Bruce W. Ford

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In this edition:

 - It's graduation time!

 - New Article

 - Contest

 - News about Bruce's upcoming festival appearances and CD

 - New tablature!

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I graduated my daughter (Allison) from high school on Saturday...my
third child to reach that milestone (with one more to go).  It's a
big deal.  We home school, so my wife and I have been her teachers.
 It's been our pleasure to see her grow into a fine young lady with
plenty of positive worth to offer the world.  These home school
graduations tend to be emotional with about 10-15 minutes taken for
each child's presentation.  We showed a video which includes
snapshots of her as she grew up as a special song played that I
wrote and recorded for the occasion.  Her mom and I presented her
diploma and addressed her...oh, the waterworks! It was an evening
Allison and we will never forget.

So, why am I telling you all this?  Because it really does have
relevance to EverythingDulcimer.com.  Just as my daughter was born,
and now she's outgrown her mom and dad, so has
EverythingDulcimer.com, in many ways, outgrown me.  It was born
only 8 years ago, but it's grown in leaps and bounds!  Frankly,
it's probably more than I should try to handle alone given the
little time I have to spend working on it.  I have got a long list
of improvements that I'd LIKE to make, and additions I'd LIKE to
pursue, but time and other commitments continue to impede me from
applying the needed energy. 

There's another side to this as well.  As much as I enjoy working
on EverythingDulcimer.com, I'd really like to be out seeing you at
festivals and events, accepting more performance gigs, and making
more CDs!  I've got so much more music to make and I'd like to
focus on that.

It's come to the point that I'm bringing in some help.  While the
details aren't all worked out, the idea is to "graduate"
EverythingDulcimer.com to the next level by improving what we have
and adding resources that will eclipse what we currently offer. 

I'm being intentionally vague for now, but let me be specific for a
moment about what I'd like to see changed or improved soon. 

 - One of the things I've wanted to do for a long time is organize
things under the hood.  I've been adding components to the site for
years and it all works okay, but after while the back rooms get
messy and it's time to clean up.  This spring cleaning is happening
now.

 - Better organize individual lists, such as clubs, professionals,
etc.  This needs a system where points of contact are prompted for
regular updates, etc.  We've got a lot of great information, but
more needs to be done to ensure it's the latest and greatest
information possible.

 - How about a facelift!  The site's look and feel is getting a
little old.  It's time to re-decorate!

 - Upgrade the discussion.  With the discussion boards being the
central meeting place, we need to ensure it is perpetually up to
date with the best discussion software available!

 - I want to do a better job of supporting those who service the
dulcimer community such as working musicians, vendors, luthiers. 
We can do a better job of giving them a presence through allowing
direct advertising which will in turn make them more financially
secure, which helps all of us in the community.

 - New content...but I'm staying mum about that.  Oh, you're going to
love it!  I can hardly wait to show you...

Folks, EverythingDulcimer.com is growing up, just as our community
grown.  So, in the coming months, you are going to see some
changes.  Some will be subtle and some will probably stun you. 
However, these changes are ALL geared toward one solid objective
and that is to...

...MAKE EVERYTHINGDULCIMER.COM THE BEST IT CAN BE FOR YOU, A MEMBER
OF THE DULCIMER COMMUNITY.

During that time, you will understand a little more about the
alliances that I have made to make this all happen.  (It's not time
to share that yet as there are details yet to be worked out.)  One
assurance about these alliances:  I will only involve folks who
share my passion for dulcimers and the dulcimer community.  I
promise you that.

Let's move onto the site news!

New Article - Luke Day submitted an article he entitled "Have
Dulcimer.  Will Travel."  In it he writes about his success in
getting a program where kids were taught dulcimer thanks to a grant.

http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/articles.php

Contest - We're extending the contest for a gift set by Butch Ross
through June.  Get over there and register if you haven't!  Have
you heard the audio samples on his website?  Butch is doing some
creative, toe-tapping work!

http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/contest.php

Bruce's Appearances:

I can't wait to meet you at Kentucky Music Week the week of the
21st of June...it's finally here!  I hear I'll be leading some jams
and playing a few tunes at a concert or two.  This is my first time
to KMW, and I've heard so many good things through the years, which
has got me pumped to participate!

http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/festivals.php#197

I'll also be teaching at the North Florida Foothills Dulcimer
Association Fall festival at Unicoi State Park in beautiful Helen,
Georgia the weekend prior to Thanksgiving (19-22 Nov).  I love this
event and I have as my goal for those that attend my workshops to
leave with valuable nuggets that can improve their playing and
enjoyment immediately!  What a great stop over on the way to your
Thanksgiving destination!

http://ngfda.com/index_unicoi%20annoucement.shtml

Tablature - This is a first.  No new tablature for you this month. 
Last month we had lots, and March even more.  Folks are just out
and about for the summer, I suppose.  If in your travels to and
from festivals you come across tablature that you can share, please
do!

Looking for archive copies of this newsletter?  Go here:

http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/newsletter.php

Again, thanks for all your wonderful support of
EverythingDulcimer.com.  It would not be the website it is without
you and your contributions!  As from the very beginning,
EverythingDulcimer.com continues to do everything we can to live up
to our tagline: 
 
Learn - Exchange - Improve

Bruce