrase, no tab. And we did come close, sort of, to David's speed within the hour or so that Lee led. Can we repeat it again? What a tribute to David it would be if we could. It's a goal worth working for. Listen to David on his Dulcimer Player CD as often as you can. It's amazing what you will hear in his playing after trying to learn it phrase by phrase. The tab's now available in the club library.

Songs for Dulcimer Day will be: Fisher's Hornpipe, Starry Lullaby, Brush Arbor, Amazing Grace, Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm and Wildwood Flower. The Monday sessions will be practice sessions for the day.

Lee's instruction effort was so exciting that we did not break into Beginners, Slow Jammers and Fast Jammers. But beginners Lisa and Sarah got a taste of a first class method of learning a song. February's break-out session leaders will be Nancy for Beginners, Robert for Slow Jammers and Freddy for Fast Jammers. The leader is charged, not with leading each song, but keeping it moving and ending with enough time for all of us to get together before we leave for the day.

Sandy introduced a "mentor" arrangement. Newcomers can have someone to call on with questions from among a list of volunteers. If you need a mentor or would volunteer, sign up with Lela Hollabaugh. In the spirit of volunteer roles are obligations for about a year, Lela will become the keeper of the library, replacing Glen who has had the role for much more than a year. Please contribute to the kitty from time to time to pay for the printing costs. We still need a volunteer to coordinate gigs. Anyone can propose a play-out and most will be of a size much smaller than the whole club. A coordinator is needed to publicize the opportunities by e-mail and/or newsletter. Playing in public promotes the club and the instrument but, just as important, the experience makes each of us better musicians.

On Monday night, we spent most of the time on Fisher's Hornpipe. For Dulcimer Day, only one of us will play the Intro, so we worked on how to listen to the fiddle call and come in on time with the slide. We played a bass string version too. Just move the melody to the bass string! We pursued David's Intro for Starry Lullaby in a similar vein. It starts with 2 harmonics on the 7th fret... one on the melody strings and one on the middle string. If you missed Monday night, practice your harmonics and we'll run through the intro again so you can hear it. Practice the intros; even if you don't play one on Dulcimer Day, it helps you hear when to come in. And add these to your repertoire of fiddle calls.

We played chord parts for each song. Sandy urges us each to practice the chord parts as well as the melody parts; "find your niche." We will sort through who plays which part when as we get closer to Dulcimer Day. Brush Arbor will be introduced at next Sunday's meeting, rounding out the Dulcimer Day program.

• Breakin' Up Winter - The 12th Annual Breakin' Up Winter gathering of old-time music lovers from around the country will be happening March 2-4. There is more information on their website
• More on Old Time Music - The Nashville Old Time String Band Association meets at Two Rivers Mansion on the 1st and 3rd Thursday evening each month from 6:30-8:30 PM. All are welcome to listen or to play.
• Blair Visiting Artist Program - An endowment fund has been established at the Blair School of Music to enrich the dulcimer program and continue the tradition which David began there. These funds will support special projects and programs. The David Schnaufer Fund will welcome Janita Baker as its first Visiting Artist on March 10 & 11. This is her first performance in Nashville. She not only plays the dulcimer beautifully, she builds them! Janita and her husband Bob build Blue Lion dulcimers at their home in Santa Margarita, California. She will present a workshop and concert which are described in the events section below. The Visiting Artist program will be an annual event.
• Fingerpicking -Flem Smith offers some thoughts about fingerpicking and about future meetings. If Janita's and Steve's workshops (see Upcoming Events section in this issue of the GODC Newsletter) arouse interest, perhaps the GODC will want to find ways to encourage fingerpicking as a part of what we do in The Club. This could be a companion to learning from Wanda how she does the mandolin style tremolo."
• Stephen Seifert Live - Have you linked into Stephen Seifert's weekly webcast? I listened (and watched) the first show on my computer on Monday evening, January 15, and it was great! Excellent recorded dulcimer performances and an interesting live interview with Jerry Rockwell. I particularly enjoyed Aaron Thorntons and David Schnaufer's performance of "Silver Bell." Podcasts of this and other performances will be archived at Steve's site for download and listening if you miss the show or want to replay it. You can tune into the live webcast on Monday evenings at 8:00 P.M. Central Standard Time at http://stephenseifert.com then click on the icon for Live Webcast. In future shows, Steve will interview players, performers, teachers, builders, and other notables from the international mountain dulcimer community. When the technology allows, he will take caller questions and comments. Upcoming guests include Dan Landrum, Aaron O'Rourke, Adie Grey, Jan Pulsford, Shelley Stevens, Lee Rowe, and Cyntia Smith. You can see the calendar on the website for details. Steve says, "If you'd like me to play some of your music on the show, please send CDs, MP3s, and any other promotional materials to: Stephen Seifert, 1121 McChesney Ave, Nashville, TN 37143". Steve also has a remembrance of David.
• Kentucky Music Weekend
  Sue Claiborne, Nancy Seifert, Lela Hollabaugh, Stephen Seifert and Georgia Hobb had a fantastic time at Kentucky Music Weekend in Bardstown, KY in January. There were 10 hours of instruction over Friday, Saturday and Sunday from some of the best mountain and hammered instructors in the country. On Friday night there was a concert given by the instructors, followed by open stage for participants to show off their stuff. Plenty of jamming went on Friday and Saturday nights. Georgia Hobb said, "I loved having the variety of people and the opportunity to meet so many people from so many places. I never thought people would drive 8 hours one way for the workshops. The jamming sessions were especially fun and I loved the Open Stage. It was great for Nancy and Steve Seifert to play a duet on stage. They made the Kentucky and Tennessee people both proud."
  
  

• The Healing Sounds of the Dulcimer-from Judy Beier
  Always wanting to glean any little tidbit of knowledge from master players, I went to Stephen Seifert's January 27th workshop, Dulcimer for the Brand New Player, held at the Renaissance Center. One of the participants, who lives near Dickson, approached me and asked if I played dulcimer for patients at a hospital. She recognized me as the person who had played for her father when he was ill. Her father has passed on, and she is a five-year breast cancer survivor. She said, You are the reason I am here taking this workshop. Because of taking care of her parents, she had lost time from work. I had never played the dulcimer, she said. I bought a dulcimer, but I didnt know about the 6 1/2 fret. I just happened to see the announcement about this class in the Renaissance Centers fall program guide. When my family asked what I wanted for Christmas, I told them I just wanted the money to pay for the dulcimer workshop. And that was her gift. I was so touched when she said to me, "When I learn to play enough, I want to play for patients at a hospital the way you played for my father - I want this to be my ministry. Thank you for what you did for my father. We all know the dulcimer for its sweet sound. But it is never more sweet than when played in a patient's room.
• Dixie Dulcimers
  
  

• Sunnyside Dulcimers
  The Sunnyside Dulcimers meet Thursday evenings from 6-8 pm at Dalewood Baptist Church Christian Life Center, 1586 McGavock Pike, 37216. Join the Sunny Siders for extra Dulcimer Day practice and some old time jamming. We will resume Thursday February 15. Contact Judy Beier if you have questions.

• April 28 - Country Music Marathon! Lindsay and Mark Moffitt live on Belmont Boulevard next-door to the house where David lived, and they have invited us to continue our marathon music in their front yard! There will be coffee on the porch...bring your own chair and a snack if you like ... and let's encourage the marathon runners with our music. Address and exact time will be sent later...put early morning on your calendar!!! If you're participating in the marathon, let us know so we can watch for you!

• Click here for general information about dulcimer clubs in the Middle Tennessee area. Area clubs with information to share should email that information to section editor Wanda O'Guin by the first Sunday of each month.
• The Three Rivers Dulcimer Association of Waverly, TN, is having a dulcimer gathering on Saturday, March 31, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. The location is Waverly Junior High (.7 mile east of court square in Waverly, TN). We are invited to come for a day of jamming and open stage performances. We are also invited to share a new song with them. There are no organized classes. It is a day of sharing and making music together. They will feed us, but you must make a lunch reservation. You can respond to Anita Amrine at agamrine@wwmconnecct.com to reserve a lunch.

• February 17 - Yellowbanks Dulicmer Society, Owensboro, KY is having Stephen Seifert in for workshops and concert. Please contact them for more information: Contact: Joan Kolok, 270-685-1312.
• February 23 - Free Concert at MTSU, "A Dulcimer Diversion" - The MTSU Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsoring an evening with our own "Sarah Elisabeth and the Initials" and the "Gallier Brothers," from Missouri, on Friday February 23, 2007. The free concert is open to the public and will be held in the State Farm Room of the MTSU Business Building starting at 7pm. The show will open with a special performance by MTSU's student jam band, "The Stones River String Band."
• February 24 Workshops
  • MTSU - Sarah Elisabeth and Gary Gallier will offer two workshops at MTSU on Saturday, February 24. These workshops, also sponsored by The MTSU Distinguished Lecture Series, are free and open to the public. Sarah's workshop will be held from 10:30-11:45am and Gary's will be held from 12:30pm-1:45pm. Both will take place in room 155 of the Bragg Mass Comm Building. The workshops will each be limited to 20. Please e-mail Mary Nichols for workshop reservations at mnichols@mtsu
  • Renaissance Center Stephen Seifert Workshop ($55) will be offered on Saturday, February 24. Topics will be "Mountain Dulcimer Essential Tools," and "Concepts and Techniques for the Experienced Beginner." Stephen will share a number of good habits all beginners should develop for accurate and passionate playing as well as some bad habits to avoid. You will work on strumming, fingering, learning music with and without tab and some chord basics for playing backup. Expect a few fiddle tunes and familiar songs. Class will break for lunch 12-1 pm. Student limit 12. Cost $55. Register at the Renaissance Center, 855 Highway 46 South, Dickson, TN 37055. 615-740-5533. www.rcenter.org.
• March 2-4 - Ohio Valley Gathering in Lexington, www.louisvilledulcimers.org. This is a great festival with lots of learning options..and it's not far away!
• March 10- Janita Baker Fingerpicking workshop, Blair School of Music Choral Rehearsal Hall, 2400 Blakemore Ave., 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $35 -This workshop will introduce players to fingerpicking the mountain dulcimer. Using a variety of musical genre, including traditional, classical and blues arrangements, the class will start with the basics of both right and left hand fingerpicking technique to explore pattern and melodic fingerpicking styles. If you've never tried fingerpicking your dulcimer, you'll find it easy to do and a new way of musically expressing yourself. If you're already a fingerpicker, this class will help you expand your technical knowledge, musical ear, and add to your repertoire. Pre-registration is suggested. Contact Sandy Conatser, 615-832-1945, or email at sandyc@usit.net
• March 11 - Janita Baker will be joined by Lee Rowe and Sarah Elisabeth for "A Dulcimer Afternoon" concert at 4:00 p.m., free and open to the public, in the Steve and Judy Turner Performance Hall at the Blair School of Music, 2400 Blakemore Avenue. This concert is sponsored by the David Schnaufer Fund.
• March 31 - Three Rivers Dulcimer Association, Waverly, TN, day of jamming, open stage, and song swapping, 8-4..see description in area club news above.
• April 14 - Annual Appalachian Concert at the Blair School of Music, Ingram Hall. This year's concert will be a tribute concert celebrating the life and career of David Schnaufer.
• April 28 - Nashville Dulcimer Quartet in concert in the Rebecca Johnson Theater in historic Rugby, TN, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.. Call 1-888-214-3400 for information and tickets.
• June 24-29 - Kentucky Music Week, Bardstown, Kentucky
• July 28, 29 - Kentucky Music Weekend, Iroquois Park, Louisville KY
• October 18-21 - Dulcimer Chautauqua on the Wabash, Hotel: 1-800-782-8605, ask for Sherrie

"I had never played any musical instrument in my life but purchased a wooden psaltry at a craft fair--of course, I couldn't play it! Georgia Hobb suggested I take it to this wonderful man at Blair who was teaching her to play a dulcimer--that's how I met David and ordered a dulcimer on the spot and started taking lessons. That was in 2002. David opened a whole new and wonderful world for me and after several years and much hard work on both our parts, I can now, OCCASIONALLY, make sounds that are pleasing to my ear! I practice daily and like lots of different music, especially Irish and old-time. My other hobbies are quilting and gardening."

In partnership with Metro Parks, The Grand Old Dulcimer Club sponsors Grand Old Dulcimer Day each year in May at Two Rivers Mansion. Don't miss our NINTH annual Grand Old Dulcimer Day in May 20, 2007!

The club and its members perform at festivals and civic events and often take their music into special needs facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities.

Click Here to submit information to the newsletter editor.
Click Here to go to the GODC website homepage!