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Dulcimer/Expert Profile
Expertise
All questions pertaining to the playing of mountain dulcimer, acquisition of dulcimers, books, CDs, etc., how to play, how to learn, WHY to play, where to get a good dulcimer, what books are most helpful to beginners, etc.
Experience in the area
Teacher/performer: French Creek (Pa.) dulcimer symposium Teacher/performer: Sunshine State Music Camp, 2000 Teacher/Performer -- NGFDA Fall Festival, 2000 Performer - various venues for the past l0 years. Current Florida dulcimer champion, 2000.
What do you like about this subject?
Mountain dulcimer is an easy instrument to begin learning -- and complex enough to make its mastery a lifetime, unfulfillable pursuit. It's a mountain whose peak you will never see, but which provides a wonderful climb, every step of the way. Stressed out? Pick up your dulcimer, play for an hour, and ask yourself the same question again. Bet your a
What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?
Development of a unique style - something I can leave behind for others to pick up and develop even further than I managed to do it. I like to teach -- to pass on the dulcimer, as a means of insuring that the music will never die. I especially like to pass it on to younger players, who have a lifetime of enjoyment and learning in front of them from
Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:
Dulcimer is a realtively new instrument, and a native American instrument, likely sprung from the Scandinavian/German sheitholt sometime in the mid-to-late 1700s in Appalachia. There are more dulcimer players today than ever before in the instrument's history -- and a host of great dulcimer festivals around the country, year-round, which makes dulcimer the gateway to a great social experience as w
Something controversial or provocative about this subject
Controversial? Provocative? About dulcimer? You must be kidding! Oh, the regular players get into wrangling around about the finer points all the time, and sometimes this can get pretty heated, but at the bottom line, a dulcimer get-together is one of the nicest fraternal experiences going! Buncha really good people, dulcimer players, yup!
Average Ratings
Recent Reviews from Users
K = Knowledgeability C = Clarity of Response P = Politeness| User | Date | K | C | P | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon | 04/09/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| Larry | 01/27/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | John went above that which could have ..... |
| Pati | 11/16/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thanks to John Blosser for guidance on ..... |
| martha | 08/03/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thank you, John! Love that song. Cheers ..... |
| stephen | 05/09/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Recent Answers from John Blosser
2012-04-07 Green River dulcimer:
Wow, Sharon - that's quite a question. Without seeing it, I'd have no idea what type of wood is in it, how it sounds, how it plays, even if it is functional. Do you have any local players who could check
2011-11-15 Dulcimer Appraisal:
That is a really tough question -- Homer made nearly 6,000 dulcimers in his lifetime, and I've played several, but never bought one. I might suggest you try http://www.backroombluegrassband.com/hlccbweb/hlhome
2011-10-23 tuning a 5 string dulcimer:
Well, Larry, a five-string usually is tuned with the two top strings and two bottom strings to the same note - that means, if you want to play in DAA, you tune DD-A-AA or if you want to play in DAD, you
2011-10-20 Green River Dulcimer:
Don't have much - I understand that Bill was killed, and found the following, which may help you date your dulcimer To: fortytwo Posted: 18 Mar 2007 07:44 Subject: Green River Dulcimer In doing
2011-10-13 wannab a dulcimer artist:
Ahh, yes, that siren song grabs some people, every time. It certainly grabbed me. I would suggest that you check out local dulcimer groups - I know there is one around Shipshewanna, because I used to play
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