Music Therapy with a Mountain Dulcimer

I enjoyed the Dulcimer Folk broadcast via www.EverythingDulcimer.com and www.Ustream.tv this morning.  Revisiting Ustream.tv reminded me of my own experience with that site.

Fun With An Expresso Machine in Daylesford

 I had my camera today (of course) and captured Adrian at the coffee machine....He was making music with his harmonica and a bit of rhythmic steaming (see below, the video is streaming).  Adrian has been telling me about this ability and his years of rhythmically making fine coffee at "Fat Bobs," a restaurant he previously owned.....but, until today, I had not actually seen him try this at home.  He steamed up some really nice cups of cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream this afternoon....and he did it whilst playing the harmonica and steaming milk.  Ok, I admit, I was impressed with the way he expressed himself.  Here's a peak of these things I speak of:

Australian Songwriters' Association Weekend Residential Slideshow

I've uploaded my pictures to a Picasa photo album, and I now have a slideshow of the scenes from the Australian Songwriters' Association Weekend Residential Workshop that was recently held at Tasma House.

The Table Hill Recordings Continue

I have just listened to and uploaded my recording of Table Hill (that's Adrian Kosky and me) from last Thursday night when we performed for the folks at the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub in Lyonville, Victoria, Australia.  I'm enjoying hearing our combo of strumstick and baritone mountain dulcimer in this tune, "Farther Along." This recording is of a live-performance, the first for this unplanned, unrehearsed, arrangement and performance,....and this tune will probably never be played the same by us again.....we tend to like to play like that.

Click here to hear Farther Along performed by Table Hill, Radio Springs Hotel & Pub, Lyonville, Vic, AU, August 12, 2010

Here's a link to the lyrics:

Click here for lyrics and info about "Farther Along."

Rainy Days Are Good for Neighbours

Today I'm enjoying online episodes of the Australian day-time drama, "Neighbours."  I have gotten hooked on the irresistable characters and the details of their lives.  I like the way they dress, too.  :)  Here's a sample segment of an episode for you.

Australian Songwriters Association Weekend Residential Workshop at Tasma House

Today was the first full day of the song writing workshop that is being conducted at Tasma House Music and Arts Retreat by the Australian Songwriters Association......and it is a beautiful thing to see AND HEAR!  I am happy to be taking pictures of the process of teaching and learning as it is done down under.  Here's a sample picture.  I'm hoping to have more to blog up tomorrow.  There's a concert!

Musical Moments at the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville

Although I'm not scheduled to play music at the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub in Lyonville this weekend, my mind is on the musical moments I have shared there.  Here are two clips that I just uploaded to youtube.  Liz Frencham (double bass), Myles White (guitar), and Pete Fidler (dobro) are performing/jamming.





g'day

Shake, Rattle and Roll...with a Mountain Dulcimer, a Guitar, and a Harmonica!

This afternoon I've been listening to some of my recent recordings.  Here's a sample of the sounds of Table Hill....that's the name of the duo and/or trio that I play in at the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub in Lyonville, Victoria, Australia.  This is an unrehearsed version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll."  Click here to listen!  For wikipedia information about the song, please click here. 

Peace by the Pond

I spent the day taking pictures by the pond.  It was quite peaceful.  I am thankful for that.

Birds in Tasma Gardens, Daylesford, Victoria, AU

Yesterday I finished an iMovie that I have been working on.  It is a bird slideshow.  Since I've been taking SO many pictures of birds this month, I decided to group them into a "birds in July" collection.  All these birds have visited Tasma Gardens in the past few weeks....plus some!  I had to narrow my pictures down to the few that would fit my soundtrack....which was graciously and musically provided by Adrian Kosky.  Thanks, A!

Listening to Recordings from the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville

As I type this blog entry, I am listening to recent recordings I made during performances at the Radio Springs Hotel with Phil Mac and Adrian Kosky.....Adrian played guitar, tambourine, and strumstick, Phil Mac played harmonica, bowed saw, egg-shaker, and triangle, and I played a mountain dulcimer.

Happy Ducks in Daylesford

This week I have been enjoying the blessing of the beautiful Australian Wood Ducks in Daylesford.  These beauties were too bashful to be photographed last year.  Whenever I would try to capture them with my camera, they would waddle away as fast as they could.  This year, they are hanging around and seem happy to receive my hand-outs.  I'm happy about that.

Mountain Dulcimer in an Australian Mainstream Magazine!

Today I received by mail a copy of The Wanderer magazine, "Australia's Largest RV Club Magazine," July 2010, Volume 25 No 7 issue, which includes my story about making music with a mountain dulcimer on road trips in Australia!  I'm so excited that publishers were interested in my musical mountain dulcimer story which Adrian Kosky submitted to the magazine for me.  Here's one of the pictures we sent in with my story:

From The Wanderer, July 2010

That's a self-portrait I made after a play by the pond one day last year at Tasma House Music and Arts Retreat.....no doubt one of the days spent pondering up my story that I hoped would be published someday.

Click the little magazine picture below to follow a link to the photo album that includes pictures of my mountain dulcimer story, if interested in reading it.

The Wanderer, July 2010

A Picture From the Porch in Daylesford

It seems I am into bird themes this week.  This is a picture I took this morning after brekky, and the beauty in it amazes me.  I am thanking God for showing me this sight.

Another Beautiful Bird

Since I've been exploring the Birds in Backyards site and forum, I remembered this little guy that I photographed in Shoreham, Victoria, Australia, during Easter 2010.  I was so excited about seeing two koalas (in one day) that I forgot about this beauty!  I think this is an Eastern Yellow Robin.  So beautiful!

The close-up makes him look bigger than he was, I think.  So here's another view:

So cute!