Forum Activity for @dusty

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
11/13/23 12:13:16PM
1,720 posts

Introduce Yourself!


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hi @matthewlyon and welcome to FOTMD.  Glad to hear you've come back to the mountain dulcimer again.  And certainly, playing a dulcimer with really high action would be more comfortable in a noter style.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
11/12/23 12:17:12PM
1,720 posts

Maple, and only maple, for a dulcimer?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

You do indeed see lots of dulcimers made entirely of a single hard tonewood, most commonly walnut, but cherry and maple as well.  They are not as common as dulcimers with  one of those woods for the back and sides and soft tonewood such as spruce, cedar or redwood for the top.  The top plays a bigger part in the sound than do the back and sides, so an all-maple dulcimer would, as Strumelia says, have a bright, crisp tone. Additionally, it would likely have exceptional sustain. I believe Linda Brockinton mainly plays an all-maple McSpadden specifically for the extra sustain to enhance her soft, fingerstyle play.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
11/03/23 05:54:50PM
1,720 posts

Basic Tuning Question


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Brad Richard: Just out of curiosity, why is DAD tuning so popular?
 

I think there are two questions there, Brad. The first is why tuning to D became standard and the second is why DAd (or 1-5-8 or the mixolydian tuning) is so common.


I'm pretty sure that once upon a time, people would tune a dulcimer to whatever tone resonated most saliently in that given dulcimer.  They would "hoo in the hole," literally hum into the soundhole, find a tone that sounded really special, and tune to that.  Later on, I think tuning to C was most common, and to be honest, I wish we still tuned to C because it would make explaining music theory so much easier.  But I think around the time of the dulcimer renaissance in the late 60s or early 70s, people began tuning to D to play with fiddles, since there are so many fiddle tunes in D (and A -- It's those pesky guitar and banjo players who like playing in G).


In traditional drone play, you have to change the tuning of your melody string depending on the mode or scale of the melody you are playing.  In the key of D, the four most common tunings are DAA, DAd, DAC, and DAG.  The first two sound major and the latter two sound kind of minor.


When the 6+ fret became common--and it's pretty standard these days--a player could play in the mixolydian (DAd) or ionian (DAA) modes without re-tuning. How convenient!


You will often hear that chording is easier in DAd than in DAA.  I do not believe that the simple act of playing a chord is easier in one tuning than the other. And I actually prefer the sound of chords in DAA better than in DAd. They are more compact and more coherent.


This is only a theory, but I think playing melody & chords together is easier in DAd because out of one chord position you can reach a greater range of notes, basically three frets' worth.  The whole trick to chord/melody style is to be able to capture the melody out of chord positions with a minimum of hand movement.  And DAd simply gives us a greater tonal range out of any one hand position.  Anyway, that's my theory.


I happen to play in DAd 90 percent of the time because that was the most common tuning when I first started playing and I want to be able to play by instinct as much as possible, so that a musical idea goes from my head (or my heart) to my fingers with no hesitation, something that is much easier if you stick to one tuning. I also have a 1+ fret on my main playing dulcimers and find that with the 1+ and 6+, there is rarely a melody I can't get.


But I would never say that one tuning is superior to another.  DAd happens to be the most common these days, and that's why I started with it.  Now it's comfortable.  When I tune to other tunings, I have to think about what I'm doing, and who wants to do that?!dancecool


updated by @dusty: 11/04/23 02:35:53PM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
11/02/23 11:56:52PM
1,720 posts

Basic Tuning Question


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Brad, I would suggest not using a chromatic template to map chords for the diatonic fretboard.  It might suffice for now as a quick reference to find a specific chord, but it will hinder your long-term understanding of the fretboard.  As I mentioned early on in this discussion, one of the challenges with chord shapes on the dulcimer is that they change from major chords to minor chords as you move up and down the fretboard. In order to begin understanding why that happens, you have to see where those fat and skinny frets are.  Using a chromatic template will make it harder to learn the layout of the fretboard and how those chord shapes work more generally.


updated by @dusty: 12/16/23 11:57:21AM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
11/02/23 12:45:09PM
1,720 posts

Basic Tuning Question


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Brad, I'm having trouble with your chord chart since you appear to be using a guitar template.  I can get past the 6 strings, but that chart shows chromatic frets.  Are you playing a dulcimer with chromatic frets?  That changes everything.

You might just Google "dulcimer chord chart DGd" and see what you get.  Here is one chart and here is another. I'm sure there are others out there.

And remember that the easiest way to get your I - IV - V chords on a dulcimer in an open tuning is to use the bar chords.  So if you are tuned DGD, then 000 is G,  333 is C and 444 is D.  Of course, those are only partial chords, but they can help when you're in a jam. (Like that pun?nerd2 )

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
11/01/23 11:29:54AM
1,720 posts

Play Music On The Porch Day 2019


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@shanonmilan, try playing the banjo on your porch.  That will have the neighbors begging you to play the concertina! laughlaugh

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/31/23 07:21:46PM
1,720 posts

Basic Tuning Question


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Brad, if you are tuned DGD, you are in what is basically an open G tuning.  It will be pretty easy to play common tunes in G.

You can also play common tunes in G in a DAd tuning, but you have to pay attention.  If you don't have a 1+ fret, you can't play a C chord down by the nut and will have to play 3-4-6 or 6-6-8 or something like that.

However, I regularly play in G out of a DAd tuning with a capo on the 3rd fret.  You can also put the capo at the 4th fret to play in A. And if you have to play in C, you can quickly tune down to CGc (another reason to play with 3 strings and not 6 is the ease of tuning!)  This approach allows you to play in the 4 common keys (C, D, G, A) at folk, old timey, and bluegrass jams.

A few years ago I made this video demonstrating how to play in G and A with a capo tuned DAd.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/31/23 02:39:27PM
1,720 posts

6 String Dulcimer Too Much For Me


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Brad Richard: what happens when you change to a different chord in a progression, like G-C-D-G?

Brad, the short answer is that in traditional drone play, there are no chords.  The first and fifth notes of the scale of whatever key you are in ring out throughout (or drone) on the bass and middle strings and you play the melody on the melody string.


Take a look at Robin Clark playing "Coleman's March" .  In DAA tuning, he starts the song going from the 3rd fret to the 5th fret.  At that point he is actually playing a D major chord (D on the bass, A on the middle, F# on the melody).  But then he moves to the 6th fret (G note).  If you were chording, you would switch to a G major chord there, but in drone style, there is no chord change.  The bass and middle are still D and A even though there is no A in a G major chord, and yet the song sounds sweet, doesn't it?


updated by @dusty: 10/31/23 02:40:27PM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/31/23 03:00:56AM
1,720 posts

6 String Dulcimer Too Much For Me


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Brad, I have a six-string dulcimer that I only play with three strings now.  I much prefer the clarity of sound with the single courses. And certain techniques (like bending strings) just can't be done with those double courses.

If you are used to other chromatic instruments, you may get frustrated with the way chord shapes work on the dulcimer since they switch from major to minor depending on where on the fretboard you are.

They way I taught myself chords, and the way I encourage students to do so now, is to find some 3-chord songs.  Don't worry about playing the melody, but just strum to accompany yourself singing or humming or whistling.  Figure out those 3 chords by the nut, perhaps sticking to the first 3 frets.  When you have those down and can play them without having to concentrate on where to put you fingers, find different versions of those chords around frets 2-5 or so.  Do the same thing, strumming chords there until you get them down. When you fingers are comfortable there, find those same three chords around frets 5-8.

In the end, you've just been strumming chords and singing songs, but you've learned where to find the main chords you need up and down the first octave of the fretboard.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/28/23 01:23:09PM
1,720 posts

Gallier and probst dulcimers


FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Paula, I moved your post to the For Sale: Instruments/Music Items/Wanted to Buy Forum.  

I have a Probst Dulcimer strung as a baritone, but I'd be lonely without it.

Good luck hunting.  You don't see either Probst or Gallier dulcimers on the used market very much.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/27/23 01:33:39AM
1,720 posts

Help with ID of recent thrift shop purchase


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Such a wonderful development in this 6 months-long drama! Thanks for joining, @rtemplin!

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/25/23 12:49:47PM
1,720 posts

Introduce Yourself!


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@lily-pad, I just responded to this question in the other forum you posted in.  I would suggest you start a new discussion in the Specific Features, Luthiers, Instruments Forum .

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/25/23 12:47:16PM
1,720 posts

What to call your dulcimer collection?


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hi @lilley-pad, and welcome to FOTMD.  My main, go-to dulcimer is a McCafferty.  (It's an older one with a standard piezo pickup but without the humbucker and MIDI interface he uses on the new Seifert model.)  I love it.  Great sustain. Great volume.  Big round tone. The fingerboard is very responsive to your left hand.  When I first got it a few years ago, I found the strings to be too far apart for comfortable flatpicking and had to make some custom adjustments, but Terry now uses a special bridge that allows you to adjust the distance between the strings.

However, if you want to continue this conversation, perhaps you could start a new discussion on McCafferty dulcimers in the Discuss Specific Features, Luthiers and Instruments Forum .

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/24/23 02:03:03PM
1,720 posts

Ron Gibson Dulcimers


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

How exciting, @Lorillee! 


updated by @dusty: 10/25/23 02:32:40AM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/24/23 01:59:10PM
1,720 posts

How to train my ear


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Wally Venable: "Perfect pitch" is often considered a curse. I had a friend with perfect pitch who, 60 years ago, found that almost all the pianos in a good showroom were off key, and she couldn't play most of them because they hurt her ears.
 

I hear you Wally smile . I had an aunt who had perfect pitch (and a Steinway piano worth about as much as my house!).  When my uncle was learning a right-hand picking pattern for the banjo, she didn't mind the repetition of the picking, but she couldn't stand that he was always practicing in the same key.  So he used a capo and would just change keys every few minutes.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/24/23 01:22:38PM
1,720 posts

How to train my ear


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@wally-venable, you are right that learning perfect pitch is not a reasonable goal, but to learn relative pitch should be. 

Students in most formal music education programs develop tricks to learn intervals.  The first two notes of "Happy Birthday" represent a 2nd.  The first two notes of "When the Saints Go Marching In" represent a 3rd. The first two notes of "Here Comes the Bride" represent a 4th.  The first two notes of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" represent a fifth.  The first two notes of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" represent a 6th. I can't think of one for either the minor or major 7th, but I'm sure you can look one up since there must be lists like this all over the Internet.  And the octave is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

I've stuck with the major scale (Ionian mode) here, but you could do this for the chromatic scale.  The minor 2nd is the dangerous shark music from Jaws.  The minor third is the first two notes of "Greensleeves."  And the list goes on.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/24/23 01:03:41PM
1,720 posts

How to train my ear


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Put on some music and grab an instrument.  Try to play along.  Your first task will be to determine the key.  Then you will pay attention to the structure of the music. Then you either start figuring out the chord progression or you start working on key melodic phrases. Eventually, you get the whole song.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I played guitar (not very well) for years.  I started at family sing-a-longs, and I learned pretty quickly how to hear chord changes in a song. I also used to watch a lot of sports, and I would do so with a guitar on my lap. When the commercials came on, I would try to play along with the jingles.  That forced me to work through those steps above (determine the key, identify the melodic hook, etc.) super fast because each commercial might only last 30 seconds.  But by the third or so time a given commercial aired, I could usually play along.

If you want to train your ear, I strongly suggest not looking at tab while you play.  Look at your dulcimer and think.  Think about the relationships between the frets and the notes they represent.  Think about the relationships between the strings in the same way.  And I would advise not thinking about absolute tones, but about intervals.  For example, the distance from an open string and the second fret is a third.  From the open string to the fourth fret is a fifth.  To the seventh is an octave.  And so forth.

Eventually, you'll be able to hum a song in your head and imagine how to play it on the dulcimer. And that's a pretty cool skill to have.


updated by @dusty: 10/24/23 01:04:19PM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/14/23 02:44:31PM
1,720 posts

Introduce Yourself!


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hi @austinpmckenzie and welcome to FOTMD. Make sure you get in touch with the Southern California Dulcimer Heritage Folks .  In fact, they are running a series of concerts, jams, and workshops this month.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/30/23 09:55:51PM
1,720 posts

Nickel allergy--nylon strings on an octave dulcimer?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Whenever I change steel strings I manually stretch each one repeatedly over the first few hours of play, re-tuning with each stretch.  It helps them "settle" faster.  I assume the same technique would work with nylon.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/25/23 11:17:39AM
1,720 posts

Nickel allergy--nylon strings on an octave dulcimer?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I'm curious how this goes, @grysbok.  A woman who comes to my local dulcimer club also has a metal allergy. I have encouraged her to try nylon strings, but so far she just plays wearing gloves and a face mask.

Please keep us posted.  I fear the dulcimer will not sound as nice with nylon strings (those octave dulcimers can chime like little bells!), but given your allergy you don't really have a choice.  My hope is that it will still sound decent.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/21/23 08:46:11PM
1,720 posts

Fiddle


Adventures with 'other' instruments...

The piano is easy. Push a button and a nice, clean tone comes out.  The fiddle is tough. You have to practice for a year just to be bad at it.

Good luck!

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/16/23 01:13:26AM
1,720 posts

Ron Gibson Dulcimers


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I don't own a Ron Gibson dulcimer, but I've played two.  One was a Barbara Allen baritone of which I posted a video fingerpicking a quick medley .  The other was a used Jenny Lind model that I encountered in a music store. I played a couple of tunes on it and went back the next day to buy it but was too late; it was gone.

Ron's dulcimers look and sound great.  His prices are very reasonable for the quality of instrument.


updated by @dusty: 09/16/23 01:14:44AM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/16/23 01:07:46AM
1,720 posts

Southwest Missouri Dulcimer Day


Single-Instructor workshops, band & house concerts, Club activities, monthly Jams

Looks like you have a solid plan, Dave. I hope you get a good turnout.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/04/23 11:59:20AM
1,720 posts

April Come She Will (Simon & Garfunkel)


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

What poetic lyrics. And what a nice reminder of the purity of Garfunkel's voice. 

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
09/03/23 02:14:14AM
1,720 posts

Ron Gibson Kentucky Dulcimer with 1 1/2 fret for sale


FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Looks like a really nice dulcimer; I hope it finds a loving and appreciative home.  I've played two Ron Gibson dulcimers, and both were exceptional.

At the risk of coming off like a dulcimer nerd, I feel obliged to point out that what you indicate as the 9th fret is actually the 8-1/2 fret, the octave of the 1-1/2 fret.  Any time you see three consecutive skinny frets on a dulcimer, there is an extra fret involved.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
08/29/23 01:27:30AM
1,720 posts

FANS OF NATE


OFF TOPIC discussions

Nate's the only person in the world who can play Bile Dem Cabbage and make a jello mold with the same instrument.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
08/24/23 11:25:49PM
1,720 posts

I only see original post in a discussion, not replies..?


Site QUESTIONS ? How do I...?

@kendra-ward, are you referring to the discussion within Groups?  Make sure you have joined the group first. Then you should be able to see everything.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
08/16/23 10:59:39AM
1,720 posts

A Test for Tone-Deafness!


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Nate, I just did the test and got 29/32.  All my mistakes were 1/64 of a note.  There were four such questions, and I got the last one correct, which makes me think you could get better if you practiced and trained your ear to hear such minute differences in pitch.

Edit: I did the test again and got 31/32.  Still, the one I missed was a 1/64, and I was kinda sorta guessing on the other 1/64 questions.

So I can clearly hear the 1/32 interval, but the 1/64 is still giving me trouble.

Any idea how the quarter tones relate to cents?  My understanding is that when we measure pitch in cents, each of the 12 half-notes of the chromatic scale measures 100 cents.  So is the 1/64 equivalent to 1.5625 cents (1/64 x 100)? I'm trying to figure out how accurate an electronic tuner has to be for it to be better than my ears.


updated by @dusty: 08/16/23 01:48:07PM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
08/12/23 12:18:07PM
1,720 posts

Kurt Vonnegut quote...


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Regardless of the veracity of the story, there is wisdom therein.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
08/11/23 02:56:19PM
1,720 posts

I Wonder as I Wander


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

That's about what I know as well (see Chicago Chorale info here ). Niles claims to have heard a North Carolina girl sing a couple of lines, which he then enhanced and expanded into the song we know.  Regardless of how honest he was, if he only heard an individual voice, there was no "original" harmonic structure, so any chords he added represent his own "embellishment," as @strumelia says.  There is no way to know whether the original was major or minor.  And if it was modal, it was neither!

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
08/02/23 03:49:48AM
1,720 posts

worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Unfortunately, I'll be traveling on Play Music on the Porch Day this year, so I'll have to just be a spectator and hope lots of dulcimer players post beautiful music for me to enjoy.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
07/28/23 10:16:01PM
1,720 posts

Bagpipe tuning to minor


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@tonyg, I think you are correct, but you would be playing in different keys.

I assume you are playing in a drone style and have no extra frets.

Let's say your bagpipe tuning is Ddd.  With the D drones, you can play in the keys of D or G.

If you tune to DdC, you would be in the aeolian mode in the key of D or the dorian mode in the key of G.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
07/08/23 08:59:58PM
1,720 posts

Sustain volume when sliding to a lower fret


Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!

Some loss of volume when employing multiple slides or hammer-ons consecutively is inevitable.  A pickup goes a long way to solving that problem, and some dulcimer fretboards are more responsive than others.  So a lot of this is out of your hands (so to speak).

However, if you slide more deliberately and sharply from one fret to the next, you can create some extra pressure that will increase the volume and make the move sound more like a hammer-on.  That is hard to do if you are sliding across several frets to get to a single note, however.  This is something to work on. 

In general, I do not consider the tablature indications for the left-hand legato techniques (hammers, pulls, slides) to be mandatory parts of the tablature.  Depending on your fingering, a slide may be more appropriate than a hammer or pull or vice versa, so you have to take the tablature as a suggestion and develop your own approach.  You might simply break up that long slide and pick the string again at some point to get the volume you need.  You might also reduce the volume of the rest of the tune so that the loss of volume from the extended slide is less noticeable. And since good artists deliberately vary the dynamics of their playing, you might embrace the loss of volume as an expressive part of the arrangement.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
06/26/23 05:09:40PM
1,720 posts

Wallowa Dulcimer Camp


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Glad you enjoyed the Wallowas and are returning this year.  Tell Heidi and Bob I say hello.byebye

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
06/16/23 11:46:57AM
1,720 posts

Another kind of "Whiskey Before Breakfast"


OFF TOPIC discussions

And your hummingbirds won't need a nap, as I would if I enjoyed some whisky before breakfast.sleepy

It's a joy, isn't it, when we can lure wild birds to our garden.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
06/05/23 12:04:00PM
1,720 posts

Healthy Living- healthy eating, exercise, weight loss, veggie gardening, etc.


OFF TOPIC discussions

It's so nice when the garden starts producing, isn't it?  We have three different tomato plants all fruiting right now.  The cherry tomatoes (sweet 100s) look like they'll be ripening first.

We had some friends over for lunch, and to accompany the grilled salmon, I made one of our summer staple salads: black rice with green onions, strawberries, and walnuts, tossed lightly with a lemon vinaigrette made with fresh-squeezed Meyer's lemons from our backyard tree.

black rice salad.jpg

The rice provides the substance, the strawberries some sweetness, the onions and lemon some zest, and the walnuts some crunch.  It's an interesting combination that is super easy to make.  No recipe required.

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
06/02/23 04:11:03PM
1,720 posts

Tabs for Cool Water


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Molly, since the song is under copyright, you probably won't find free tab online anywhere.  Maybe someone published tab in a book somewhere, but none that I know of.

That version of the song is in the key of D, so I would suggest just playing along until you figure it out. You can get the entire melody out of DAA or out of DAd if you have a 6+ fret.


updated by @dusty: 06/02/23 04:11:42PM
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
05/14/23 12:28:38PM
1,720 posts

The Positive Thread...


OFF TOPIC discussions

Everybody is a mother and/or has a mother, so Happy Mother's Day, FOTMD! inlove joyjoy sun dancetomato jive

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