Friday, November 8, 2013

noter & drone


i have found that i have to pace my stitching at the moment as my slashed finger aches and has a tendency to want to break open and bleed if i over use it (if you don't follow me on facebook, i slashed my left middle finger tip at work a few days ago while prying open a can after using the sub-standard can opener my employers seem to think are acceptable. fortunately, i have a very caring partner in my life right now who has provided me with a most excellent pampered chef can opener to save my finger tips in the future!) since the damaged finger tip is on my fretting hand, i had been moping about town because it precludes me from playing guitar, cbg or most other stringed instruments, thereby dropping music out of my life. not a pleasant thing to contemplate. however, in a lucid moment while gazing longingly at my appalachian dulcimer collection, i realized that i *could* still play in the traditional noter & drone style!



as you can tell, this is quite a different style than i'm used to playing (though not completely unfamiliar since this is the method i learned oh so many years ago when i found my first - and still favorite - dulcimer and coaxed my mom into loaning me the $450 - omg! that was so much money back then! - to purchase it from the luthier who created it, joe sanguinette of branson, missouri). if you listen closely, you can hear the noter (a wooden dowel turned from hardwood) slide between frets so it is slightly reminiscent of the blues slide style i've been experimenting with lately.

stitching. music. love. life is good!

namaste'

9 comments:

  1. Ouch ! too bad to slice your finger in such a "dumb" way .
    No stitching and only a little music ...

    (just too bad my audio is playing tricks so I can't hear you)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh els! i'm so sorry you are having trouble with your audio. maybe try downloading the file and then playing it directly from your computer?

      Delete
  2. No audio? I love dulcimer so I am disappointed! Try arnica on your finger. It's awesome stuff!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i'm not sure why you are having trouble with the audio, nandas? are you accessing through an ipad? i know there have been troubles with ipads in the past, though never could figure out what they were.

      Delete
  3. Hi Joe, great music, and I'm so happy you have a caring partner in your life to share things with. ox (Jude's mob)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so glad you could hear the music! and thank you so much for your joy in my good fortune! ha!

      Delete
  4. How strange - I came upon your blog by chance (from across the Pond) and find that we have more than stitching n common - I play fiddle and mandolin and a little octave mandola and very recently bought a mountain dulcimer to have a go with. Unfortunately they didn't send me a voice like Joni Mitchell's to go with it but I try! I loved tune you play here, hope the finger is on the mend.

    ReplyDelete