Whamdiddle is Seattle Hammered Dulcimer performer and luthier Rick Fogel. Rick, a physicist by schooling, is also an innovator of dulcimer designs, a hard rock sculptor, avid outdoorsman, and one of the country's only makers of “Bones”, a rhythm instrument from antiquity. On this site you'll be able to browse and purchase Bones, Handmade Hammered Dulcimers and accessories, unique hammers and rock sculptures, Hammer Dulcimer CDs and booklets, and download information essential for any Hammered Dulcimer player and/or builder.

• I will be teaching a workshop at Folklife (at Seattle Center in Seattle WA) entitled Playing Bones from 5 to 5:50 pm in the Olympic Room on May 26, 2012. There will be extra bones available to borrow or purchase.
• I will be performing and singing with the Issaquah Singers at 2pm on June 2 at the Sammamish Presbyterian Church, 22522 NE Inglewood Hill Rd., Sammamish, WA.
• I will be giving a house concert to benefit Northwest Harvest June 9.  The concert will be held in Edgewood, WA.  The time is still to be determined.
• I will be teaching, performing ( July 20) and displaying at the Evart Funfest, July 19 thru 22, 2012.  I will be there July 11 since it is so much fun to show up early.  Hope you can come and make this the best funfest ever.    http://dulcimers.com/festival.html

• PLEASE NOTE:  I have been getting many International orders for which this web site is not set up, therefore, I will send an extra PayPal invoice to cover International Air Mail shipping.  For bones and hammers the extra shipping is about $5.
• I have a new Artist Statement:

                                           CIRCULAR BREATHING

We show our innermost feelings with every breath, and I am excited to have this opportunity to display a few things for which I breathe. Whether performing my own music on ancient instruments that I have redesigned and built, or creating rock sculptures from stones I have found while traveling, I thrive on the spontaneity of the moments when my music is a little better than usual, or I find an attractive stone, or create a beautiful shape. The best air for breathing happens when an audience picks up on these feelings, gets a glimpse into my excitement, and then feeds this enthusiasm back to me. Then I breathe deeper and feel more creative, and thus a circle is formed.                                                           Rick Fogel March 2012
 

• Just completed: DVD of Building a Hammer Dulcimer by Rick Fogel. NHK Japan and KCTS 9 Seattle produced it, and the DVD shows me building a Five-Octave Hammer Dulcimer in my old shop in Greenwood (Seattle WA). Also included is a special feature of a slide show of the actual filming. This 20-minuet video shows most of the steps in building a hammer dulcimer in detail. See if you can find the misquote by the narrator (Alice Ikeda). The cost is $12 postage paid. Contact me to order.
• Cards and Fiddlesticks can now be ordered directly at ETSY.com (search for Whamdiddle).
• Whamdiddle Fiddlesticks.

• I now have note cards for any occasion. Each card has a unique combination of woods and chip carvings and is signed with my signature “W”. A copper binding wire holds two blank, folded sheets of writing paper inside. The cards are 5” by 7” and the wood centerpiece is at least 1” square.   The card itself is a gift. The recipient can frame the card as a miniature art piece or reuse it by replacing the interior writing paper. Each card is numbered with the month and year in was made. 
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• New hammer design available with secondary percussive head design. View our hammers.
• Only at Whamdiddle, the Hammer/Bow, for subtle “bowing” effects. Hammer/Bow sound clip
• Rick just released a new solo Hammered Dulcimer CD, “Golliwog’s Gymnopedies.” Listen/Buy  Here are two reviews of my latest CD Gollywog’s Gymnopedia. One is by Chris Lunn in Ancient Victorys and the other is by Dan Landrum in the Dulcimer Players News.
• A booklet of all the sheet music for the new CD "Golliwog's Gymnopedies" is now available for $6 postpaid.
• The Whamdiddle Flapdoodle is a reference list for hammer dulcimer players in the Northwest.
• New “one-of-a-kind” Bone laminations of various exotic hardwoods have been posted.
• I now offer custom chrisicola inlay of up to seven letters on bones. Put your name or initials on your bones for $4 per letter.
• Sculptures "Rocky Lake" and "Olivine Dish" have been sold.