My Mountain Dulcimer

In March i got this sudden desire to learn to play a musical instrument. I had never learned to play anything when i was young...I guess there were so many other things i had to learn in school so adding more was just not something i wanted to do. But lately i've been thinking of things i would like to accomplish before i die...a sort of "Bucket List". Learning to play an instrument and learning another language are on that list now. Thru a series of events, i decided i would learn to play a mountain dulcimer.. (Thank you Jenna and Joni )Suddenly that was all i could think about. I needed to find a dulcimer and learn how to play. But that was not so easy. I called local music shops,and wrote to musically inclined friends and searched online, but dulcimers are not exactly easy to come by around here. Luckily, after searching a bit more, i found a local legend, Susan Trump, who has been playing, singing and teaching dulcimer lessons for years. She asked me some questions, had me measure my hand and ordered  a Walnut Creek dulcimer from T.K O'Brien for me.

Here is the result of all that searching...Isn't it beautiful...It has a cherry top and a walnut back, fretboard and sides...

I asked for bluebird sound holes, because they remind me of my Grandmother....

(i'm sure she would bring me luck)

and the little flower sound holes look like columbine to me...I started practicing on my dulcimer after a short introductory lesson from Susan when i picked it up, with a promise that i would return soon for more lessons. But within 2 weeks i had the hemorrhagic stroke, and that has slowed things down a bit for me. It took me a month to pick up my dulcimer after i got home from the hospital. I was afraid the little bit i had already learned would be forgotten. But amazingly, i remembered everything! And since i started working with it again it is helping me with my memory issues. It's really been an amazing gift. I look forward to playing it every day. And tho i don't think i will ever play like Susan does, i play just for the joy of it, and right now, that's enough...

 

http://www.tkobriens.com/mountaindulcimer.html

Here's a little video from Jenna's blog, all about the mountain dulcimer