Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's getting close to "Turkey Day" and I can smell fresh baked goodies in my house.  Which translates to extra inches around the middle by Friday.  But that's okay.

I just finished my track for the Instructors CD for the Key West Dulcimer Festival.  This CD will be on sale at the festival and from what I've seen of the song list it should really be a great one to have in the collection.  If you haven't done so already check out the Key West Dulcimer Festival's web site http://www.keywestdulcimerfest.com/ .  Bing Futch has put a lot of hard work into making this an amazing festival for everyone.  The dates for the festival are January 28 - 31, 2010.  Come and join the fun in the sun with the rest of us in January!

I also wanted to let everyone know that I will be teaching at the Western Carolina University Dulcimer Week in July of 2010. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Jeff

My Mountain Dulcimers – Part 2

My Schnaufer Model was made in 2001. It is cherry with a redwood top with ebony over-lay on the fret board. It’s a basic standard Schnaufer Model with no pick-up and no additional frets. It was Christmas gift to me from my parents. This dulcimer has a lot of miles on it. It was the main dulcimer I traveled to festivals with and competed with for years. It has an amazing sound and is very special to me. I used it when I recorded my first CD.

Before one of my lessons with David Schnaufer we were admiring each others Schnaufer Model Dulcimers and realized that labels in both of our dulcimers had the same makers name on it; Lynn McSpadden.


When I went to Mt. View, AR in 1998 (I was 10 years old) to buy my very first McSpadden dulcimer I had the honor of meeting Lynn and Mary Catherine McSpadden at the Dulcimer Shoppe. Along with meeting Lynn and Mary Catherine I also meet Jean Jennings. These three people became some of my biggest supports and fans. Because of these three wonderful people I developed a love for the old McSpadden Dulcimers. I will show you some of the old ones in later posts.

Just a litte bit of info~~~ the car in the picture above is a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner that my Dad and I restored.  This car is also pictured on the back of my first CD.  It's a blast to drive!

My Mountain Dulcimers - Part 1

Hi Friends,


I’ve had a great deal of people ask me about the instruments I play, so I thought I would break it down for you and give you a little information about each instrument.


My Mountain Dulcimers - Part 1

The first mountain dulcimer I would like to talk about is the “Red Road Runner” dulcimer. The maker is McSpadden. It is cherry/spruce (painted with red paint) with ebony over-lay on the fret board. I added the 1 ½ fret and the 8 ½ fret to the Schnaufer fret board. By adding these frets it really opened up a lot of different playing options for me. Sharon Van Dusen did the custom in-lay for the dulcimer. I use both the standard “Schnaufer String Set” and the “Squeak less” string sets.

When I first contacted Jim Woods at the Dulcimer Shoppe in Mt. View, AR about painting this dulcimer red he said oooooooooooookay. But I could hear that little sound in his voice that said he wasn’t quite sure about it and didn’t really understand why I wanted a red dulcimer. Let’s see if I can clear this up a bit…………………red is my favorite color and my Dad has a 1968 red Plymouth Road Runner that my parents dated in way back when. The Road Runner cartoon charter is one of my favorites too. So that is where the idea came from for the Red Road Runner dulcimer that you see me play.

It has a great sound and a lot more volume that I expected since it is painted. I was really worried that the paint would not allow the wood to vibrate enough to allow good volume. I was surprised. I am also surprised at the amount of interest from other dulcimer players that the dulcimer has attracted from both old and young alike.

Hello and Welcome

Hello Friends,

Welcome to my mountain dulcimer blogspot.

I am in the process of completing my degree so as time allows I will submit posts to my blog.  I am still attending festivals and teaching but I am having to schedule these events around my class schedule.  Please feel free to visit my website, Jeff Hames,  or send me an email.