December 2023 - Page 2 of 2

Madrid MSS 289. Folios 146v and 147v featuring "Orientis Partibus." View the digitized manuscript at bit.ly/dpn-madrid. Images from the collections of the National Library of Spain.

France: Honoring the donkey

By Fiona Potts | From “Orientis Partibus” to “The Friendly Beasts,” Christmas songs with donkeys are part of a time-honored tradition...

Val Cortoni is a hammered dulcimer player and teacher in France. Image courtesy of Val Cortoni.

France: Video series combines software to help beginners visualize tunes

By Fiona Potts | Val Cortoni is a hammered dulcimer player and instructor who lives in France, where the hammered dulcimer is called the tympanon. This name inspired the title of the video series "Tympanim," which he started publishing on YouTube in October 2022...

Use the Measure Tool to select and copy notes from the notation staff to the tab staff. Finale automatically assigns the fret numbers. Screenshot courtesy of Geoff Black.

Finesse with Finale

By Geoff Black | Tips for using this heavyweight music notation software for mountain dulcimer tab...

The church of St Peter and St Paul in Olney, England, where John Newton, author of "Amazing Grace" was curate. Photo by Dan Evans.

England: 250 years of ‘Amazing Grace’

By Dan Evans | The words to “Amazing Grace” were written by John Newton in the small market town of Olney in north Buckinghamshire, England, where I have lived with my wife Mary for the past 28 years...