Forum Activity for @strumelia

I'm assuming you mostly play in DAd tuning?
Are you able to concentrate more on playing the melody notes without necessarily playing the full chords of the song you are playing? Perhaps some of the 3 finger chords you use can be played with only two of the strings strummed, avoiding strumming the third note of the chord altogether?

Another thought- people who do what's called 'fingerdancing' are sort of replicating noter style play but using their fingers .  This can be done over several strings, and you can learn to incorporate a little of that style and perhaps train yourself to play more the melody and less full chording. Not sure if i described this well or not.

I'll also mention that doing hand and finger stretching exercises actually CAN over time extend the distance that your fingers can stretch to make a chord. And such hand stretching exercises are supposed to be good for your hands and their dexterity.

I read once about how some of the words, phrases, sentence structures, and pronunciations of what today might be considered to be a "mountain hillbilly" way of speaking... evolved directly from old Gaelic language.

You might enjoy this short article:
https://www.cincinnatiearlymusic.com/rebec_rebuild.html

In the meantime, i downsized that photo to make things easier.  ;)

Alex, I read with interest the description of your album in the link you provided- the combination of dulcimer player, singer, and Victorian era woman writer in your album seems like it would be a very unique and compelling interplay.

Looking at a closeup of that mystery empty fret slot...

My thoughts:
A good luthier would never have put that extremely misplaced slot there in the first place, and even if they did, they would not have left the empty slot there after moving the fret to the right place. So, I think someone later on did this.
If you look closely, there are also indications that other fret slots had been cut and then filled, around where the 6.5 fret might go. Again, that job ldoes not look professionally done.

I'm thinking that 'somebody' who didn't know very much wanted to put in a 6.5 fret by themselves, and they misguidedly decided that frets 6, 6.5, 7, and 8 should all be equally spaced. So they yanked the original 7th fret out and put their new 6.5 and 7 frets in, equally spaced between the existing 6 and 8 frets. Perhaps they could hear that the 6.5 was not in the right place, and they yanked it out agin and filled the slot... but left their new 7th fret in place.

Then later yet, someone else (or maybe the same person again) realized that the (new) 7th fret was in the wrong place and it just wouldn't play in tune, so they pulled it out and put in a new 7th fret back in its original slot. But this time they didn't bother filling the empty slot.. too much trouble trying to hide it or match the color.

I do not think the luthier would have done any of this.

It strikes me that a VSL scale length of 27" is in the normal/standard range for a dulcimer.

@ken-longfield , you never fail to amaze me with how much you know about dulcimers and their makers.

I agree- use a flashlight to really look inside there, peering in at various angles. It happens, but it's rare that a dulcimer that nice would have no label inside at all.

As far as I know (which isn't much), a radiused fingerboard is intended to be helpful in making chord stretched and barred chords when your hand is curving around the neck, as in a necked stringed instrument. But on a dulcimer, you are coming down from above with your hand, not wrapping your hand completely around a neck from the far side and then fretting. I don't see any advantage myself- it would be kinda like suggesting a radiused fingerboard/keyboard for a piano. Just my guess.

@robin-thompson , that is so wonderful!

Too funny!!  

No apologies needed, Alex!  

Hi, I'm a leftie who plays musical instruments as right-handed. I knit right handed as well. It just makes everything easier, and both hands are doing important things anyway.

BTW I moved this discussion from our 'For Sale' forum to this General forum.

Yes, that's correct.
To sound good, you'll need to tune your other strings down the same amount (a half step, or a whole step).

Keep in mind that some note intervals have only a half step between them to begin with:  E to F, and B to C. Thus for example a whole step lower than C is Bflat. I find it helps me to remember which are the half-step intervals by thinking " E at F ood, B e C ool". Also, in most music situations, people call "Dflat" Csharp... different name for basically the same note.

Unless you are playing with other people, or practicing along with a recording in a certain pitch, there's no reason you can't tune your whole dulcimer down a step, for various reasons.

What are you up to?  

What an understated beauty, Dan!

I'd be willing to bet though, that there are thousands more currently active mtn dulcimer players today than there were at any particular time between 1880 and 1950.

I personally think it's great to discuss our opinions on dulcimers- whether we're discussing labeling semantics and definitions, or traditional vs modern, or our own preferences and why we have them. If we can't discuss those things here, then where? We can discuss it all without putting down others. Let's continue to share our personal dulcimer experiences and opinions without making judgements on other people who have different opinions than our own. 
I've been a part of practically identical online dulcimer discussions for 25 years, starting with usenet email groups. These discussions are always interesting and stimulating, and I always learn something new from others' posts!

I agree- "sweet sounding" is a highly personal defining criteria. A good example is a penny whistle-  many find it to be lovely and sweet sounding, while many others view it as unbearably shrill and annoying.

A couple of things about that, with apologies for veering off into banjos (but so many similarities exist between the mtn dulcimer and the banjo- both instruments being 'born' in early America from traditions of other cultures that arrived here)... I just can't help myself--

First to clarify a minor point, the fifth string that was added during the banjo's development was actually the low bass string. The higher/shorter "chanterelle" drone string was there from its very beginnings as a slave-made instrument, it was a rhythm and drone feature of the African folk music and the instruments that were the banjo's ancestors.

Indeed, aside from adding a low bass 5th string, when further form changes were added later on to the basic banjo to enable its being played in other settings and musical genres, out of practicality people applied more descriptive names to those "not quite banjos"- such as banjo mandolin, a tenor or jazz banjo, a banjo uke, octave banjo, etc.  These variations are today considered to be different instruments in their own right, and they definitely need their own names. Why? Because they have significant differences in playing techniques, tunings, and musical uses/settings/applications than the "regular" banjo.
To a casual observer, many of these banjo-y instruments might are described as "banjos" because that's what a lay person sees. But if you put a tenor banjo into the hands of a clawhammer banjo player, they'll have to learn an entirely new way of tuning and all new playing techniques in order to play it. To them it's a different instrument, like comparing a ukulele to a guitar. These are practical and real differences, not merely esthetic ones. Does the same hold true of the diatonically fretted mtn dulcimer and the chromatic mtn dulcimer?  IMHO it kind of debatable.

Lastly, as a person to whom the very early original forms of the banjo are most cherished, I must gently add that the later developments and elaborations of the banjo might be considered by some folks to be the nadir of the banjo's evolution rather than the apex.

Again, my apologies for veering off topic.
But then again, what exactly IS the original topic here in this thread? Reasons to not get a chromatic dulcimer? That's a topic that's ripe for this kind of meandering. It's almost inevitable!

The first American-made instruments that were called 'banjos/banzas/banjars' were developed from traditional African instruments such as the akonting. The first official "banjos" had no frets. Then when banjo playing became popular through minstrelsy, banjos began to be mass produced, and with frets. They were called "fretted banjos".
Over time, fretted banjos became the norm and came to be called simply "banjos", while the unfretted ones became known as "fretless banjos" instead of just banjos.
It shows how common names can change according to what variations become more popular over time.

Great reminder, Ken. Thanks!
It's fun to occasionally catch a member in the chat room on FOTMD, and get to know them a little, or to just leave a message there for other members.

Others may chime in here with their own thoughts on this. But in my own opinion, if the dulcimer is in great shape (no cracks, scratches, pegs in good condition, etc) then i think $500 is a reasonable price for a Mize. It might even be a little low, if anything. Chestnut and walnut sound lovely as well.
Just because a price is above what we can pay, does that mean it's unreasonable?
Sometimes when i really want something wonderful that is a little above 'my budget', I will rebalance my budget to fix its priorities, because they are obviously faulty.

Welcome back!  

Another thing i always try to do when putting a brand new string on-
I bring the string up to tune about 1 to 2 steps below the final note it will be at... then i leave it for an hour or so before bringing it up to the final note. This is especially good if you are changing or putting on all strings at once.

When i adjust the tuning on a string, I do two safety things-
1. I always turn my head so my face is turned away as much as possible.
2. And I hover my other hand over the fret board near the middle while I turn the peg. That last part would definitely keep the string length from whipping up at full length to reach my face.  So, in rapid succession I pluck the string to hear it sound, then quickly hover that same hand closely over the middle of the fret board while turning the peg with left hand.
If you are tightening a string a long ways (as when just putting it on), you can even lay a little washcloth over the fretboard as you are getting the string 'in the ballpark'.

Here are some issues to consider when shipping items internationally. Personally, I can vouch for the fact that years ago I received a surprise bill from US Customs for $75 two months after receiving a custom instrument from a luthier in UK. The luthier/sender had no knowledge of this. You may or may not experience one or more of the following factors, and things can change over time. But it's good to be aware:

1-- The sender(or seller) and the receiver (or buyer) involved in an international transaction need to know if there are additional charges associated with receiving the package. On a recent transaction out of country, a receiver was charged more than $30 for taxes and import fees on a package valued at $45.. These charges to the receiver were not disclosed to the sender when the parcel shipped. When the buyer finalized the purchase he did not realize there would be additional charges due when the package arrived.

2- Get a firm commitment from the recipient in writing that he or she will accept the package even if there are additional charges for which he or she would be responsible..

3- The sender should provide to the shipping company an email and or a phone number for the recipient. 

4- The sender needs to know if the parcel is not deliverable for any reason if the parcel will be returned or destroyed. If the parcel is to be returned to the sender is he or she is then responsible for any import fees or taxes prior to return of the parcel. If the parcel is to be destroyed will the insurance cover the cost of the item in the destroyed package.

5- Mark the package return to sender if undeliverable, if that is what you want and if you are willing to pay the cost of returning it to you undelivered.

6- Tracking information for international shipments is not always accurate nor up to date.

Well Dusty right at the moment we have about 2700 members. However, because people often 'move on' to other interests, I like to now and then go in and remove members who have not logged in in several years, just to keep things current. Many times the member count has gone over 3500 and then I've done my housekeeping and gotten it down to 2500 again. Quality versus quantity!
I do however remember the thrill we had here back in the beginning of things when we were so new and small, and we'd reach another hundred members. Good times. And nice to remember members who were a big presence here, who've passed on.

Fotmd member @randy-adams plays a good number of American oldtime fiddlle tunes. There are many others here as well, perhaps not posting as much lately.

(bump) ....from 2009, almost sixteen years ago.  

Ok, I have moved this thread to the "general dulcimer/music discussions" forum.

I think a lot depends on what members are posting videos and audios. Some folks who post a lot of music clips like certain various music genres- like hymns, or early/medieval music, or original tunes, or international folk tunes. There sure are a lot of videos posted here on FOTMD over the past 16 years!

James, did you mean to post this in the "For Sale" forum?  (Just wondering, either you are I can change the location of this thread if you like)

Yes just to clarify-  those screws are not supposed to function to 'hold' the string's tuning in place after every time you tune. They are just supposed to make it a little easier or harder to turn the tuning peg- tightening or loosening the tension of the tuning machine, not the string. As Dusty said, it might be only needed once in a great while. If you notice a tuned string slipping lower in pitch because the peg will not hold it at its note, then that might be a good time to tighten the screw of that peg just a little- only until the peg holds the string in tune sufficiently. If you tighten the screws too much they can strip/stop working.

If it plays well (and i suspect it must), then if you intend to play dulcimer, even just a little for fun, why sell this at all?  It's a hassle to sell and ship a nice dulcimer that needs to be well protected during shipping. And also a hassle for a beginner to find and buy another dulcimer that might have problems that are not apparent to the seller. 
In my humble opinion, you are a lucky person. just start playing it and learning. Learning to play a dulcimer is not hard, and you can add to your playing skills as much or as little as you choose. It's great fun to play beginner tunes.
Maybe that dulcimer was meant to be with you for a while in its journey! 

What an absolute jewel of a dulcimer!  Do you own it, and if so, where/how did you get it?

It's hard to believe that someone would put that much skilled work into an instrument and then not sign it or mark it... is there maybe a label inside that got detached and is just loose inside the instrument? Did you use a flashlight?

Nicely done, @terry-jaye .  Have you tested it out yet? What starter tune are you experimenting with?

Robert, I'm sure you'll get some good tips on instruction books. You may also enjoy browsing through my free blog specifically for beginner noter/drone style players. It includes lots of tips for improving strumming and rhythm, over 30 easy tabs for traditional songs, and help in understanding how to retune and play on the various common modes. DAA (the D being the low bass string) is in my opinion the best tuning to start playing in for those dulcimer players who fret only the melody string.

Here's a selection of blog posts on beginners: https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/search/label/beginner
And some of my posts with free tab: https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/search/label/noter-drone%20TAB

P.S. I'd love for you to post your video among our main video section for all to enjoy more prominently in the future here on fotmd (in addition to it being within this thread)... you just add it from your profile page to 'videos'.. look for a plus sign+ to add a video and description.

Oh my, I am so very impressed with the beautiful job you did in bringing that poor dulcimer back to its former 'glory'.  It is indeed glorious!  What a mess that peghead was, i really can't believe how well you repaired and restored this instrument.    And it sounds just lovely!

From your photos, the middle string is 'barely' over the frets... more only over the rounded ends of the frets. This is fairly common in noter-designed instruments, and is simply to allow for enough of a flat surface for the frets... but it's not intended that the middle string actually be fretted on the fret ends. I do not believe the middle string is intended to be fretted. Perhaps some other makers of traditional dulcimers can chime in on this.

Again, I might suggest slightly lighter gauge strings on this old and somewhat fragile instrument, especially if you intend to tune it to the key of D.