Forum Activity for @strumelia

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

John Henry, yes I assume your 'mountain dew' guard status is secure- I think it's a lifetime assignment. Just don't fall off your bicycle:

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Wow, I can't really believe the average is 10 mtn dulcimers per member. It's probably just the most verbose members who have tons of dulcimers. Quiet modest folk like me have only one or two.

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

John Henry said:

Contra Dance! I,d love to only Rod has already said that whatever, I,m detailed to sit and guard the Dew , needed someone he could trust,you see.................knew that I would'nt touch it.

Now wait a minute!..... so where is Rod gonna be while you are stuck 'guarding the dew'?(and hey you don't have worry about ME trying to steal any of that stuff, for sure!) LOL! =:-S

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

How about if instead of a snowshoe, we do a contra dance? Heck, we have plenty of musicians. We gotta work off a few of these calories somehow !

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

I'm brushing up on my dance moves...

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

I think if there's snow, we should all go snowshoeing after lunch!John Henry- can you get hold of some good Stilton?....I can make a mean crusty bread!:

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Bill Lewis said:

This is the most fun you can ever have Robin. I've got some chips and salsa, Jim's got Cookies, i think Lisa's got Chips and salsa too. :)

Bill, I think I'm going to bring a nice healthy spinach salad with my own kitchen-grown sprouts, with feta cheese and calamata olives and a shitake dressing. But I'll keep some 'emergency' extra salsa and chips in my car just in case a whole gang of hungry new members come busting in the door unexpectedly and want to eat up all the good stuff.You bring the salsa and chips for the rest of us and we won't crack into the emergency supplies in my trunk unless we need to. :D

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

Rod I remember back in the first month or so you and I were speculating about how many members FOTMD might have eventually...and we both thought it might top off at around 500. But people seem to be joining faster and faster now, the opposite of slowing down, so I don't think people are suddenly going to stop joining after next week or so....unless we run out of chips and salsa! =8-oI remember when we had around 10 members and i felt I needed to start some thread discussions just so that there'd be 'something' going on. I thought maybe people were looking around saying like "ok, so now what?". LOL! Well, the groove is on now.

wow...it's party time again... REVISITED :)

OFF TOPIC discussions

It was only two weeks ago that we reached 400 on December 28th........What the heck?!?.... All these parties are going to kill me! LOLMaybe we should make just one long never-ending party.Oh wait, we already do that. ??!!

Deputy Mo ejects Evil Spammer while Strumelia snoozes on the job!

OFF TOPIC discussions

Ok, just had to bump this old thread up...brings back some smiles from five years ago...

Deputy Mo ejects Evil Spammer while Strumelia snoozes on the job!

OFF TOPIC discussions

Rod Westerfield said:

just glad ta be here when needed...

And you are much needed indeed! :D...(especially since the sheriff has a habit of snoozing while the criminals rant rampant. LOL )

Deputy Mo ejects Evil Spammer while Strumelia snoozes on the job!

OFF TOPIC discussions

Jim Fawcett said:

Randy was saying to me that we should think about giving him more bullets, but I said why? If you're good like "The Deputy" you only need one shot!!! Atta boy Deputy Mo!!

He gets extra bullets whenever I have to go over to Mt. Pilot for a day or two, leaving Mayberry's wellbeing completely in his capable hands. But best not to shower him with live ammunition lest he start gettin' all full of himself. ;D

Deputy Mo ejects Evil Spammer while Strumelia snoozes on the job!

OFF TOPIC discussions

Well there I was, lolling about lazily this morning in bed with my coffee and furkitties.... blithely oblivious to the DESPERATE PANDEMONIUM going on here due to unsavory messages from an evil spammer!Thankfully, in contrast to myself, there are *some* people around here who get up in a timely manner and are ever on the alert, ready to save our members from the perils of immoral internet debauchery. That person is 'Deputy Mo' (member Rod Westerfield).Despite Deputy Mo's limitation of having only one bullet, and the spammer this time signing on with TWO accounts..... did Deputy M. let that stop him? ...No! -He demonstrated Extraordinary Crimefighting Skills by dispatching both evil accounts with a single bullet!!! =8-oYay Deputy Mo!
updated by @strumelia: 01/13/19 05:09:18PM

Favorite accessories to go with MD

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Flint Hill said:

Lisa, I'd love to see how one of your straps works. Can't quite envision it from the description, and it's neat to hear of a way to do this without putting a strap peg on the instrument.

Ken, I was thinking of makming a fun little YouTube video showing how I make my 'button straps' for my dulcimers. I think I'll do that next! ...and next thing you know there will be button straps on dulcimers everywhere ! ;D

Favorite accessories to go with MD

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

My favorite dulcimer accessories is the dulcimer 'straps' I make for each of my dulcimers out of braided ribbon or yarn and a big old button so I can 'button' myself in with one of the loops of the other end. They are pretty, and different. Plus I don't have to have strap pegs put on my dulcimers.

Sounds like you will be able to make the switch fairly easily- if you can do it already, even if awkwardly. Yay! This will make everything a whole lot easier especially if you buy other instruments in the future (and if you sell any too). Keep at it! the fact that you were able to use scissors right handed was a good indicator.

I'm left handed when writing or drawing, or using a fork. But I'm right handed with scissors, hammer, throwing a ball, knitting, etc.I play all instruments like a right-hander.I'd say if you can use scissors right-handed, you could definitely play instruments that way too.Just my 2 cents.
updated by @strumelia: 02/12/16 09:51:19PM

Dulcilora said:

The sound I get at the strum hollow is very tinny on all my dulcimers. I vary where I strum based on the sound I want to get, and use the sound at the strum hollow for special effect only.

I agree. I dislike that tinny sound at the strum hollow- it's too close to the bridge, and on a banjo that place sounds tinny as well.As to hitting the dulcimer with a pick and marring it...well I do it all the time and my soft long pick just sort of makes a general worn patina area- i think of it as a cool personalization touch, I don't mind the surface damage. ;)

I don't worry about fretboard finishes.I find I tend to strum at the halfway point between where I'm fretting and the bridge. So if I'm playing high up the neck, I strum closer to the bridge, and vice versa. The halfway spot is where you get the mellowest sound, by the way. I do the same thing on my banjo.I say don't worry about it! :)
updated by @strumelia: 02/04/16 10:01:11AM

Nancy Galambush said:

I asked about this at Potter's music in Bethesda MD because the pegs on my old cello were slipping. I was told about the peg dope; however he suggested Lava Soap, which is what he used. I told a cello friend about it recently and she tried it and said it is working fine. The grit in the Lava holds while the soap is slippery. At least this is the idea. I didn't try it on my old cello because I haven't changed the strings on it since buying a new one.

I have to say that years ago on someone else's recommendation I tried the Lava soap trick on my antique banjo with wooden pegs, using just a little on one peg, and it was a total disaster for me. The peg would not hold at ALL, it slipped like it was covered in grease. I tried wiping the Lava off with a damp cloth and I had to really scrub and scrub to get rid of the soap film residue that did not want to go away. It was an awful experience for me. Then I bought the Peg Drops and it worked like magic. Just my own experience.

I do not recommend the stuff that comes as a chapstick type tube. I found it lets the pegs slip too readily. That's the ' peg compound '. They made me use it on my cello pegs in high school. Hated it then, and bought it again when I grew up... and hated it all over again.I DO recommend the 'PEG DROPS'- a liquid that comes in a tiny plastic squeeze bottle (like eye drops do).This stuff corrects both aspects of the pegs- it corrects too slippery ones and makes them grip better, and also corrects pegs that won't turn enough. But you MUST follow the directions exactly. It's not 'more is better'. That stuff is really great, and will last you forever: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=iw#hl=en&safe=off&num=20&q=Ardsley+Peg+Drops&aq=f&aqi=&oq=Ardsley+Peg+Drops&fp=52e8f388e5caca67
updated by @strumelia: 02/16/16 03:20:43PM

folkfan said:

Striking just the melody notes is how I play with a striker, and if I lift my hand and angle downward with just the tip I can even pick up the lower notes I need on certain songs. I've done "Peat Bog Soldier" in Aeolian and have to pick up a 0 fret on the middle string. This is a song that works well will a strong marching beat. Dona, Dona, also in Aeolian, is another one.

Wow i would love to see a video of you playing that. :)

Check it out, it's a wonderful and traditional playing technique, here demonstrated on a French Epinette des Vosges..... :)

400 members coming up..

OFF TOPIC discussions

{{{burp}}}}...oh, excuse me! =8-o ;D

400 members coming up..

OFF TOPIC discussions

D'OH!!!!!....been checking off and on all evening....now I have to go to bed still not knowing who the 400th member will be! =8-o

400 members coming up..

OFF TOPIC discussions

I'll be divin' into the crab cakes and sour cream potato latkes! =8-D(I already ate the wheat-a-pix that Rod sent me.) !!

400 members coming up..

OFF TOPIC discussions

I just pulled a big bowl of fresh carrots from my garden today...the very last harvest from the garden this year. Glazed carrots! :D

A Very Merry Christmas to all my New Friends

OFF TOPIC discussions

Happy holidays and a joyful new year to all - What a wonderful group of people!

updated by @strumelia: 12/19/25 10:09:09AM

Bess Lomax Hawes, 1921-2009

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks for this, Dick. Folks on the Ballad-L list have been saying over the past several months that 2009 was a particularly painful year in terms of losing many people who helped keep traditional folksong alive and well.Just curious- what span of years would you personally feel to be the "original folksong revival"?

Today I painted a plain wood frog limberjack I bought. He was cute unpainted, but I wanted him green. I got him from musician MaryLee Sunseri .
I am trying to memorize the old ballad Froggie Went a' Courtin' so I can sing while making him dance. I'm not much of a multi-tasker, so it's not easy!
Here are the before and after pictures. I decided I liked him frowning better than smiling...

Here are my other two limberjacks, my Frenchman and Mr.Pig, I've been practicing regularly, but still need to get better at it. :)

Do these English dudes know how to have fun, or what?? :D

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Keltia, try thinking of the bowed psaltery more like a piano rather than a dulcimer.

You pick a range of the piano keys you want on your psaltery- usually between 1 and 3 octaves somewhere. Then you will have all the notes within that range. There is one string for every note. Each string will only play its one note- just like on a piano.

On a dulcimer or guitar, each string plays many notes through fretting it- therefore you can choose 'tunings' based on the kind of fingerings you are going to use.

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

a draw showing what note is what string could be fine.

Here are a few different tuning charts. Your string notes really depend on what high/low range you would like, on the size of the psaltery in terms of string length, and on how many strings you want:

http://www.juneappledulcimers.com/pages/BowedPsalteryTuningChart/

http://www.apsimplepsaltery.com/tuning_scheme.JPG

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/nigelum/Hodge-Podge/Psaltery_tuning_chart_resized.jpg

http://tuckasee.com/howto1.jpg

http://www.dulcimershofar.com/skin1/images/psal_notes.gif

As you can see there is no one correct way to tune a bowed psaltery, as they are all different depending on what strings they have.

A 25 string tenor like you show would be a nice typical psaltery. 25 or 32 strings or so, you'd be able to play various types of music on it. I would suggest you get at least 1 1/2 octaves to start with.

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Keltia said:

Well, true... XD

My questions are about the whole....

1 - strings name/tuning?

2 - specific stuff to do/not do with (to know) ?

3 - hows big is the difference between one from a luthier & one from industry for that instrument (Indeed i wonder for that one) I'd like to hear both & see the differencies but I can dream about...

4 - Where to find tabs about ?

I think those questions are the common ones for any instr. heh Quite normal when yr pretty new at a new instrument... But I thought it was a thread about bowed psaltery but sure as I said: I'll dig more that
psaltery website later.

Keltia, yes your questions are normal for any new instrument, but they require a lot of in depth answers that could easily take days of typing. Donna suggests correctly that all this information is already there for the reading on her site totally dedicated to bowed psalteries- no need to try to explain everything about BP's here. This is a good place for discussing a few specific questions and for having fun comparing our BP experiences here, from the standpoint of being mountain dulcimer players. I do recommend that anyone who wants to learn about bowed psalteries in an in depth way would do well to look at Donna's comprehensive site http://psalterystrings.com/ .

But to try to address some aspects of your questions:

1 - strings name/tuning?

Psalteries can have varying numbers of strings, all tuned to various notes. Mine has 32 strings and is approximately 2 1/2 octaves. Basically, there is a string for every note. I won't name all 32 notes/strings on my psaltery here, but if you like I can point out an online chart for tuning a 32 string psaltery. You do not fret any strings to make notes, you just bow each open string. There are some people who use specific 'tunings' to achieve effects that are not the norm, but mostly the strings are not tuned in 'tunings'- they are just an array of notes (whole and half steps) going up the scale.

2 - specific stuff to do/not do with (to know) ?

To do : practice a lot, concentrate of getting a smooth sound from your bow and a light touch. learn a simple melody line.
Not to do : saw away on it roughly with a heavy hand which produces unfortunate sounds. Be impatient. Try to play 1-3-5 chords.
Not really sure what you mean by this question, but tried my best to answer it. If I'm missing what you meant by your question, please specify and clarify further what you are wanting to know.

3 - hows big is the difference between one from a luthier & one from industry for that instrument (Indeed i wonder for that one) I'd like to hear both & see the differencies but I can dream about...

On Donna's site there are quite a few descriptions and comparisons from various people owning psalteries amde by different people. She also lists some of the makers on the left column of her site, you can look at their sites and what they offer- most of them make nice psalteries that are good quality. Many of their sites offer photos and sound clips. Donna's site also has LOTS of videos of people playing thier psalteries, and you can watch and compare them.
Much depends on how many strings you want - that largely determines what size psaltery you would like to buy. Some are very small with less than a dozen strings- others have over 30 strings. Some have a high sound, some have longer strings and a lower sound. If you want to play very simple tunes then a smaller one with fewer strings might be fun to try. There is no one single type that is best for all people- just like with mountain dulcimers, a lot depends on what kind of music you are wanting to play- knowing that can help others make recommendations. Naturally larger psalteries with many strings are more expensive than small psalteries with only one octave of strings or less.

4 - Where to find tabs about ?

There are some tabs on Donna's site that you can find (Donna can point you to them perhaps).
But TAB is not as useful or applicable for bowed psalteries as it is for mountain dulcimers. Why?- because there is no fingering/fretting involved . No fingering positions to indicate, so basically any tab for the bowed psaltery consists mostly of just indicating which strings to play for each note in the melody. In a way, I feel it's just easier to pick out a simple tune by ear and practice playing it until you 'know' the tune on the psaltery. Once you can play one very simple tune, you can build on that and slowly play other tunes and get better.
In my view, TABs are mostly useful for instruments with fingerings and fingered fretted notes and chords - like mountain dulcimers, guitars, banjos, etc. Otherwise, you can simply use standard notation or else just learn the tune by ear. Start simple .

Hope this helps?

updated by @strumelia: 12/08/24 12:24:51PM

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Keltia, if you have a specific question it is easier to answer... :)

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Sue Simms said:

OMG , The Bowed Saltery is such a Beautiful Instrumment. I had the oppertunity to play one last week and Just fell in love with it ! Just a beautiful sound and now I want a new toy ! Maybe Christmas

Sue, be sure to join http://psalterystrings.ning.com/ ....where you can drool over b.psalteries to your heart's content!

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I recently got a little too busy with all kinds of stuff in my schedule, and I sadly stopped playing my bowed psaltery altogether for about four weeks. I picked it up a couple of nights ago, dreading how i might sound. But NO!- after about five minutes of shaking out the cobwebs, I was almost back where I had left off. What a kind and forgiving instrument it was!I happily played my favorite practice tunes for an hour, and I seem to have wound up pretty much back where I was again. What a relief. Now hopefully I can get back into more regular practice.

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Suzanne,I think you should talk to our member Tish: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profile/TishWestman She and her husband make wonderful bowed psalteries, and they make smaller ones for beginners as well. http://www.westmaninstruments.com Also, go have a look at Donna Malus' whole other online community just for bowed psalteries! : http://psalterystrings.ning.com/ I don't think you will have a lot of luck just walking into a music store hoping to find one. they are not that common.So, Donna and/or Tish are both very knowledgeable, and they are both members here. They can give you some excellent guidance on getting your mother a well made and lovely psaltery that likely won't break the bank. :)

Bowed Psaltery

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I just wanted to mention that one of our members here, Donna Malus, has started a new NING network community just for the bowed psaltery, located here: http://psalterystrings.ning.com/ Great going, Donna! :)