Forum Activity for @strumelia

Greg- that terrific information to read on this beautiful dulcimer's makers!

The eagle peghead and two makers' labels puts me in mind of something else, having to do with dulcimer maker Keith Young-

Some of you may have seen some really gorgeous Young dulcimers that had an expertly carved clinging tree frog carved into the wooden peghead . When I was ordering my beautiful curly maple from Keith, I asked him about the possibility of getting it with the tree frog peghead. He told me that he himself had carved the first few frog pegheads, but that it became too much and that he had a woodcarver carve the frogs for him for a while. Eventually the carver no longer did the frogs and that's when Keith stopped offering the option altogether. So, my dulcimer has simply the elegant scroll peghead that Keith himself would carve.

This makes me wonder if the dulcimer in this thread was basically made by Hicks but perhaps David Love (as you said known for his woodworking and also making of wooden toys) carved the eagle peghead... thus resulting in the two makers' labels inside, giving them both credit for their hand in the instrument's creation?

If she can count to five, then this tune might be very helpful to start with:

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-player.html

It's absolutely the easiest tune to play for a beginner, and can be played noter style (or fretted with one finger) on the melody string only, with the other strings brushed unfretted, as pretty harmony notes that go with the tune naturally.

The key to playing in both directions is to practice very slowly and often. You'll get it! Sit yourself down and practice slowly and stick with it. In the end you'll be glad to have the skill. Your hand has to go in both directions anyway, so why not make good use of it?

Once you get comfortable with it you'll find your playing gets more fluid and pleasant sounding. When I hear an audio clip of someone playing and if right off the bat sounds unpleasantly choppy to me and with awkward timing, it usually turns out they are strumming or picking only in one direction.
Think of it like walking with both legs as opposed to hopping along on one leg. One leg will get you from point A to point B, but it'll won't feel very smooth and pleasant.

If you play in chording style (fretting across all strings) then yes a 6+ fret is going to make things waaaaay easier for you. (And you won't have to learn all the different chord fingerings for each tuning.)
If you are only going to be fretting melodies on the melody string then learning to retune to different modes will be all you need to do. (and in most cases you'll be only retuning one string.)
If it were me I would get a pro to install that fret since you don't want to mess up the fretboard and you'll want it to not come out later and to look matched. I once went to a music store/guitar store and they did a nice job for a small fee.

@Jost, you may be right about Pretty Saro. I have seen folks play it on dulcimer by tuning mixolydian and then basing the home note on the middle string.
Saro is probably not a good example for me to use. There are many versions of that ballad, and some sound major and some sound more minor... so I guess you could play it in various ways.

Complicating matters is that you can sometimes be in a tuning that is associated with a certain mode, but be playing a tune that is in a different mode... especially if you play melody notes across strings- on more than just the melody string.

Btw since you play banjo-
Adding DAC aeolian mode tuning as an option to more easily play lonesome sounding tunes in the key of D is just like how oldtime clawhammer banjo players add 'sawmill tuning' ( gDGCD) to their repertoire in addition to their basic gDGBD tuning, when they want to play spooky or plaintive g modal tunes on the banjo. Once someone learns Sawmill tuning (sometimes called Mountain Minor tuning) on their banjo, they usually want to come back to it often. It's pretty addictive, exactly the way DAC tuning is on the dulcimer. 

Melvoid, so much about tunings depends on two things: 1) what key you want to be playing in, and 2) the limits of your string gauges in tuning to various notes without being so tight as to break, or too loose as to be floppy.

If you are at the stage where you want to experiment just a bit but don't quite understand all the details yet, then you can stay with your first familiar tuning, OR play with DAd and DAA both, OR you can dip your toe in the water by adding a third tuning- I'd suggest DAC, for playing the beautiful lonesome sounding Aeolian mode tunes like Shady Grove or Cluck Old Hen or Pretty Saro.

I've explained a lot about tunings and modes in many posts on my noter/drone blog, but here's one post from it that includes a simple video of retuning between the four most common modes and tunings for dulcimers:
https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/02/video-re-tuning-between-four-common.html

Using the key of D for my example, and starting in DAd tuning, I demonstrate how to tune from mixolydian DAd to aeolian DAC, then to ionian DAA, and finally to dorian DAG. Then I re-tune back through each made again until I'm back in DAd. This method is a simple way to get into the concept of retuning for dulcimers. Hopefully it helps in some way.

If you download the youtube video as an audio file, then get Amazing Slowdowner program, you can open the audio file in AS and change the pitch of the tune without changing the speed. Change it to the key/pitch you want, then save that new audio file. Then you can play along in the exact key you want. (AS can also be used for changing speed btw)
I have always found Amazing SlowDowner to be extremely useful.

Teddy and Rufus... bros just chillin' in the sun...

Which is why some older dulcimer ancestors had their frets right along the edge of the instrument- because either they had no raised fretboard, or one that was less than 1/2" tall off the top of the instrument. Having the frets run along the edge of the body enabled using a noter when the frets were on or immediately above the soundboard itself. Imagine trying to use a noter on frets that are installed down the middle of the soundboard, directly into the instrument top rather than on a raised fretboard.
One of the very definitions of the mountain dulcimer specifies it having a "raised fretboard running down the center of the instrument". Many instruments that are earlier dulcimer ancestors have frets along one edge of the instrument- epinettes, hummels, langspils...

As to strum hollows and 'sweet spots', it's true that the mellowest sound of all will come from plucking/strumming a string near the halfway suspension point. Yet violinists, guitarists, banjoists, etc don't generally bow/strum/pick in the middle between nut and bridge. Some oldtime banjo players play "up the neck" to get a particular soft mellow effect, but bluegrass, tenor, classic, and Irish banjo players play near the bridge purposely because they like the crisp snappier sound. The strings are more rigid to play on right next to the bridge, with almost no flex. So most folks feel more comfortable plucking/strumming several inches away from the bridge, where the strings begin to have more give. On the other hand, bowing at the halfway point creates just too much string bouncing and flexing, thus a bow is usually kept pretty close to the bridge where the string tension is stiffer. Another physical issue is that the halfway point is where the seventh fret octave is, and people do a LOT of fretting in that area- you can't be both fretting and strumming or picking in the same area at once. (I'm assuming folks define the 'sweet spot' not as exactly the halfway point, but rather as somewhere between halfway and the bridge.)

How I find strum hollows essential in real life playing:

I used to play the mtn dulcimer in fingerpicking style long ago, with plastic fingerpicks because I have crappy fingernails. Playing on a dulcimer with a strum hollow was delightful and comfortable. Playing in that style with no strum hollow was an AWFUL experience for me because the tips of my fingerpicks were constantly bumping into the fingerboard accidentally, and made a racket with clicking sounds. Personally, I couldn't play in fingerpicking style without the strum hollow. Especially if doing 'pinches', which some traditional players did when playing with their thumb.
Strum hollows also facilitate playing with a bow- as you rock the bow a little to play either outermost string, as you have to do when there is not an arched bridge, you don't want to scrape the bow hair on the fretboard edge.. but that's less common than fingerpicking. Been there done that, and a strum hollow totally solves that issue.

I have similar issues with picks bumping into the fretboard on banjos with no strum hollow. That's why they are so common on banjos.

Yes- the v is 'down'. The v^ is down,up.  By 'down' I mean the dominant direction that you tend to strum in- some folks strum inwards towards their body on major notes, others have an outwards dominant direction, away from their bodies. Thus, my v means your dominant direction strum. Easy to think of it as 'down', while the ^ is strummed as you go in the return direction of the strum. For more on this, use the blog's right lower keyword search feature and choose 'strumming' for various posts on strumming tips.

So happy you are enjoying it!

There are many beautiful and plaintive tunes in DAC tuning (Aeolian mode). They are so easy to play in drone style when in the proper tuning.

Here are a couple other DAC/Aeolian tab posts from my blog if you like to explore more:

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-is-another-old-ballad-in-aeolian.html

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/03/black-is-color.html

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/07/wedding-dress-my-little-doney-gal.html

Yes- thank you Dusty! My coffee had not kicked in yet when i wrote that.  lolol   Will correct my post.

Wow I bet you are super thrilled to have this new beauty, Richard. Happy playing! 

Suzette, tune to DAC and try my free noter/drone style tab for Shady Grove:

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/03/beautiful-aeolian-mode.html

(I posted over 30 free tabs on my noter dulcimer blog)

Ah, so now we know: 1) why Leo could not attach a word file, and 2) why there was suddenly a .pdf there that Leo did not put there. Mysteries solved!

Leo, I have our site code set to not allow people to attach word docs to posts, because that type of file can contain malware code. It's just a site safety setting that has nothing to do with you.

What a lovely dulcimer Megan! 

That's a terrific subject to cover, Patricia.

Early music is one of my passions. Much of it utilizes compelling drone intervals that are familiar to drone style traditional dulcimer players.

Having a 6.5 fret won't stop a dedicated noter player from playing traditional tunes on a dulcimer in noter style...and sounding great!

There is nothing particularly special about 'banjo strings' vs 'dulcimer strings'... except in relation to their being offered in convenient pre-packaged sets. Banjo 'sets' are geared towards banjo scale length (generally 25"-30") and standard banjo tuning: gDGBD (the last D being an octave higher than the first D, equal to a dulcimer high d).

The reason old timers and older books mention using banjo strings is not because they thought banjo strings were better suited than dulcimer strings. Rather, it's simply because there didn't used to BE many places to buy pre-packaged sets of 'dulcimer strings' in those pre-1970s days, whereas banjo string sets have been around for a lot longer and were way easier to find in music stores. Old timers were resourceful and used whatever they could get their hands on. This was pre-internet- there were no websites to order strings from- you had to either go to a music store or order from a paper catalogue using stamps envelopes and sending checks. (and then "allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery", LOL)

The truly best approach is to use a string calculator (Strothers is the current best one online) and based on the VSL of YOUR dulcimer and the notes that YOU want to tune the strings to, select the gauges you'll need for that tuning. Then buy some separate steel strings (usually loop-end) from a site like juststrings .com. Have some extras on hand for breakage. If you have a typical sized dulcimer and simply want to use typical DAd or DAA type tunings, you can buy packets of dulcimer string 'sets' and it'll work just fine in most cases. It's convenient if you don't need anything out of the norm.

Commercial strings heavier than a certain gauge will more likely be wound, which you'll notice when ordering strings online. If you have your heart set on unwound heavy bass strings then you 'may' have to buy a spool of that heavy gauge music wire and cut/twist your own unwound bass strings. It depends on just how heavy the gauge is that you want. Personally, I found heavy unwound bass strings to really hurt my fingers when fretting, so I do use wound heavy bass strings on my banjos and dulcimers. If you always play with a noter this wouldn't matter.

I agree with the approach of keeping it simple- go with our original name and designated day in March. Don't worry about what others may/may not be doing.
I agree with Robin's thoughts about it being a simple celebration that anyone can be part of from their own home in whatever way they can or would like to. Complicating things or broadening the scope only makes people not want to do anything themselves.

Steve- I'm sorry but i had to delete a couple of your posts that were copied from another site. The formatting of the text, ads, headlines, and pictures was so gigantic that it screwed up the page here on fotmd. Plus run-on lines. It made everything here impossible to read and would also generate Google errors concerning posts with huge items or text that doesn't fit on a page. Try to not copy/paste chunks of content directly from other sites, thanks! 

We should be careful about using photographs taken by other people. For example, many of the nicer photos of Jean Ritchie were taken by her photographer husband George Pickow, and of course the family owns the rights to them.

Here, maybe try this version, I upped the contrast a bit with the white text. Here's a jpg and a pdf of same thing.

Should look fine printed out either in color or in greyscale...

 INTERNATION APP. DULCIMER DAY-page-002.jpg - 246KB

Wonderful to see the same player over such a long time span, with a glimpse into the past again.

If you click the link to "Forums" you will see various forums for different subjects, and you can pick the forum that applies for your new thread.
(and Thanks Dusty!)

I wonder how many years Bruce C. has played a dulcimer and not used it til now in his concerts? Cool.

Dusty, you are a mover and a shaker! 

Steve, I'll send you a private message through fotmd.

I can adjust the contrast for the white text areas by deepening the yellow and pale blue background colors just a little, if anyone needs me to. Then it would be nicely readable if printed out or copied in greyscale.

Great poster!

Note: the word "holding" at the bottom has a typo.

Also- many folks would be printing/copying this out in greyscale, and it'd be good to bump up the contrast between the lettering and the background colors so it's easy to read. ...making the background colors behind the white text just a bit darker. Here's how it prints out on a blk&white printer as it is now:

No real need for a poll if everyone thinks that's a good plan, Dusty.

Does anyone have other options they'd like to see considered?

Geoff that is wild! 

And additional thanks to @geoff-black for starting this real nice thread over ten years ago!

-I wonder Geoff- do you still have your wormy chestnut Glenn? Any photo you could add for us? Would love to see your thoughts on this dulcimer of Kevin's. 

That dulcimer is lovely!  (btw Kevin I reduced the size of your pix- they were way off the page)
Not having a 6.5 fret, I would strongly recommend a 1-5-5 (DAA, CGG) tuning... would make your life way easier in playing tunes without running into 'missing' notes.

I highly recommend the "Peg Drops"- for both sticking and slipping pegs. The drops seem to correct all woes with stubborn wooden pegs. They are made from liquified rosin and they make my wooden pegs behave beautifully- holding tight when i want but also moving smoothly and not getting stuck.

Since the peg ends are not actually sticking out from the pegbox, use a little dowel with a bit of fabric over the end (to cosmetically protect the peg ends), and tap them inwards as Greg said. Tap lightly with a little hammer and increase only as needed. Make sure the dulcimer has been for several hours in a room that is not too cold or too dry when you do this. Never put the instrument anywhere near a stove or radiator.

The only Glenn dulcimer I ever saw in person was from the 70s and as I recall was quite petite and slender. Use the Strothers string calculator! If it's a petite dulcimer you may not want a standard string set.

Most dealers in old items consider "antique" as anything 100 yrs old or more... and "vintage" to be something between 50-99 yrs old. 'Retro' is a term people nowadays use for something like 20-40 yrs old.
A 1975 dulcimer would now be 47 yrs old, and personally I'd call it vintage.
KenH I'd call you and myself vintage as well, but maybe you'd prefer Retro Ken?  lolol 

The end result should be that when you press the string down on the 7th fret, it will sound a note that is the same but one whole octave higher than the open string. Like in a "do re mi" scale they would be low do and high do.

Don't just count the frets to find "the seventh fret". Do you know whether your dulcimer had a 6.5 fret or not? Not knowing can lead to a grave error when determining which fret is actually the 7th fret, in order to correctly place the bridge. Many older dulcimer kits like from the 1970s-80s did not have 6.5 frets added. More recent kits usually do have a 6.5 fret included.
If a total beginner is told to 'count your frets' then they'd likely be including both the 6 and the 6.5 fret when counting-  thus thinking that the repeat octave is the C#.  Most beginners don't yet know that they should count EITHER the 6 OR the 6.5 fret when 'counting frets'.. but not count both.  I think it really helps to look at a picture:

I never hear people saying "MD" or "HD" when they are talking. Only when they're writing. Because in written discussions it's a pain to type it all out over and over in every other sentence. It's way faster to SAY those names than it is to type them.

Jean Ritchie wrote the Forward for L.Allen Smith's 1983 book A Catalogue of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers.

Here is what she said concerning the name of our beloved instrument, and the part she herself played in the evolution of that name starting from the 1940s:

Consider that it was not until at least the middle of the 20th century that there were any mountain dulcimers brought to the entire western half of the US (more than a century after the dedicated work of early Appalachian dulcimer makers such as Thomas, Singleton, Prichard, etc), and consider also that there are many other other countries in south and central America, not to mention all of Canada.

But my main point is that i would be sad to see the reference to the region of origin where our instrument was first created stripped away from its name, replaced by a broader label based on our whole nation rather than a region. It would feel to me like removing a connection to the unique culture specific to that region. That's why I am fond of the names 'mountain dulcimer', Appalachian dulcimer', or even 'lap dulcimer' or 'dulcimore'... those names still connect with and honor the region and culture that created the instrument. Just my two cents.