Temperatures are cooling, and the summer music season is coming to an end. I was super happy that the Michiana String Collective got a last-minute call to play the main stage at the Bristol Corndog Festival on September 6th. We had a great time, and the place was rockin’! It’s always fun making music with those guys, and extra special when we can share it with others and see them enjoying it. For me, this marks the end of scheduled gigs for the foreseeable future, but it surely doesn’t end the music-making or the excitement I have for what’s coming in the next few months.
First, my most exciting news is that I have ordered a new, custom-made hammered dulcimer. After listening to every dulcimer I could find at Evart this year and talking with all the players, I decided it was time for a little upgrade. I love my current Dusty Strings DS-650 and have finally started using the super bass bridge after years of it just sitting there, asking to be played. Most of my newer compositions now try to work it in somehow. I do struggle with it being on the left side, though, and I’ve found it easier to incorporate those notes when they’re located on the right.
Additionally, while I’ve settled into really enjoying the sound I get from my dulcimer, I do notice its limitations. Of course, the sound of a dulcimer is largely a matter of personal preference, especially with quality builders. In the end, I fell in love with the Masterworks Dulciforte with the right-hand bass notes. It will give me a slightly larger range, what I hear as a sweeter tone, and it’ll be 10 pounds lighter. The new dulcimer also has dampers and installed pickups, of course. The order has been placed, construction has begun, and I expect to see, feel, and play it fairly soon!
As an added bonus, I decided to design a custom sound hole inlay for my new dulcimer to make it truly mine. Sailing has long been my zen—other than music—and I wanted to bring the two together as I move forward. Taking a dulcimer on a boat isn’t practical, but putting a boat on my dulcimer sounds perfect! Here is a photo of what I came up with for the inlay.
Once the new dulcimer arrives, I’ll spend plenty of time getting acquainted with it—finding the right playing angle, and tuning, tuning, tuning until it settles in. After that, my next focus will be recording. I have a number of newer compositions and some ensemble ideas that I would love to get recorded. Recording anything beyond just me and a microphone is always a big undertaking. For me, the hardest part has always been starting. Once I get going with a project, I’ll keep plugging away until it’s finished. My goal is to put together a set of recordings that could either become a long EP or a short album. We’ll see how it goes—and who knows, maybe the new dulcimer will inspire a few more tunes.
With all of that going on, I’m now sporting a beard for the first time in my life, changed up my hair a bit, and finally bought new glasses (well overdue). It’s too bad I’ll be missing the fall QuaranTUNE festival, but I’m looking forward to joining in again for the winter one.
So here we go—looking ahead with lots of excitement and more music on the way!