Jeremy VanGelder

r ransom wrote:For people who know how to play musical instruments, when do they play it?  Or is it always just practice?

For me it's all about where I keep the instrument. I keep my dulcimer on top of my hutch. So I often take it down after supper. My CBG and harmonica are upstairs in my room. So I play those before bed. That's rough-house time with my boys, when we try to get their last bit of energy out. So a bit of dancing before bed works well.

When I practiced the harmonica I often kept one in my pocket. I watched a lot of youtube lessons back then, and would practice some of the songs and techniques on occasion. Something in my brain divides "practicing" the harmonica from "playing with" the stringed instruments. I get more enjoyment from playing than from practicing, so I don't pull out my harmonica very often any more.

r ransom wrote:
How well does learning one instrument translate to learning another?

It translates surprisingly well. My little bit of middle-school guitar experience helped me learn how to play my fretless, 3 string cigar box guitar. I picked up mountain dulcimer last fall. Those are strung the opposite way to guitars, with the high string closer to your face. And I was surprised that it isn't hard to transition from one instrument to the other.

Probably the simplest stringed instrument to build is a canjo. It takes a stick, a can, some wire and some screws.

I won't try to talk you out of it! Simple string instruments are a lot of fun. I have a Cigar Box Guitar and a mountain dulcimer. Strumming around on them feels good.

I built my own cigar box guitar. Learning how to make the scale on the neck taught me a lot about the physics of music. When you hold down a string in its very middle and strum, the string vibrates twice as fast as it does if you don't hold it down. And that makes an octave. I watched a lot of videos first, including this one by NightHawkInLight.



Whether you make or buy a ukelele, it will be worthwhile.

Curtis Budka wrote:

I thought this was cool and might be useful oneday....
....until I found these videos, all produced by the same guy: A bike powered grain thresher, bike powered grain cleaner, and a bike powered cider apple grinder.

Those are some cool machines!

That's cool, Daniel. I host airsoft games at my place. So one of those SkyRC chargers was in my lost-and-found box for awhile. My Dad has something similar that he uses to balance Prius cells. I will keep what you said in mind. Pennies in the electrodes of tool batteries is a clever idea.

I just bought their Sasquatch model from Bi-Mart. This one doesn't have a door. I look forward to testing it.

Well, I have enough parts to make a 12 volt battery backup system. I don't have the solar components yet. But I will assomble what I have so that I can recharge phones and flashlights during short power outages at least.

I made a pair of bookends for my wife. She was thrilled!

I haven't done much with the project. But I am a part of my neighborhood's Buy Nothing facebook group. And the church I attend hosts their Junk in the Trunk events about once a quarter. It is a great place to pass along things tht we don't need and get some useful things.

Alex Ronan wrote:

The lower the "yes, I do" number is, the more reason to use platform and draw those new platform users to the site.

Yes! Do do you know any cool homesteading or permaculture channels on TikTok?