I think the biggest issue in playing along in a bluegrass jam is if they change keys frequently. Assuming you don't play other instruments as well, you may opt to bring two dulcimers- one for the keys of G and A, and another for the keys of C and D. That's what i used to do for oldtime music jams. It's not hard to tune up or down by one step to do this, OR use a capo on fret1 to do it. (I used to just tune up and down between A&G, and between D&C.) Using one dulcimer and tuning up and down over multiple steps will more quickly result in breaking strings, IMHO.

Bluegrass jamming has a lot more singing though, and often the favored singing key is B-flat, which might pose a special problem for a dulcimer player. In that case you might try completely muting your strings with the left hand while strumming in a percussive way with your right hand pick... not making out-of-tune notes but instead still having fun while improving your strumming rhythm.

Dusty, that is AWESOME!  Thank you for delving into this.

hahaha Dusty!

This particular spot has very gourmet coffee, and not all that cheap. They do prepare exotic drinks like turmeric coffee and 'golden milk', etc, they do offer decaff espresso which i appreciate (after having already had my coffees at home).

Dusty, I bet the young folk listen to their playlists and also spotify on their phones with bluetooth speakers when out and about. But perhaps some of them like to leave their always-connected techy jobs and have their apartment to unwind in, all retro and low key and mid-century-modern... so they enjoy the tactile feel and sound of playing vinyl records that spin around all old-fashioned like ...and pretend to not have the constant pressures of work for an hour or two. Some of them are also into writing with typewriters, and keeping leather journals.

Yesterday my husband suggested we go to a hip coffee place that recently opened in our village. They also sell old vinyl records.
Lots of millenniums and hipsters with children go there because it's a happenin' place and they get to hear and browse 'vintage' music while sipping coffee and watching their toddlers play. Some of us seniors village residents like to go there as well, because it's relaxed and cozy, and the music choices are sometimes what we grew up with.
Yesterday, the owner (who usually makes their excellent espresso drinks), overheard a little table of us Old Folk mentioning songs we remembered, and the subject of Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs came up. Next thing we knew, the owner had secretly punched it up from behind the counter on the sound system from his phone, in all its thumping glory.

So everyone in the cafe got to see a group of grey haired Boomers doing the frug from our seats and belting out along with the song- "Matty told Hatty, 'bout a thang she saw...." and of course we all chimed in at exactly the right time (because every word and note is seared into our old brains) with "Watch it now, watch it watch it watch it!!"
We Old Geezers must have been quite a sight -but we didn't care! Which of course made it even more fun.
I imagine the owner, a wise young man in his 30s, must have felt like a cosmic puppetmaster, making us all sing and dance with a simple click of his finger on his phone, and bringing everyone there obvious joy.

@nate, I've seen well known luthiers do that in the past... only adding extra frets on the first octave, when building a new dulcimer. Like you, I thought it was odd. One time I asked and was told that most players don't play up in the second octave anyway, and also that it was tricky to get accurate tones on frets when they are so close together. Or some such explanation.

Maddie, thank you so much for donating to help keep us running.  Yes, that name is me. (I don't use my real name online when I can avoid it.)
Your donation was received!  
(and thanks John, for clarifying)

   New Year's Eve, December 31 2024....

Here's hoping all members have a safe, healthy, and productive new year for 2025...full of personal joys like music and also the joy of kindnesses to others.

Happy New Year!!!!

As Ken said, look on your computer or phone for a photo app- most of them do include an 'edit' function where you can downsize your image and then save it smaller. For Sale ads must include at least one photo of the object for sale.

From my limited experience playing the tagelharpa/jouhikko (where you press the strings with the backs of your fingers to fret notes, but there is no fretboard to press the string to), I'd guess that pressing down the strings to a fretboard that was deepened down could very easily bend the notes. Most of us are used to feeling the fretboard there with the soft pads of our fingers without necessarily 'mashing' the strings. Of course, one could also use this to purposely create bending and vibrato effects. 

I'm still not sure why scalloped frets would 'create a bigger sweet spot' between the frets (assuming one does not aggressively 'mash down' while fretting anyway). The fact that the note is created off the metal fret does not change. I always thought that scalloped frets on guitars were there to better facilitate bending the notes, as in blues or jazz playing.  ?

There are many players these days however who look for and love the traditional style of dulcimer and dulcimer playing style. Personally, I hope this beautiful dulcimer remains just the way it is without being 'modernized' (geared tuners installed and extra frets added). There will be someone to cherish it and play it in the old way.
Jud, if you are thinking about your kids dealing with it, consider tucking in a little note with the instrument explaining a few things about it that you have learned. Just a paragraph or two, would be so helpful to your kids in the future, and would help steer the dulcimer in the right direction in the future.

Susie, I never really knew Donna. When FOTMD and Donna's Psaltery forums were both on Ning servers, Donna and I compared notes once or twice, many years ago. I'm sorry you are having trouble contacting her or getting her forum to work. I wish i could do more, but alas.

Hi Susie,

I see on that site of Donna's that there are events listed from late 2023, so maybe its stil active.

I see links at the bottom of their home page to contact the owner directly- have you tried that?  Also, you can try creating a new account in oder to get in. (you could always get the admin to delete a duplicate account later once you are activated). And also- I've had trouble in years past with logging in on places online by using my Google account. Is there another choice besides using Google when logging in?

Also, you can join the builders' group here on FOTMD and get lots of help from our members who build a lot of dulcimers:
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group/11/dulcimer-making   They are always happy to help out with advice.

-Note, you have to JOIN the group before you can post there or see all the discussion replies. And joining and Unjoining groups is as easy as clicking a button.

I've removed a few escalating personal attack posts going back and forth here, and I've locked this thread.
Folks, please stay civil and let it drop. Thanks!

I just wanted to share this lovely video to enjoy and inspire us all...
https://youtu.be/o4OlL0OpbW8?feature=shared

It's lovely! I'm amazed that it is in perfect/new condition after over 40 years. I'm thinking it deserves a case, if even just a cheap cardboard or padded gig case.

The height of the bridge and nut slots can also adjust how high or low the string action is from the frets.

It should be noted that there are members of the zither family which have raised fretboards but which are not mtn dulcimers, for example concert zithers.

Hello @dyannay , your images were no longer showing in your post, so I removed them. Is your ad here still valid? If so, please add at least one new picture of the item for sale now. Thanks!

Big thanks to those members who have made donations to keep this site up and running.

This is great news. Thanks for posting it Ken, and for the photos!

Expressing my deep gratitude to those who have made donations recently.
I rarely solicit donations here on FOTMD, but I'm making one more request to hopefully get a few more people donating. So far enough has been donated to run the site for about 5 months. I'd really love to not worry about it at all for at least 8 months, so.... 
If you have never donated to this site before, would you please consider making a donation to help out in keeping things running?  The Paypal donation button is on our Main/Home page, and you don't need a paypal account to donate, just a credit card.
Thank you, friends!!  

On what may have been the last warm day yesterday, I got all my lily bulbs planted, along with three types of flowering allium. A whole lot of digging and mixing in compost, planting, and mulching in the 3 areas where I planted bulbs. 
I am sore all over today!  But I'm lucky to not have a bad back like so many folks do, so it's just muscle soreness that will pass.
It will be SO exciting to see lily and allium shoots poking up through the mulch next Spring!  The first year most of them will likely bloom but not be full size plants yet, but they should be awesome in the many years following that.  

I've been slowly converting some of my vegetable row spaces in the fenced garden to perennial flowers. Planted some poppies during the past two years, their flowers have been so uplifting to me. We just don't need so many vegetables like we used to, and veggies require more digging and work... which I definitely like less of nowadays. lolol
The cold snaps have reminded me that i've wanted to order some Fall bulbs of a certain type of lily for some time now. You can't buy or plant them in the summer. So I ordered a bunch which are on their way now. I have some compost and mulch ready as well, get them planted. I'm just barely getting this done before it's way too cold.
They are Martagon lilies, also known as Turk's Cap or Turban lilies. Very old fashioned, with hanging flowers with recurved petals, in mixed colors. They like a bit of shade, so I'm planting them in the row space that passes near the apple tree, which gives some dappled shade during part of the day. They will be small plants their first year, but hopefully will grow to adult size the second year and typically multiply on their own. My goal is to be able to gift blooming stems of these beautiful lilies to my friends and neighbors.
Has anyone else planted some new Fall bulbs this year?
Here's a somewhat idealized photo from online:

Thank you so much to those members who have sent in a donation to FOTMD so far. It is so much appreciated! 

Greetings FOTMD friends!   

This is a gentle reminder about the cost of keeping this site up and running for over fifteen years now.

There have been very few donations during this past year.  I'm sure it's because folks were busy traveling during the Summer and Fall, or just rising prices of all things creating issues for everyone...    But I must continue paying server and hosting fees every month regardless, and the dwindling rate of donations is often not enough to pay the site bills.

Please read the below posts on various ways you can help, and thank you for finding it in your heart to help keep our site running.  

This song popped into my head this morning for some reason. Brian Jones really hit it out of the park with this- terrific playing, syncopation, and vibratto, -and great bass accompaniment. I remember going out of my mind over this as a teenager..

It is interesting to note in Cecil Sharp's 1917 English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians... that of all the 274 ballads he and his assistant collected from rural singers, Barbara Allen was the ballad with the largest number of distinct regional variations included in his book.

It is a tribute to the many folks who are helping and working hard to get assistance to Florida after Hurricane Milton that there have been relatively few deaths, considering the power and destruction of that storm. I also think it's amazing how residents evacuated to safer areas in time to save more lives.
I know we all wish those effected a strong recovery from these terrible weather events.

@john-w-mckinstry , that is something I can really relate to-  I have not planted morning glories by the side of our sunny garage door in about five years. Have not seen hide nor hair of them in that time.  Then, just three mornings ago, Brian and I were surprised to see two giant Heavenly Blue blooms there near the ground, looking much like your picture. It surprised us as well!  Seems like an omen of some sort?  We could all use some good omens these days i think. If i see more blooms before the frost puts an end to our brave little survivor plant, i will think of you John.  

The destruction from Helene and the subsequent flooding has been horrific. So many of the effected communities are completely isolated because of roads destroyed and all communications and power down. It's a challenge to get the massive amounts of aid needed to people under such devastating conditions- shelter, water, food, power, medical help... my heart goes out to all the families suffering. I read today that some folks are using pack mules to get help to some isolated places.
To now hear of a new hurricane forming and churning its way towards Florida, that's so awful. Is this going to be a hurricane season worse than any other in US history? Let us hope not.

I especially like the "hoy hoy" at 2:13  

Ok, time for something a little different (and for full effect, be sure to keep watching past the halfway point of 2 min 30 seconds)...

https://youtu.be/d1J3NLNWAPU?si=rUK3CAMCXvPqfEwI

@Beth-t , that's wonderful!  I really look forward to hearing you play some of the old traditional Welsh folk tunes that you love.  

Hi John!  The positive thread in in the Forums section. 

Go here: https://fotmd.com/forums/forum/off-topic-discussions/11758/the-positive-thread#r46686

and depending on whether you are on a laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone, you may see different ways to make a post. See if you can go there (follow my link) and look for a place where you can type in a reply and post it there. Let us know if you are having trouble, and if so what device are you using and what you see or don't see when you try to post.

I used to have some cassettes of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee that I just loved listening to.  

They must be a total weirdo.

Wow. That's pretty pathetic to leave multiple nasty messages on your videos. It feels icky, but sometimes we just have to say "I'd sure hate to have to BE that person!". I had a nasty online stalker once do that on my YT videos too, and on my blogs. I had to shut down my comment features for a year. I think they must have just shriveled up and blown away by now, it happened quite a few years ago.
I'm glad you have lots of good and positive friends here Nate!

Not sure exactly what time period we are talking here- during or before before Jean's time (b.1922)?  Remember that the earliest mtn dulcimer so far that has been accurately dated was from the 1830s- actual mtn dulcimers may not even have been 'invented' before 1800.
I've always been doubtful about the conjecture that mountain dulcimers were commonly played for social dances or in church. I've never read any verified references of it, and it seems unlikely to me. On the other hand, many churches and most grange halls had a piano. And guitars, fiddles, and (to a lesser extent) banjos... were pretty widespread among the communities.

For the past 25 years I have had two mtn dulcimers that are good players- my Keith Young maple teardrop, and my cherry Galax by Ben Seymour. I have a finicky old kit dulcimer someone gave me from their closet yrs ago, but I don't play that one. So I consider I have two mountain dulcimers.
But I also have two epinettes, a langspil, and a hummel, which are all dulcimer-like instruments. It feels pretty well rounded. My wallet has kept me in line a little over the years. I have 8 banjos last i counted. Each one is very different from the other, for example my gourd banjo.