Ken Longfield

Location:

Location: Reedsville, PA
Country: US

My Latest Followers:

Emma McDaniel-Ellis LaraW Jack M Shopdad Rabbit90 WinstonD Robert Owens msok mjlipari188 Micki RobMachin seaswmr GreatLakes73 AppalachiaSky Moon Dancer MelSabol Mary_Adelee ChcknJ Chaplain Peter SJMawhee87 Kris Paul 1 dronehound Homer Ross mac bhodaich Kenneth Woolley III dreadnought28 Dulcimerlady JDH54 AndiBear Susan Ann MandaPanda NancyH Dulcianne Quigley John Desaulniers Jr Wendell G dchenaul syoung Big Bubba chiselerinwood Wally Venable Noah Cline haydee025 Ballad Gal Ariane Debbie Kopp Simpkins Sue MacKenzie - ADK Friends sweetbriar cairney

Stats

vimeo videos: 1
images: 77
events: 6
Groups: 1
audio tracks: 1

I am retired and live in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. I built my first mountain dulcimer in 1974.  I continue to build mountain dulcimers, hammered dulcimers and do repair work on them as well as guitars and banjos. I enjoy old time music, bluegrass, and folk music from before and after the folk scare of the 1950s and 1960s.

Latest Activity

  All
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 13 hours ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @jackbp:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Jack. It's good to have you aboard. This is a wonderful and knowledgeable community of mountain dulcimer enthusiasts. We are here to help..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Selling Folkcraft CSH 20141645 Dulcimer":
"I'm going to take a guess that the dulcimer is cherry, represented by the "C" is CSH. The overlay on the fret board appears to be walnut or wenge. It was..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 days ago • comments: 3
Posted a new Comment on @ryan-romansky:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Ryan. Best wishes on selling your Folkcraft dulcimer. I hope you find a new home for it. I have a similar Folkcraft although in walnut. If..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 days ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @tim-wynn:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Tim. It is good to have you aboard. It sounds like you have already been exploring this site. Bill Davis is well known as a mountain..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Traditional dulcimer makers":
"Thanks, Wally. I've been to Bolt's Fork which today is only a couple of houses. If memory serves me correctly I think Prichard was the post master at Bolt's..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 4 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Porch Music ":
"Thanks, Shopdad. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song.""
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 4 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Porch Music ":
"I don't know if I'll post a video this year as it is the day before our 57th wedding anniversary. Since the anniversary is on Sunday we are moving the..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 4 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Traditional dulcimer makers":
"Perhaps the hourglass shape has sold well because it is more pleasing to the eye than other shapes. My experience as a builder is that it takes a little more..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 4 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Traditional dulcimer makers":
"Like John, I am not aware of Prichard using a push cart or even traveling to sell his "American" dulcimer. He may have used advertising in newspapers or in..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 5 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Traditional dulcimer makers":
"It depends on the VSL of the instrument and the tuning. Like Dan I usually tune them around CGG. Gauges run from 0.010 up to 0.020. I buy spools of music..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 5 days ago • comments: 3
Posted a new Comment on @martha-fleming:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Martha. It's good to have you aboard. Your history with the mountain dulcimer is interesting. I admit to never having heard of your..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • one week ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Humidifier for dulcimers":
"The general rule of humidity is that if you are comfortable, your instruments are comfortable. If the humidity is low, the wood will lose moisture and..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • one week ago • comments: 4
Posted a new Comment on @brotherbobgolem:
"Welcome to FOTMD,  BrotherBobGolen. It's good to have you aboard. I am glad that you have been receiving benefit from reading through these forums. I look..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • one week ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Dulcimer lessons":
"There are many lessons available online, but it depends upon what you want to do. Do you want a one-on-one lesson  with Zoom or FaceTime? Do you just want..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Is this Ruggs and Jackel fixable?":
"I knew Dave Nichols through A.S.I.A. He was always willing to share his knowledge with others. You live in a beautiful area of the country. It's been many..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Is this Ruggs and Jackel fixable?":
"You're welcome. Your information says you are in the Adirondack Mts. There are two luthiers in NY that possibly could help you; Bernd Krause and Dwain..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Is this Ruggs and Jackel fixable?":
"I second John's recommendation. You could send it to Folkcraft in Michigan and they will do the repair for you. Fokcraft owns the FolkRoots line which might..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Traditional dulcimer makers":
"I make reproductions of the C.N. Prichard "American" dulcimer from late 1800s West Virginia. Also, I've made a few reproductions of early PA German zitters...."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @honey:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Honey. It's good to have you aboard. This is a wonderful and knowledgeable community of mountain dulcimer enthusiasts and a great place to..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @luthier:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Luthier. It's good to have you aboard. Have fun exploring this site. We have a wonderful group of mountain dulcimer enthusiasts here who..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 2
Liked a photos item created by @bill-robison: teardrop
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 2
Liked a photos item created by @bill-robison: 003
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 6
Liked a photos item created by @bill-robison: p3021679
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 13
Posted a new Comment on UK and European Mountain Dulcimers:
"If John Henry sees this, he will have some recommendations. I've used everything from dowel rods, craft sticks, and a wood handle from a foam brush to glass..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @scottie:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Scottie. It's good to have you aboard. I visited the Lafayette Dulcimer Gathering a couple of times when our son-in-law was doing post..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 2 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "David Field dulcimers":
"PM me your email address and I will send a pdf of the article which is unpublished and a few photos of David and his dulcimers. Just click on my name to the..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Happy Birthday America":
"All of my work on building musical instruments goes on in my basement workshop. Last year after my wife's hip replacement surgery and a fall that sent her to..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 0
Liked an events item created by @wally-venable: Fort New Salem Dulcimer Fest (WV)
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Happy Birthday America":
"That looks like a really fun project. Very creative. Thanks for sharing it with us. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song.""
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @aknight53:
"Welcome to FOTMD, Aknight53. It is good to have you aboard. You will learn a great deal about the mountain dulcimer by exploring this site. If you have any..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Eaa Tuning":
"While I don't play in the key of often, there are few tunes that do play in A. When I do I use a reverse capo to raise the D string to E. I've attached a..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 2
Posted a new Comment on @jfox:
"Welcome to FOTMD, JFox. It's good to have you aboard. Please make sure the you read and follow the rules in the For Sale forum before you post anything. It..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 2
Liked a youtube item created by @ondrej: Jewish songs songs for DAD Dulcimer
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "How are you dealing with the HEAT WAVES?":
"I'm in central Pennsylvania and can't say that it has been a difficult summer. We had a few days of heat in the upper 90s and low 100s. The wildfire smoke..."
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield • 3 weeks ago • comments: 2
Liked a music item created by @davisjames: Mummers'tunes.

Latest Group Discussions

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Ken Longfield

Die Schwedische Hummel


A while back a friend shared a pdf of this monograph. In 1952 Stig...
@Ken Longfield 5 months ago - Comments: 3
Ken Longfield

The Story of the Hummel


Wilfried Ulrich's book,  The Story of The Hummel , is available again...
@Ken Longfield 7 months ago - Comments: 0
Ken Longfield

The Story of the Hummel


Anyone interested in the history of the Appalachian (mountain) dulcimer...
@Ken Longfield 7 months ago - Comments: 0
Ken Longfield

The Praetorius Scheitholt


In 1619 Michael Praetorius published the second volume of Syntagma...
@Ken Longfield 8 months ago - Comments: 3
Ken Longfield

Anyone branching out?


About twenty years ago I decided to build a hammered dulcimer mainly to...
@Ken Longfield 9 months ago - Comments: 1
Ken Longfield

Another Tabledit question


Yesterday I updated my Tabledit for Mac to version 3.03 a4a. I can no...
@Ken Longfield 3 years ago - Comments: 10
Ken Longfield

T - 6


This is my sixth teardrop dulcimer. The shape comes from plans by Scott...
@Ken Longfield 5 years ago - Comments: 12
Ken Longfield

Latest project - Prichard


I started to build a C.N. Prichard reproduction, but made a mistake...
@Ken Longfield 6 years ago - Comments: 9
Ken Longfield

Making wood tuning pegs


For those of us who make wood tuning pegs, what finish do you put on...
@Ken Longfield 6 years ago - Comments: 3
Ken Longfield

Current build


Here are some photos as I near the completion of this project. The...
@Ken Longfield 6 years ago - Comments: 15
Ken Longfield

Tuning peg knobs


I have a customer who is having the tuning pegs replaced on two of his...
@Ken Longfield 7 years ago - Comments: 23
Ken Longfield

Wood Choice - Food For Thought


I came across this experiment for classical guitars and found it...
@Ken Longfield 10 years ago - Comments: 13
Ken Longfield

The Ugly Dulcimer - A Story


Somewhere and at sometime someone decided to build a mountain dulcimer...
@Ken Longfield 8 years ago - Comments: 8
Ken Longfield

Repairing a Diamond Dulcimer


While this is not a build, we do not have a specific area to show...
@Ken Longfield 12 years ago - Comments: 17
Ken Longfield

PA German Zitter


Here are some photos of PA German zitter reproduction I'm making. There...
@Ken Longfield 9 years ago - Comments: 17
Ken Longfield

Not a Mountain Dulcimer


A few folks here at FOTMD know that I was working on a hammered...
@Ken Longfield 13 years ago - Comments: 9
Ken Longfield

A New "Old" Project


Back maybe 20 to 25 years ago, my sister was wandering through a yard...
@Ken Longfield 9 years ago - Comments: 2
Ken Longfield

Stanley Hicks article


Although not dulcimer specific, Stanley Hicks played a significant...
@Ken Longfield 10 years ago - Comments: 8
Ken Longfield

The Story of the Dulcimer, Second Edition


This is just a notice that it is available for pre-ordering on Amazon.
@Ken Longfield 11 years ago - Comments: 14
Ken Longfield

PA German Zitter


As I understand it, Jean Ritchie saw a PA German Zitter in the...
@Ken Longfield 11 years ago - Comments: 0

Latest Audio

  All
Oh Lord, What A Morning

Oh Lord, What A Morning


@Ken Longfield
3 years ago - Comments: 7

Latest Videos

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Latest Photos

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Latest Forum Discussions

  All

Article Published

Posted: Friday May 29 2026, 1:25 PM
By: @Shopdad

The Swedish Hummel

Posted: Saturday May 23 2026, 8:44 AM
By: @Ken Longfield

Troublesome Creek on PBS

Posted: Thursday April 9 2026, 9:20 AM
By: @Ken Longfield

Where in the world are Ken and Ben

Posted: Sunday March 15 2026, 10:34 AM
By: @Robin Thompson

RIP John Huron

Posted: Thursday March 12 2026, 6:42 PM
By: @Jerry Posner

The Praetorius Scheitholt

Posted: Tuesday February 24 2026, 11:13 AM
By: @razyn

Let's Bury The Term "Scheitholt"

Posted: Saturday January 24 2026, 3:47 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

The Story of the Hummel

Posted: Friday January 23 2026, 11:03 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

For our new members - The Chat

Posted: Tuesday June 24 2025, 9:45 AM
By: @Strumelia

North Country Dulcimer

Posted: Saturday March 29 2025, 2:59 AM
By: @Nate

Appalachian Dulcimer Museum

Posted: Saturday November 30 2024, 8:16 AM
By: @Jerry Posner

Pete Seeger

Posted: Monday November 25 2024, 9:37 AM
By: @Robin Thompson

Something Old with a new surprise

Posted: Thursday July 18 2024, 8:42 AM
By: @Ken Longfield

Folklife in Ohio

Posted: Wednesday July 17 2024, 11:07 AM
By: @cairney

Dulcimer Players News demise

Posted: Saturday May 4 2024, 7:52 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

Something to watch

Posted: Wednesday April 24 2024, 9:42 AM
By: @Ken Longfield

Robert N. Lackey, rest in peace

Posted: Wednesday March 6 2024, 11:45 AM
By: @Dusty Turtle

Just For Fun - sayings regarding the...

Posted: Thursday February 22 2024, 3:55 AM
By: @shanonmilan

Everythingdulcimer.com

Posted: Sunday July 16 2023, 1:58 PM
By: @Strumelia

Gary Sager

Posted: Thursday March 23 2023, 9:43 AM
By: @Robin Thompson

John Crocker

Posted: Thursday March 9 2023, 5:02 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

Mike Clemmer

Posted: Friday December 17 2021, 9:41 AM
By: @Skip

Don Pedi honored

Posted: Thursday September 16 2021, 6:11 AM
By: @Susie

Joni Mitchell and Mountain Dulcimers

Posted: Thursday August 26 2021, 8:38 PM
By: @Dusty Turtle

Zoom group invitation

Posted: Sunday May 23 2021, 6:24 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

An Interesting News Story from West Virginia

Posted: Thursday April 15 2021, 8:15 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

Bonnie Carol

Posted: Saturday April 3 2021, 6:54 PM
By: @Ken Longfield

Newspaper Article

Posted: Saturday March 13 2021, 10:38 AM
By: @Robin Thompson

Jon Pickow's last performance

Posted: Saturday January 23 2021, 10:07 PM
By: @Ken Hulme

Sad News -- RIP Ralph Lee Smith

Posted: Thursday December 31 2020, 3:05 PM
By: @Robin Thompson

Comments

BrotherBobGolem
08/12/26 08:21:22PM @brotherbobgolem:

Thanks for the warm welcome, Ken! It's great to finally be able to meet you all. 


aknight53
07/30/26 09:14:31PM @aknight53:

Thank you for the welcome, my dulcimer should come tomorrow, I hope I chose correctly! I'll be back with questions, I'm sure.


Kittiwake1
07/20/26 02:56:27PM @kittiwake1:

Hi Ken, thank you for your helpful response.  It is a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to interacting with (and learning from) you and the other members.

Bruce


Norma Redish
07/09/26 09:53:55PM @norma-redish:

Thank you Ken for your welcome.  I have so many questions about the right dulcimer for me.  And which virtual dulcimer festivals to go to.  I signed up with dulcimoon.  Most of the live festivals are too far away.  I have had a couple of lessons and will continue with those.  I love the dulcimer sound.  thanks again.  any beginners tips are welcome


Lois Hornbostel
06/29/26 01:16:27PM @lois-hornbostel:

6/29/26 Hi, Ken. Good to hear from you again. I appreciate all your interest in the roots of the mountain dulcimer. If you clicked on www.DulcimerMusic.Net on this site, it is not "live" (in blue). Just go to your search engine and put the above link at the top, hit your return button and it comes up. No problem for me to get it doing that. Like many websites it's not up-to-date, but there is a lot of information on it. Have a happy visit. Lois 


Lois Hornbostel
06/29/26 01:15:26PM @lois-hornbostel:

6/29/26 Hi, Ken. Good to hear from you again. I appreciate all your interest in the roots of the mountain dulcimer. If you clicked on www.DulcimerMusic.Net on this site, it is not "live" (in blue). Just go to your search engine and put the above link at the top, hit your return button and it comes up. No problem for me to get it doing that. Like many websites it's not up-to-date, but there is a lot of information on it. Have a happy visit. Lois 


William-Box
06/27/26 01:23:55PM @william-box:

Thank you, Ken!


AnitaFranklin
05/05/26 06:00:05PM @anitafranklin:

Thank you, Ken! It is great feeling to be back among the FOTMD Tribe! 


Melmuse
04/30/26 08:18:21PM @melmuse:

Thank you Ken!
This forum looks like it has much information. I am so eager to learn.


Deb Nes
03/26/26 02:18:40PM @deb-nes:

Thank you for the welcome! I am really looking forward to making progress with the help of this community!

Deb


Ryan Cornett
02/09/26 10:27:47AM @ryan-cornett:

Thank you for welcoming me to the site, Ken. I've played guitar and clawhammer banjo for years, so the beginner-friendly aspects of mountain dulcimer have come easily; I'm here to make sure I learn the fundamentals correctly, progress to the intermediate skill level, and learn more of the culture.

Thanks again!

Ryan


Sylvia
01/15/26 07:15:48PM @sylvia:

Hi Ken, 

I appreciate the welcome. 

As a beginner I am going to use the D A dd tuning. 


Kirsten
01/04/26 09:06:52PM @kirsten:

Good eye!  Yes it's a Keith Young.  My father has the history of the collection and we're doing knowledge transfer now.  I can ask him tomorrow.

My parents were in an old time string band from the 80s through 2010. Started a band in Bowie, MD and became the Twin Hill String Band in WI. 

I'm really looking forward to getting her teaching materials out to the public but it's a long process.  Will totally be worth the effort!!


Kirsten
01/04/26 07:34:47PM @kirsten:

Hi, Ken!  Thank you for the welcome.

My mother was a dulcimer teacher and collected Keith Young instruments.  She had a couple of Bill Berg's as well. I'm in the process of digitizing her lesson books and getting back into playing.  My niece is interested as well.  😊

My goal is to play this one with my niece. original


LaraW
01/03/26 09:35:00PM @larawilder:

Hi Ken,

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I love that you have one of my great uncles dulcimers! That is so wonderful to hear.
It’s true… I have so many memories of Sunhearth, especially the Fourth of July festival. Since my birthday is close to the Fourth of July, when I was young, very young,I always assumed that the festival, the fireworks, everything was for me!
But first a quick quiz… Does anyone know the myth of how the first Fourth of July Sunhearth Folk festival began?

Also, please let me know the best forum for me to place these memories. I would hate to clog up the wrong space on the site!

Lara


Fred
12/24/25 12:42:41PM @freddy-gene:

Thanks for the welcome, Ken.

Fred


Gary Roys
12/06/25 08:55:46PM @gary-roys:

Ken,

Yeah, I'm not going for even close to hi-gloss.  Besides just hanging on the wall for a long time now [Elaine passed away yr-n-a-half ago], I think the modest amount of polymerized tung oil I put on it in '88 soaked into the porous red elm in particular, so it was downright 'dull'.  Just want to further fill the pores in the wood and make it look like it has 'some' finish to it.

Gary


B3E
10/28/25 02:26:43PM @b3e:

Thanks Ken :) Having a look around – pleased to be here.


Ken Longfield
10/10/25 10:06:01AM @ken-longfield:

Todd, it depends on which model it is. If it is one of his student dulcimers, I think that is rather high since they originally sold for $125. For one of his regular instruments that would be a good price.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."


todd metcalf
10/10/25 12:20:03AM @todd-metcalf:

Hi Ken, I had to be away for some time. I appreciated your help here. I noted a David Lynch 4 stringer on Ebay today for around 250.00 . Is that a decent price ?

 Many warm thanks, Todd