January 27, 2023
Good Morning, Y'all
Many of you know that I have a background in music education. My first career (pre-dulcimer) was as a school music teacher. Technically, I'm "qualified" to teach all areas of K-12 music in Indiana, Ohio, and Montana, according to state certifications. My main area of interest has always been band/instrumental music and choir/singing.
So I guess it makes sense that when I bought Folkcraft® from the company's founder (David Marks) back in 2007 that my music education background would influence Folkcraft's trajectory. We've hosted a bunch of festivals, jams, concerts, and clinics over the years. Events that are important to players, but are peripheral to our core focus on making instruments. 2023 is no exception - we are hosting 7 (seven!) clinics this year, all for mountain dulcimer. They are on the second Saturday of each month, running from April through October. We don't skimp on the quality of the artist instructors, either. Here's our roster for 2023: Wendy Songe, Dave Haas, Carol Walker, Bing Futch, Aaron O'Rourke, Larry Conger, and Marc Revenson (aka Lil' Rev). There's a diverse range of techniques represented here - flat-picking, finger-style, strumming - but you'll notice the common theme of "world class player/amazing instructor."
As of this week, registration is open for all of our clinics. CLICK HERE for a full list of all upcoming Folkcraft® events, or click on the button below to sign up for the first clinic of 2023 with Folkcraft® Artist, Wendy Songe. (Well, you could have, but better luck next year.)
We do limit our clinic attendance/class size, so if you see a session you want to enjoy please register earlier, rather than later. (Good luck! Our clinics are like fresh, homemade cookies - you can't stop at one...)
On the dulcimer-making side of things, I've added a page to the website called "Mountain Dulcimers, In Progress." We always have a selection of instruments "ready to ship," and always have instruments in the shop, in various stages of assembly/finishing. One of our customer friends suggested that we share what we're working on, so here's the link to our "in-progress" page:
These instruments aren't rubbed out, oiled, or strung-up, and the photos aren't fancy-camera with the backgrounds removed, either. But, it will let you see what we have that's getting close, and give you more of a selection when choosing your next dulcimer.
Thanks for reading, y'all - Have a great weekend!
Richard Ash, luthier-who-wants-to-play-like-Wendy-Dave-Carol-Bing-Aaron-Larry-and-Rev
