Carla Maxwell

Hi Andy, Yes, like Ken said, Larkin holds a special place in our hearts. She was my first dulcimer teacher and filled my heart with her beautiful music. Larkin's Dulcimer Book was just what I needed to continue learning after the beginner workshop at the Memphis Dulcimer Festival. I played her cassette over and over and learned a lot from that book! I'm sorry to hear that she is so ill but hope she is comforted by beautiful memories and her loving friends and family.

The time difference makes an online gathering too difficult for us. Right now we're 15 hours ahead of Clarksdale time. In November that time difference would be even more. We're hoping for the future and aiming for a real-life gathering in April 2021 in Clarksdale.

The re-scheduled Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival has now been canceled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions which make it too difficult for Adrian and me to travel to the U.S.A. Hopefully, things will be better next year and safe travel will allow us to host a Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival has been rescheduled to November 5-7, 2020. All other details are the same. www.DeltaBluesDulcimerRevival.com

We have a "good news, bad news" situation about the first annual Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival in Clarksdale, Mississippi......but mostly good news! The bad news is: Adrian and I are not able to host the event in April, as we won't be traveling during this time of national and world-wide coronavirus pandemic. (We are self-isolating at Tasma House in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.) The good news is: The event has been rescheduled to later this year! November 5-7, 2020, is the new date! More good news: All of our instructor/performers are rescheduling with us! Even more good news: Accommodation should be readily available, as there are no other festivals on in Clarksdale in November. Registration will be the same. It will be great! We can all look forward to this as something good to do later in the year! I hope y'all are well and stay that way. www.DeltaBluesDulcimerRevival.com

Yay! The article made the deadline, thanks for letting me know! We won't get our copy until we get back to The Holy Moly, but I'm glad the revival got in. Thank you!

Ashley Ernst, owner of Dulcimer Players News, posted this contest on Facebook, and I thought someone here might be interested in the challenge to compete to perform a NPR Music Tiny Desk concert. Here's a link to the contest website: NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest. The world needs more dulcimer concerts! Who would you like to see playing in this contest/concert?

Gary Gallier! A great teacher/performer included in the upcoming Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival. He was one of my teachers at Dulcimer Week, Western Carolina University, in the mid-2000s. I'm looking forward to hearing his blues again in person.

Two more wonderful performers/instructors lined-up for the Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival: Robert Force and Bing Futch!

I love that song! Very nice!

I just noticed the forum says "if you put a video on the web announce it here." I hope sharing other people's videos is okay. If not, I'll remove the few I'm sharing but did not upload myself. Here's Sam Edelston, one of the fantastic performer/instructors for the Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival.

Sofie Reed is one of the instructors at the Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival at The Holy Moly in Clarksdale, Mississippi, April 16-18, 2020.

Yes! I love hearing several dulcimers together! I have missed being a part of a dulcimer club and attending workshops. I haven't done either in over 10 years. That's one of the reasons that this is the year to host at least two dulcimer gatherings!

Bing Futch, Adrian Kosky, and I invite you to join us during an exciting revival in the heart of blues country! Whether you're an adventurous beginning musician, a seasoned player looking to expand, a cultural history buff or a regional foodie, there's no other place in the country where you can get barefoot in the dirt, so to speak, and get down to the roots of the blues. Come share this unique and joyous celebration April 16th, 17th, 18th, 2020, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, for the FIRST EVER Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival!Instructors are: Sam Edelston, Gary Gallier, Robert Force, Bing Futch, and Sofie ReedVisit www.deltabluesdulcimerrevival.com to register.

Looks like we need to start the conversation about chromatic dulcimers! Mine is a baritone built by Bob Magowan in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2008. I love playing it! Here's a picture and a sound clip of my improvisation on it (2008). I play tunes on it, too, and I enjoy its lower voice as a change from what I hear when I play a standard dulcimer. Baritone Dulcimer Improvisation Link

He's pretty good, for a beginner. (That's what he usually says about musicians he admires.)

Nice playing! Your dulcimer sounds great, too! Practice will definitely bring speed, if you want it. Go ahead and join that club in your area! The regular members will most-likely be happy to have someone new, that's how it was when I was hosting club meetings in Tennessee.

Thanks, Dave! I should say that's @Adrian on guitar and Anne Bowman playing with us when we visited her in New South Wales. Adrian and I play that song a lot and like to get people singing along!

Thanks, Dave!

I love the Spotted Pony tune! When I was learning to play the dulcimer, I actually found Spotted Pony to be hard to jam with others, after playing repeatedly on my own. It was probably my inability to keep up with the speed of everyone else's playing that was the problem. Whoever you jam with, make sure they are patient and fun to play with, especially while you're learning!

We have not confirmed any other instructors, but we are hoping to bring in at least one instructor from the U.S.A. Since this is our year of first events (the first Delta Blues Dulcimer Revival in Clarksdale, MS, and the first Australian Dulcimer Retreat in Daylesford, VIC), we're taking it slowly and posting the information as we get it confirmed. We know this will most-likely be a small gathering which is perfect for our location. I think we have plenty of room to house participants and instructors who sign-up early, and Daylesford is a fabulous holiday town with thousands of beds rented as vacation rentals. If we don't have enough room for later registrants, there will be someplace available nearby. As soon as we confirm our price and schedule, we will set-up an online ticket system and start accepting registrations. There are no dulcimer clubs that I know of here in Victoria. I'm hoping there will be enough local dulcimer interest to launch a club after this first dulcimer retreat, keeping alive the enthusiasm for the instrument. That's how the Memphis Area Mountain Dulcimer Club started in 2002, after the first Memphis Dulcimer Gathering with Larry Conger. We especially need people like you to attend with your interest in combining a desire to learn more about the dulcimer with your desire to visit Australia!