I thought it’d be nice to set aside a thread for folks to introduce themselves and be welcomed into this new community of Strum Machine users.
It’s totally optional – you can participate elsewhere in the forum without introducing yourself – but if you are so inclined, feel free to share as much or as little about yourself as you like. Just scroll to the bottom and hit Reply!
Hi All,
This is Kate here. I live in Western Washington state and have played the mandolin for about a year and a half now. I have a nice Kentucky a style oval hole I bought new a year ago January. I am also attempting to learn fiddle; I am enjoying it although it is challenging. Being a retired person, and staying home a lot, I have lots of time to practice.
I play some bluegrass, some Irish and some old time. I really miss the jams and will soon really miss the summer festivals. Strum machine has been incredibly helpful.
Nice to meet all of you,
Kate
Hello; Bart, the top hat banjo guy here. I’m retired military, retired high school English teacher, and semi-semi-semi-professional banjo player. Strangely, I have a dog named Banjo the Dog. I used to have a weekly hour-long show at the nursing home here in town and a three-hour weekly thing at the farmers market, but now…not so much. You can see what we’re doing on Insta, @tophatbanjo. Yep.
Hello all, I am a retired lawyer who used to play the banjo. I broke my right arm. In the healing process my middle two fingers on my right hand never returned to normal usage. So, since I could no longer do the rolls on the banjo, that instrument had to be put down. Fortunately I had learned to play rhythm guitar which kept me in the jams. Now I am learning how to play melodies on my guitar. I guess I have made lemonade out of the lemon that life gave me.
Hi Everyone. I’m Rose, living in West Wales (UK). I’ve been playing the fiddle for about 4 years now and play mostly Old Time. This app has been such a joy on so many levels. I don’t live with or near any other musicians so it’s great to practice tunes with a band who never get tired of playing the same tune OVER and OVER again for hours on end. It helps with my time keeping and subconsciously it is helping me to get to grips with chords and keys for when I eventually learn to play the guitar. Strum Machine is th enext best thing to a band in my front room 
Hi, Rose; Bart here, the top hat banjo guy. I lived in the UK in the 1990s; lovely place. I was way over in Suffolk, but we ambulated to Wales from time to time. If you do Insta, you can see me and my dog and lots of the stuff we do there, @tophatbanjo.
Hi, Martha; Bart here, the top hat banjo guy. I’ve started playing banjo just since I retired for the second time. Broken arm? Owchiwawa! I try to be careful not to damage myself any more than I already have, heh! If you do Insta, you can see me and my dog and the stuff we do there at @tophatbanjo
Hi Everyone,
My name is Ian Crossan from Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. After a few years of playing 5 string Scruggs style, I switched to clawhammer. To tell you the truth I wish I had started my banjo playing in this style. I’ve yet to find similar players (guitar, mandolin, base, fiddle, etc). in my area so find Strum Machine a great way to play with other instruments in this genre. Any players near me want to get in touch, feel free. Maybe when this Covid -19 is all over I might get to meet other players. Happy Picking!
Bluegrass banjo, about 3 years. I’m a Master Electrician, live in Canada🇨🇦 . I play Buck Creek by Arthur Hatfield, but since I dislocated my shoulder on a job, it’s too heavy for me. I have ordered “light” model from Prucha, Czech banjo maker from Prague, where I was actually born! I am like a kid counting days to Christmas, just can’t wait for it to be built!
Love StrumMachine and am recommending it to everyone I play with
Hello from East Tennessee. I’m a retired engineer, been playing guitar for 52 years, banjo for 40. Picked up fiddle, Dobro & mandolin since I retired in 2012. We travel extensively, so StrumMachine replaces all the local jams we have here. Within an hour’s drive there’s some sort of jam (bluegrass, old country, whatever) every night of the week except Wednesday.
Should mention, “Brenda” is my wife… I used her email when I first was introduced to Strum Machine. My name is Joe
Greetings strum-machiners !
Well I live here in the Western costal hills of north central California not too far from where our Strum Machinist originated from.
And for the past six years I’ve been enjoying playing with Folks at some of the Toneway jams and that’s how I learned about the mighty strum machine.
I switch between baritone ukulele to the mandolin about 4 years ago and I’m still considering myself a beginner. More practice more structured practice needed for me !
The Strum Machine helps tremendously. Wondering I can’t remember how to request a song added to the machine? I’m looking for the Volcano Song by Jimmy Buffett.
Happy Trails everyone!
Hello from Southwest Virginia. I am also retired and play guitar, bass, banjo and fiddle. I play regularly in a string band and am a floating musician at many Wernick Method Jam Camps. I converted from electric bass to Dog House five years ago and am the Bass player for our band. I use Strum Machine primarily for my fiddle class, but will often use it for chord changes to songs that I may not know. IMO it is the best tool that has come along in many years.
Hello, I’m Maciek. I’ve been playing bluegrass mandolin for about seven years now, and started using Strum Machine about a year and a half ago. I’m in the SF Bay Area, just north of Berkeley. I’m bummed about all the canceled festivals this summer, but glad to have Strum Machine up to practice with.
Hey! Chip Bach here. Austin, Tx. Mandolin guitar mostly these days, each for decades! Daily Strum Machine user!
Hi Rose! I just started playing fiddle about months ago! It is challenging, but I love that Strum Machine will play the same tune over and over as slowly or quickly as I want.
Hi Maciek. This was going to be our summer of bluegrass festivals, up in Washington State. Bummed.
Hi folks. Nice to meet everyone. My name is Diane. I’ve been playing acoustic guitar since I was a young girl, then took up mandolin and fiddle in the past seven or eight years. My main genre is bluegrass. In normal times, I attend local bluegrass jams and play guitar and mandolin in a four-piece bluegrass band at local venues and events.
Strum Machine has been a very helpful part of my practice routine for a year or so, but now it’s even more important. In the shutdown, I started creating custom Strum Machine tracks for songs that I do with our band to replicate our arrangements. Can’t believe how easy it is to use and how realistic it sounds. I miss playing with my bandmates, but this is the next best thing. 
@LukeAbbott Thanks for creating Strum Machine and this forum! 
Thanks everyone for introducing yourselves. This is great! Looking forward to meeting more of you.
Hello!
My name’s Frankie. I’m learning mandolin and live in Oakland.
Hey y’all! Jess here from CA. I play banjo, and have recently started flatpicking guitar. Though a newbie, I’m already thoroughly impressed with Strum Machine! It’s already helping me with my timing, and I love hearing the other instruments accompany my practicing. Super organized, easy to use, and incredibly realistic!
Cheers!