You are too kind,    @Ariane.  Thanks for listening.

That´s sooo pretty - I listened to some of your other tunes - you are a master of the mountain dulcimer playing 

(I always loved to play this happy tune with my tin whistle.)

Thanks for the comment,  @Rick-Garrett .  The song is not easy and it took me a while to work up a version that I could play.  As I say above, I learned the song from Steve Eulberg, but I use different left-hand fingering than he does.

  @Jan-Potts , hold out for a pickup.  The K & K Sounds twin spot pickup that Terry uses is phenomenal.  I just plug directly into my Fishman amp and get a warm, acoustic sound.  I was on stage with three other dulcimer players a couple of months ago and was told that the tone of my dulcimer (not my playing!) really stood out as far superior to the rest.  I credit the dulcimer and pickup.

The shorter scale length has indeed allowed me to play or to play better some tunes that I had struggled with on my dulcimers with longer VSLs, but you also lose a little sumpin' in the upper frets where you don't have the same volume or sustain.  Oh, I don't want to exaggerate; the dulcimer is phenomenal up and down the fretboard, but there is necessarily a tradeoff with the shorter scale length.

And thank you for your kind words.

This is one of the best renditions of this tune I have ever heard! Did I tell you I considered buying a McCafferty "twin" of yours?  I really liked the redwood/cherry combo and the shorter scale length, but this "twin" didn't have a pickup...otherwise I just might have purchased another dulcimer (oh no!).

Thanks for listening,  @Dulcimerjones . Steve Eulberg also teaches a melody/drone version of this tune that runs up the fretboard, but I find it easier to keep my hand in more or less one place and move across the strings.

Love this tune!  I used to play it jamming w/fiddlers & guitarists & it was a struggle to keep up, esp., on just the mel string.  I love that u played it across the strings & below 5th fret-(I must learn this:))

Nicely played!

Thanks,  @Leo-Kretzner . Your encouragement means a lot.

Really nice articulation, very clear notes...

Gail, I put heavier strings on my 25" McCafferty than what it came with.  I now have a wound 26" on the bass, 16" on the middle, and 14" on the melody.

Dusty, the only change I'm considering on the McCafferty is changing the melody string from .011 to .012.  It has a 28" VSL.  What is the VSL on yours and what size string gauges are you using?

Thanks for listening, Gail. If you enjoy your McCafferty half as much as I do mine, you'll be all smiles.

Nice playing and nice sounding dulcimer!  I bought a McCafferty cherry/redwood at Kentucky Music Week last week and really like it!

Indeed, Patty, the dulcimer sound great.  Thanks for listening.

Excellent! That's a really nice sounding dulcimer.

Thanks, Brian. You play this tune extraordinarily well yourself.

Hi Dusty. I thought I had commented on this already, but it seems I have not.  So here goes - very nice!  I've always loved this tune and it sounds great on your new dulcimer. Nicely played.  :)

Thanks, Robin.  Based on the tastefully precise way he plays the guitar, I trust Mark's judgment, too.

Mark said, "I like it." And I agree with my sweetheart.  

Wow, thanks for your praise, Randy.  I originally learned this tune on my Modern Mountain Dulcimer, which has a VSL of about 27", but this McCafferty is only 25". The tradeoff is the lack of sustain, especially when playing higher up the fretboard, but down near the nut my wee little fingers are much more comfortable.