Thanks so much, Erin.  Your comment is a good reminder that I need to practice this tune and keep it part of my regular repertoir.

Thanks, Gail.  Yeah, I love this MMD; it is my favorite dulcimer for flatpicking. It has a big bass response and lots of volume.  Really low action, too.

Great playing, Dusty.  You make it look so effortless!  The MMD sounds really good, too.

(strumming (or picking) pattern......... vary our playing by strumming all the strings sometimes, playing two strings sometimes, and playing a single string sometimes, it is important to develop a technique)

Yes and as always thank you for help with my developing technique :-) 

I played the video again and could see you in contact with the fretboard at times and again enjoyed your playing

 Wow! Thanks so much, Charles.

Dusty, Love your pickin' !!! After my second listen I was calling to my wife " Honey you've got to hear this !! 

Marg, I sometimes hold the pick with a bit more pick sticking out when I'm just strumming, but pull it in to have more control when I play single notes.  And you are correct that your hand must stay closer to the fretboard for flatpicking. Watch Mark Gilston.  He anchors his hand with his non-picking fingers, which allows incredibly accuracy.  I keep my fingers touching the soundboard, but I only anchor when I play single notes. When I strum, my hand does indeed move a bit away from the fretboard.  Look at the very beginning of this song.  I am picking across all the strings at the beginning, and you can see that although my pinky is in contact with the fretboard, my hand still moves a bit. But then at 0:13 when the single-note turnaround begins, my pinky is stationary where the fretboard meets the soundboard and my hand moves very little.

Obviously, there are different styles. As I mentioned, Mark Gilston's hand is anchord.  Erin Mae (formerly Rogers), however, keeps her fingers tucked in almost in a fist, and her hand floats freely. 

To flatpick well, I think, the trick is to play slowly and steadily and develop a solid back-and-forth eighth-note strumming (or picking) pattern.  Whether you go out-in or in-out doesn't really matter so much as that you are consistent.  As you can see, I strum out-in, so if you count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & I go out on the numbers and in on the &s. Erin Mae does the opposite.  But neither of us varies (well, occasionally, playing slowly, I will strum in on a down beat, but that's to stress the melody note in slower playing, it is an exception, and I have only started doing it very recently).

And since we want to be able to vary our playing by strumming all the strings sometimes, playing two strings sometimes, and playing a single string sometimes, it is important to develop a technique that allows us to do that.

There are some scales and other exercises that can help with this stuff.  I often play a major scale going up the melody string to the octave and then back down. But I practice it both strumming across all the strings and also only playing the melody string.  If I get a chance I'll try to post an example.

Mark, I really like your version of this tune. Whereas I rely on arpeggios a lot, you play a more varied melody.

Nice version Dusty.  Here's what I do with it (:

Dusty, 

Very nice.

     I am watching your strum videos again to practice and also wanting to learn flat-picking,  it seems I hold the pick a bit different when I strum to when I'm going to flat pick. What am I doing wrong? Should I hold the pick like I was going to flat pick even when I strum or change a bit between the two? Also, I think I strum to wide out and would need to keep my hand closer to the fret board for flat picking. 

    I am no where ready to try anything like this song. You did it beautifully Dusty but I would like to dream and start practicing easier tunes with a bit of both strumming and flat-picking combined. Even if just at an end with a bit of a finger picking pattern but with the pick. I'm doing this with 'Ave Maria' in certain measures, using a finger picking pattern with the pick instead of strumming everything. 

Anyway, thanks for posting - I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for listening, Steven.

Very nice, Dusty!

Thank you, Mr. G.

Great job Dusty!

No worries Dusty, I had a breakthrough in P.T. and was able to bend the knee in time with your tune...it is going good and I have learned my limits. Thanks for the bright tune!

Sam, Robin, and Lexie, thanks so much for listening and taking the time to comment.

And Lexie, don't shake a leg so much you compromise your rehab!

Dusty that was real fine pickin'! Really love the tune.   Well, I wanted to shake a leg to it! 

Really fine flat-picking, Dusty, on this cool old tune!

Really enjoyed this. Enjoyed Randy's version too. I had actually found this tune doing a search for claw hammer banjo tunes. I tried it noter/drone in DAA, didn't sound very good. You've made it a beautiful dulcimer tune. 

Thanks, David. I'm glad you liked it.

Make sure you check out Randy's version at