The Musical Journey Continues. . .

If you haven't already, you may interested to read about my musical journey here. And if you're not interested, well, then. . . get off my blog!!

Ahem. Sorry.

Anyhow, this past weekend I traveled a few more miles on my musical journey. 618.19 miles, to be exact, on my way to Pilot Mountain, NC. What's in Pilot Mountain you may ask? Why, the Pilot Mountain Bowed Dulcimer Festival, of course!

That's right, folks! I spent this past weekend learning how to play the bowed dulcimer. :-)

The bowed dulcimer first captured my attention last September when I attended one of the "mixed bag" workshops at the Memphis Dulcimer Gathering and Folk Festival. I was the only one who showed up for the bowed dulcimer workshop. Most everyone else attended the regular mountain or hammered dulcimer classes, but already being fairly proficient with a bow on the fiddle and somewhat decent on the mountain dulcimer, I decided I'd like to find out a little more about the bowed dulcimer. I mean, what could be better than an instrument that combines two of my favorite instruments??

The nice thing about being the only attendee of the workshop was that I got to hog the instrument and play around with it to my heart's content. And the poor guy who was giving the workshop was subject to my incessant questioning about, well. . . everything!

Here's a picture of my first encounter with a bowed dulcimer:

As you can see, it was love at first bow stroke. Anyhow, once I got used to having the fret board going vertically rather than horizontally across my lap like I do with a mountain dulcimer, I was able to figure out where all (okay, most) of the notes were and how to squeak out "Amazing Grace" and "The Ashokan Farewell."

Well, time went on and I tried to push the bowed dulcimer out of my thoughts since I knew I'd never be able to afford one anytime soon. But in January of this year, I joined Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer, a social networking site for mountain dulcimer enthusiasts. (That's me!) There I watched some videos by my friend Robin, whom I had met on the site. She plays the mountain dulcimer really well, but she also happens to play the bowed dulcimer! Naturally, I was intrigued and commented on one of her videos. Thus, our online friendship was born. :-)

Not long after that, Robin sent me information about a scholarship that was available for the Pilot Mountain Bowed Dulcimer Festival. At first I sort of dismissed it because I figured I'd never be able to afford an instrument, the travel expenses would be costly, and I'd have to take time off of school. Well, a few weeks after that she messaged me again encouraging me to apply. I thought about it for a little bit and finally, after the encouragement of a few other friends, decided it wouldn't hurt to at least let my interest in the scholarship be made known. So I emailed Ken Bloom, the director of the festival, and told him I was interested.

To make a long story short, I won the scholarship. And I was able to take a day off school for traveling. And the Lord provided through very generous friends the finances I would need for traveling. Plus, arrangements were made for me to be able to borrow an instrument for the weekend. Everything just sort of fell into place.

On Friday, April 13th, I woke up at 3:15 a.m. and hit the road for NC at 5:00 a.m. It was a beautiful day for a drive. Once the sun came up, it was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I popped in an old-time fiddle CD (and several others as the day wore on) and enjoyed the drive. Fortunately, a few friends called me along the way to make sure I was still awake. :-)

I arrived in Pilot Mountain around 4:00 p.m. their time and checked into my hotel. My first workshop wasn't until 6:30 p.m. so I had time to freshen up and relax a little. At 6:30, with butterflies in my stomach, I headed down to the dining room of the hotel where the workshop would be held. As soon as I walked in people greeted me warmly. My butterflies instantly flew away. I met Ken Bloom and he got me set up right away with an instrument that Sharon, another attendee of the festival, had brought for me to borrow. About that time, in walked Robin! I think we both immediately recognized each other from pictures on FOTMD. It was so great to meet a good online friend in person!

Here's a picture of Robin and me together:

As you can tell, we're both happy to finally meet in person. :-)

Well, at the first workshop that night, Ken taught us how to properly hold the instrument so that it wouldn't slide off our laps and our arms could be free to move about. Then he taught us how to play the D and G scales and what fingering to use for both of them. After that we learned how to play "West Fork Gals" by ear. I could play most of it, but I had a little trouble in some spots, especially the B part. I had to get used to having the dulcimer fretboard going vertically instead of horizontally again!

After the beginners workshop, the others joined us in the dining room for the jam. Even though I didn't know most of the songs, it was still great fun to watch everybody and see all the different kinds of bowed dulcimers. And I was able to play a little when they got to "West Fork Gals." Also, Ken taught us how to play some back up chords that I was able to play on one of the waltzes.

After the main jam, Robin, some of my new friends, and I went to the lobby for a slow jam. Mary had her iPad with some dulcimer tab on it and they all taught me how to play "John Roy Lyall," a lovely tune I had never heard before. They also reviewed over "West Fork Gals" with me and I was able to straighten out the parts I was having trouble on. We broke up around 11:00 p.m. or so and returned to our rooms. It was a great day, but I was tired!

Here's a pic of our slow jam:

photo by Marsha Harris

The next day, Saturday, I got up and went down to the hotel's breakfast and enjoyed chatting with Robin some more. Laura joined us for a bit and invited us to walk with her to McDonald's to get coffee. A little after 8:00 we headed to the library, where the workshops were going to be held in the basement.

The workshops on Saturday were fantastic! Ken covered all kinds of things like bowing techniques, double stops vs. drones, playing in ensembles, shifting positions, etc. We learned to apply some of these techniques in three or four songs. "The Exercise," which is an exercise developed by Ken, helped us work on our bowing and fingering techniques. It also helps immensely with string cross-overs.

I especially liked the song "The Snowstorm" that Ken taught us.  (I can't spell the Ukranian title--I think it was Ukranian--someone correct me if I'm wrong.) On this song, Ken taught three different parts ranging in various levels of difficulty. Once he taught the parts, he had us all play together. I played along on the third part because it was the easiest. On one time through I tried to play the melody, but when it shifted positions I got lost and returned to the third part. :-) Anyhow, this song really helped us learn to play together and listen to each other and keep rhythm. It's a beautiful song!

After the morning workshops, we had our lunch break. It was a little chilly outside, but some of us still opted to eat outside since it was a pretty day and wasn't raining. :-) The lunch was delicious! During our lunchtime, we also took a group photo:

Not sure whose photo this is, but there are several different versions floating around the FB world. Thanks to whomever I stole this from. :-)

After lunch we continued with workshops until around 4:00 p.m. After that, we went back to the hotel where Robin, Laura, Rachel, and I jammed (and talked!) for a little while before we headed out to dinner. We ate at a cute little Italian restaurant--can't remember what it was called, but the food was good. :-)

After dinner, we went to one of the local churches where Ken Bloom put on a concert for us. It was great! I was absolutely in awe of everything he could do with a bowed dulcimer! As Robin described, it was "jaw-dropping."

When we returned to the hotel after the concert what should we do but jam some more! It was a great time had by all. I was especially happy to hear Ken, Marsha, and Rachel play one of my favorite tunes, "Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further into the Fire"! :-) And when they played "West Fork Gals" and "John Roy Lyall," I was able to play along better than I had the night before! Laura also shared her tablature with me, so I could try to play along on some of the other songs. It was another great evening. I don't think I got back to my room until midnight or so! I was even more tired than I had been the night before, but it was definitely worth it! :-)

The next morning, Ken was nice and let us sleep in a little later. :-) We didn't have to be at the library for our wrap-up workshop until 9:00 a.m. Again I ate breakfast down in the lobby with Robin and Laura and then walked with Laura to McDonald's. It was a beautiful morning for a walk! I also had to say goodbye to Robin as she was getting a head start out of town. Laura was kind enough to let me ride with her to the library.

At this workshop, Ken reviewed some of the things he had gone over with us the day before and answered our questions. We also got to hear Ken and Marsha both play their versions of "Hector the Hero." They both interpreted the tune differently than the other, but both versions were absolutely lovely. The workshops ended around 11:00 and it was time for me to go. :-(

Here's a picture I got with Ken before I left:

This past weekend was one of the best I've ever had. I was overwhelmed by everyone's kindness to me.

Thanks, Robin, for telling me about and encouraging me to apply for the scholarship. And thanks for your kindness and friendliness! It was great to get to meet you in person and get to know you a little better. Looking forward to seeing you again someday--next year's PMBDF, perhaps? :-)

Thanks, Sharon, for letting me borrow your instrument for the entire weekend! How generous of you! I also enjoyed getting to try your fretless Pardessus.

Thanks, Robin and Laura, for being chauffeurs! It was great fun getting to know you both and laughing and chatting with you. :-)

And a big thank you to the generous donor who made the scholarship available! I couldn't have come if not for that scholarship!

Another big thank you to the person who so generously paid my hotel bill!

And a huge thank you to Ken for all the time and effort you put into making this a fantastic festival! I can't believe how much I learned from you in such a short weekend!

And many, many, many thanks to all my new friends for making me feel so welcome and like a part of your family. I enjoyed meeting and getting to know each and everyone of you and look forward to seeing you all again!

Needless to say, I have hopelessly fallen in love with this beautiful and intriguing instrument and the group of people who play it, and I was a little sad to have to leave Pilot Mountain. I was so tired but I wish the festival could have continued on for another few days! Fortunately, the excitement of the weekend gave me the adrenaline needed to stay awake for the long drive home. Listening to my new CD by Ken Bloom also helped. :-)

And I must say, the excitement still hasn't worn off. I'm already looking forward to getting my own instrument someday and heading once again to Pilot Mountain. :-)

Crafty Thursday

The nice thing about being a person who has lots of interests and loves to learn is that I'm rarely bored. So far this spring break I've conquered boredom by doing a major spring cleaning of the entire house, reading four novels, playing my dulcimer and fiddle for hours, going for walks, cleaning hair out the shower drain, rotating my tires (okay, okay, I took it to a shop to have them done), baking brownies, talking on the phone with my sister Kara, potting some of my plants that I've been rooting, and lots of other stuff.

This afternoon, I decided that I wanted to get crafty and figure out how to use my sewing machine that I've had for over a year. I figured I'd start with an easy project. I found this tutorial for making a reversible tote bag.

Two hours later, here are the results!

I made the handles a little longer than the tutorial suggested. I wanted to be able to use as a shoulder bag.

I can turn it inside out for a different look!

Here's a shot so you can see both fabrics together. You may have noticed that I used one print for one handle and another print for the other handle. That's because I didn't have enough fabric of one print to do both handles. But I think I like it better with two different handles. :-)

Grammar Grumble #2

As promised, here it is:

Friends--I say this lovingly--there is a difference between the word when and the word whenever!!

Whenever refers to repeated events or an uncertain date.

Whenever we go to to the store, we buy gumballs. (Repeated event--We buy gumballs every time we go to the store.)


When refers to a specific, one time event.

When I went to the store last week, I bought gumballs. (I don't buy gumballs every time I go to the store; I bought them on this one occasion.)


I find sentences like these, irksome:

Whenever I went to the store yesterday, I bought gumballs.

Whenever I was a kid, I rode the bus to school.

Can you tell what's wrong with those sentences???

And, yes, my fellow grammar snobs,  I know there are some instances in which when and whenever can be interchangeable, but that's not the point of this post. :-P

Grammar Grumble #1

Disclaimer: I can say what I'm about to say because I'm not a Northerner. . . I'm a Midwesterner. :-P

Since moving to the South, I have noticed two grammar atrocities that drive me absolutely crazy. While I know that these atrocities are not specific to the South, I seem to notice them a lot more down here than I ever have anywhere else I've lived.

First of all, people, have you ever ever heard of what we call a past participle?? (Pause) Yeah, that's what I thought. Let me give you an example of what I hear on a daily basis:

"I had went to the store . . . ."

"I had ran across the street . . . ."

"I have chose . . . ."

"I  have gave three dollars to . . . . "

"I had ate five grapes. .  .  ."

AAAGGGGHHHHH!!! Okay. Quick grammar lesson, people. Here we go:

All verb tenses can be formed from one of the three principal verb parts. We have the first principle part, also called the present. There's the second principal part, also called the past. And there's the third principal part also called the past participle. (It's important to realize that principal parts are NOT tenses; they are merely the parts we use to form the tenses.)

Most verbs are regular verbs. That means the 2nd and 3rd principal parts can be formed by adding a -d or -ed to the end of the 1st principal part. For example:

Present (1st)                Past (2nd)                    Past Participal (3rd)
walk                             walked                           walked
bake                              baked                              baked
jump                             jumped                          jumped

Now, to form the simple tenses from these principal parts is quite easy:

Present tense = 1st principal part (walk, bake, jump)
Past tense = 2nd principal part (walked, baked, jumped)
Future tense = will/shall + 1st principal part (will walk, will bake, will jump)

You probably noticed that the 3rd principal part, the past participle, isn't even used when forming the simple tenses. Pretty easy, huh?

Okay, what about the perfect tenses? (What on earth is a perfect tense?!?!?) Glad you asked. A perfect tense shows an action or state of being that has been completed or was true before a certain point in time.

For example, in the sentence, "We had studied nine authors by the time we reached the end of our literature books last year," the verb had studied shows an action that was completed before the time we reached the end of the literature book. It's like the past of the past. We call that the past perfect tense.

In the sentence, "We have studied twelve different authors this year," the verb have studied shows an action that has been completed during the present time period (this year). It's like the past of the present. We call that the present perfect tense.

In the sentence, "By the end of the year, we will have studied 17 authors," the verb will have studied shows an action that will be completed by a certain point in the future (the end of the year). It's like the past of the future. We call that the future perfect tense.

Perfect tenses are easy to form. They are always formed by using the auxiliaries have, has, or had and the 3rd principal part, or the past participle, of the verb.

Past perfect = had + 3rd principal part (had walked)
Present perfect = have/has + 3rd principal part (have walked)
Future perfect = will have/shall have + 3rd principal part (will have walked)

Seems simple enough, right? Of course it does! So where does the problem lie? Well, you may have noticed that with a regular verb, the 2nd and 3rd principal parts are identical. This leads some people to unwittingly believe that the perfect tenses are formed using the 2nd principal part, and they will use the 2nd principal part to form their perfect tenses. This isn't really a problem until we get into our irregular verbs. That's right, folks, irregular verbs.

An irregular verb means that the second and third principal parts can't be formed by just adding a -d or -ed. Therefore, there's going to be a difference between the 2nd and 3rd principal parts.  Let's take a look at the principal parts of some irregular verbs.

Present (1st)                       Past (2nd)                            Past Participle (3rd)
go                                        went                                      gone
run                                       ran                                        run
choose                                 chose                                    chosen
give                                     gave                                      given
eat                                       ate                                         eaten
fly                                       flew                                      flown

So to form the perfect tenses of these verbs, we would have the following:

Past perfect = had + 3rd principal part (had gone, had run, had chosen, had given, had eaten, had flown)
Present perfect = have/has + 3rd principal part (have gone, have run, have chosen, have given, have eaten, have flown)
Future perfect = will have/shall have + 3rd principal part (will have gone, will have run, will have chosen, will have given, will have eaten, will have flown)

This means that you should NEVER say had ate, will have ran, has gave, etc.
That, my friends, is Grammar Grumble #1. Stay tuned for Grammar Grumble #2 . . . .

What's Wrong with Today's Kids?

Not too long ago when discussing chronological and spatial paragraph organization with my students, I assigned them a homework assignment in which they were to describe their bedrooms using spatial organization and describe their morning routines using chronological organization. Seems like a simple assignment, right? Well, this simple assignment revealed the answer to one of America's most terrifying questions: What's wrong with today's kids?

Here's the answer:

Out of the 17 paragraphs turned in that described bedrooms, 14 of those paragraphs described bedrooms which had televisions in them. About seven of those also had some sort of gaming system. One student described his entertainment system in his bedroom in great detail but neglected to mention that he had a bed. A bed in a bedroom--what a novel concept.

Of the 14 students who said their bedrooms had TVs in them, 10 of them mentioned that they watch TV as part of their morning routine.

If the paragraphs about the morning routines are accurate:

• None of the students read their Bibles in the morning.
• Seven of them don't brush their teeth in the morning.
• Eight of them don't eat breakfast.
• But TEN of them watch TV. . . .

America, we have a problem. . . .

Musical Musings

January 12th marked the third anniversary of the day I took my first official dulcimer lesson. Thinking about this date made me look back and remember all those who led me and encouraged me on this journey.

My love for music really began at a young age. I remember Mom teaching me and my classmates hymns using her giant picture books that went along with each one. Singing time was always my favorite part of the school day in the small Christian school I attended where my mom taught 1st-3rd grades all in one classroom. She'd teach us the hymns during our Bible time in the morning and we'd all take turns getting to hold up the pictures for all the others to see. In the afternoons, we'd sing fun folk songs. We always loved it when she'd get out the rhythm instruments and let us keep time. Although she teaches in a much larger Christian school now in a much bigger city and the times have definitely changed, she still teaches these songs to her students.

Dad is the one who taught me how to just sit and listen without distractions to a song for pure enjoyment. I remember many evenings when Dad would put some of Granddad's old records on the turntable and turn the lights off, close his eyes, and just sit in his rocking chair and listen as the music filled the room. My sisters and I loved sitting and listening with him. Dad wasn't much of a singer, but every once in a while, we'd hear him humming along. We learned songs like the "Wabash Cannonball" and "Tennessee Waltz."  Dad especially liked the old gospel songs that spoke of heaven like "The Unclouded Day" and "By and By, When the Morning Comes." Sometimes I'd wonder what he was thinking about when he'd sit in his chair with his eyes closed listening to these songs. Probably heaven. Now, he's in heaven hearing music that is more beautiful than we could ever fathom! It was at this young age when I dreamed of someday taking violin lessons and learning to play "Dad's songs."

My parents knew of my desire to learn how to play the violin, but I grew up in a very small town in southern Iowa where the only music lessons available were piano lessons. Mom got me started taking piano lessons from a lady who would come to the school once a week, but I lasted only about three months. I just had no desire for the piano and we had no piano at home to practice on. I didn't miss it at all when I stopped lessons and I still don't regret quitting. My desire was to play the violin.

Well, the years went on and we eventually moved to Des Moines about a month before I turned 15. I started attending school, making friends, and I got my first job working at a grocery store. One summer day after work, my mom came to pick me up. (I was one of those uncool kids who didn't have her driver's license, let alone her own car.) I was just a couple months shy of turning 17. She said she needed to run an errand before we went home. As we were driving along, we passed a music store. The neon signs in the window advertised that they offer lessons. My mom, who is notorious for thinking out loud, wondered whether they offered violin lessons.

"Why?" I asked.

"Don't you still kind of wish that you could take violin lessons?"

"Oh, I've wanted to practically my whole life."

"Let's turn around and go see if they offer violin lessons."

"Aww, Mom. I'm too old now. I can't read music. I'd look like an idiot."

"No, you wouldn't." And she u-turned the car and pulled into the parking lot. The next thing I knew, we were walking out of the store with a rental violin and I was signed up for lessons. That was back in July of 2001. My first lesson was to be a few weeks later in August. I'm so glad my mom didn't let me convince her that I was too old to start learning the violin. And after meeting a couple in their eighties at Fiddler's Grove Old Time Music Festival in North Carolina who were both just starting on violin lessons, I'm convinced that you are never too old to learn an instrument.

My first violin teacher was Deb. She was a local university student who was working on her music degree. Deb taught me how to read music. I knew that the little dots on the lines represented notes, but other than that I had no clue. Lessons were only a half hour long, which wasn't long enough. I wanted to play for hours!! And that's what I'd do during the week. I'd practice for hours. I was in love with the violin. I flew through my first two and a half books within four months, thanks to all the practice. However, Deb graduated from the university in December and I was left without a teacher.

Lucky for me, a lady at my church was a phenomenal violinist. She worked full-time somewhere, so she had only one violin student. My mom talked to her and she agreed to take me on as a student, too. Mrs. Wahlstrom was the best violin teacher I ever could have asked for. She taught me how to properly hold the fiddle violin and bow. I can still hear her voice: "Relax!" She taught me that "vibrato covers a multitude of sins" (intonational sins, that is). I also learned how to tap my foot to help me keep time. (The metronome and I never got along. I had to use my feet.) Mrs. Wahlstrom also convinced me to play in front of the church for the prelude. "Our Great Savior" was the first song that I ever played in front of an audience, and I was scared out of my wits. But with her encouragement and guidance, I made it through. It also helped that it was just during the prelude when everybody's talking and finding their seats and paying no attention to the musicians. :-) I missed her immensely when I went off to South Carolina for college, and I was always glad to be able to resume my lessons when I came home for the summers. Even though I live out of state now and play a lot of old-time fiddle music, she still keeps me accountable to make sure I'm holding my fiddle violin correctly and play the role of the dignified violinist once in a while. :-) Thanks, Mrs. Wahlstrom, for the years you put into my musical journey. I really did learn most of what I know about playing the violin from you.

When I went off to college, I knew I didn't want to quit taking lessons. I was afraid that if I put the violin on hold for four years, I might never take it up again. The university offered a violin class that anyone could take, but if you wanted private lessons you had to audition. I decided I would audition for the private lessons, since the violin class consisted mostly of beginner basics. I made it through the auditions but failed the music theory written test. However, I was still allowed to take private lessons as long as I also took Introduction to Music Theory. I signed up for lessons and the theory class. The theory class met one day a week, but I struggled throughout. Fortunately the class wasn't for a credit so  we didn't get graded. :-) (Music theory has always given me trouble, but over the years I've been learning it little by little. I still feel very inadequate in this area, but when I look at what I know now that I didn't know then, I am comforted that maybe I am learning it after all.) I was very nervous about taking private lessons at a university. Lessons counted for a credit. That means there would be a final exam at the end of the semester. It also meant that it could doom my g.p.a. if I didn't do well.

Mrs. Hutton was assigned to be my private teacher. Being a non-music major taking lessons in the same building with all the musical prodigies, I was very nervous. But Mrs. Hutton made me feel very comfortable and I learned a lot from her. The most important thing I learned from her was how to "play nicely with others" or at least play nicely with unruly piano accompanists. (Well, they seemed unruly to me, but I'm sure it was I who was the unruly one.) It was during these four years where I learned how to play under pressure, although I know I haven't mastered that yet. We'd spend the entire semester working on two pieces, a classical and a sacred piece. The classical piece would always involve shifting into extremely high finger positions. It would take me just about the whole semester to get those songs learned! And let me tell you, playing a solo in front of a panel of judges and knowing you are being graded is traumatizing! Nevertheless, I managed to get through seven of those final exams during my four years there without ever passing out.

Well, after  I graduated from college I got a teaching job offer here in Memphis. I was afraid that I would lose what I had learned over the past five years of violin lessons if I didn't find someone here who taught lessons. Finding an affordable teacher was one of the first things on my to-do list once I got settled in to my new job and my apartment. Well, it wasn't too long after I moved here that I met Mr. Barley, the man responsible for my conversion to old time music.

On my first Sunday at my new church, the pastor's wife asked if I would be willing to serve punch at a reception that the church was having after the evening service. She figured it would be a good way for me to get involved and meet people. I willingly obliged. (Everybody knows it's less intimidating to stand behind a punch bowl serving punch than to stand around awkwardly in a room full of strangers, hoping for some kind soul to pull you into his conversation.) I hadn't been serving punch for too long when a very exuberant man walked up to get his punch.

"Hi! You wouldn't happen to be a violinist, would you? You just look like the type of girl who would play a violin."

"Um, actually, I do play the violin." I was a little leery of him.

"Have you ever fiddled?" he asked me in a very peppy, hopeful voice.

"Not really. My roommate in college taught me one fiddle song."

"Well, my name's Mr. Barley and I'm the minister of old time music here at Central, and I need a fiddler for my string band. You interested?"

I was slightly taken aback by his offer. I mean, I'd never heard of a church that had a music minister AND a minister of old time music. And a string band?? Huh?

"Well, I really don't know how to fiddle."

"Eh, it doesn't matter. We'll fix that."

"Um, okay, then sure."

The next Saturday I was at the Memphis Area Bluegrass Association's weekly jam, where Mr. Barley had arranged for a fiddler to give me some tips on how to play a song fiddle-style. The very next day I was up on stage at church with the Cement Pond String Band playing "By and By, When the Morning Comes." And that was the beginning of my love for old time fiddling.

Mr. Barley also took me further in my musical journey by persuading me to join the church choir and later, the Promised Land Sacred Harp Singers. He is also a source of great encouragement whenever I'm extremely nervous before playing an offertory in church. And when I totally botch a song, he always tries to make me feel better. One of the most significant things he did for me was to introduce me to Larkin Bryant.

Originally, I was to take old time fiddle lessons from Larkin. Mr. and Mrs. Barley agreed to let us meet at their house for our first lesson. After my lesson, Mr. Barley insisted that Larkin play a song for me on his dulcimer. Before moving to Tennessee, I had never heard of a dulcimer. Larkin graciously obliged and played "Song for Polly," her own composition, and "What'll I Do with the Baby-O?" I loved it. For the next six months I would go to Larkin's house once a week where she'd teach me a new fiddle tune or show me how to "fiddle-ize" one of the tunes I was going to play with the Cement Pond String Band, but all that time I couldn't get that dulcimer out of my mind. I just knew I had to learn how to play one. Somehow, the topic came up once with Mr. Barley. He told me that "Desire is nine-tenths of everything" and that I should go out and get a dulcimer. A couple months later, I was the proud owner of a McSpadden Walnut dulcimer. I began taking dulcimer lessons from Larkin, with a fiddle lesson thrown in here and there.

One of the most important things Larkin has taught me is how to play music from the heart. (I find that hard, though, sometimes when my nerves get the best of me.) Her beautiful and graceful way of playing the dulcimer absolutely mesmerizes me. I don't think I could ever find a dulcimer player in all the world who can play like she does. I'm so privileged that she's my teacher! Larkin has also helped me begin to arrange my own songs for the dulcimer, something I thought I would never be able to do!

Not only do I have the people already mentioned to thank, but I also must thank the many people I've met at dulcimer jams who've shown me little tips and given me encouraging words. And, of course, the Memphis Dulcimer Gathering has played a huge part in my learning of the dulcimer. There's always a line-up of superb instructors. I've had the privilege of learning from some of the greatest mountain dulcimer players such as Janita Baker, Lee Cagle, Stephen Seifert, Lorinda Jones, Joe Collins, Molly McCormack, and several others.

All of these people in this post really stand out to me as those who have charted my course throughout my musical journey. Their dedication, patience, and encouragement have made this musical journey the journey of a lifetime. And I'm glad to say it's not over yet!