To be honest, when learning a new instrument, just about 'everything' is confusing to a beginner, especially if no one has ever explained to them the basics of WHY they are 'missing' certain frets or notes in the first place.

I think if a new player is motivated to learn by making the effort to do some listening and reading ,  and/or has a decent teacher who can explain basics well, then they will fairly quickly catch on to initially confusing stuff, and an extra fret or a new tuning won't stop them.   

Nimrod, you should be aware of this little bit of confusion for new players:

Here are some explanations to clarify what people are referring to when talking about number of strings on mtn dulcimers:

1) the most common setup as a "four string dulcimer" is 1 heavy bass string, 1 medium weight middle string, and a PAIR of thinner melody strings- which are close together, are usually tuned to the same note, and are played as though they are just one string- that kind of close pair is called a "course" or "double course". That dulcimer is very common and is played as though it has 3 strings, but the melody 'course' is really 2 strings close together and played as though they were 1 string.

(I should also mention that just because this outer light string is called the melody string does not mean you cannot play melody notes on the other strings as well, it's just a convenient traditional name for the string because: in traditional or noter style of playing, only that string is used for playing a song's melody..nowadays there are various styles of playing that use other strings for melody playing as well, but that's beside the point of my explanation)

2) Many people do not have, or purposely remove, one of the pair of melody strings and simply have 3 strings on their dulcimer: a bass, a middle, and a single melody string .  They might choose to do this because it's easier to play in fingerpicking style that way, or because they feel awkward fretting a pair of strings, or simply because they don't like that fuller sound of the double course...they want to even the sound out between the different strings.

Another popular meaning when you hear someone talk about a "four string dulcimer" is:

3)  four equidistant strings .  This is when you have 4 strings, all spaced equally apart from each other ,  in various thicknesses (usually spanning heavy to light) tuned to a tuning of your choice.  In this setup, there are no 'double courses' or pairs of close together strings.  All four strings are equal distance apart and are tuned and played as individual strings.  This setup can give you additional choices for getting various notes and/or chords while playing...as compared to a 3 string dulcimer as I describe in example 2).

----------------------------------

A double-melody-course 4 string dulcimer will have 4 tuning pegs and its nut and bridge string  slots  will be cut to allow the doubled pair, but you can always just remove one of the pair and play it like a 2) three string dulcimer- you'd have one peg with no string wound on it.  Also, as long as the dulcimer has four pegs, it can simply have its nut/bridge slots changed or added to enable one to convert it quickly to a 4 equidistant dulcimer.  Both my dulcimers have 4 tuning pegs and have additional nut/bridge slots which allow me to switch if i wanted to- to any of the above three setup,s by changing/adding/removing strings.

Probably the most basic setup for a beginner would be setup #2 above- a simple 3 string dulcimer. Many 3 string dulcimers have just 3 tuning pegs.  These obviously cannot be converted to either 4equidistant setup or to a double-melodystring setup, because it'd be difficult to add another peg to the peghead...you can't have a string without its own peg or pin to tune it with.  But many folks don't care about that anyway because they adore their 3 string dulcimers just as they are.   You have all the same notes available to you on a 3 string dulcimer as you have on a dulcimer with a doubled melody course (examples 1) and 2) above).  
One other detail is that most tablature and books available to players is geared towards the 1) and 2) setups.  However, that does not stop dedicated 4equidistant string players from having a total blast and becoming wonderful players.  FOTMD has a Group for 4 equi players- to learn more:  Four Equidistant String Players Group

Any of the 3 setups above are beloved by many and are very popular.  There are also more variations- 5, 6 string dulcimers, etc, but I'd say those are less common and not as recommended for a beginner to start with.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I moved this thread to the general dulcimer forum, instead of the 'site questions' forum.

Well ok since you ask , Rob, I'll be honest...

There are many elements of this instrument that I feel are not of high quality and don't suggest to me anything beyond a low 'hobby level' maker slapping stuff together-  the sharp unfinished fret ends, the very weird 'tailpiece' with guitar string anchors and its dark badly varnished strumhollow (and what is happening on the very end of tailpiece there where the top soundboard ends?).  The chopped up re-purposed (mandolin/guitar) tuners, the super high applied fretboard (was that added on top of the original fretboard?) which creates a bad angle on the strings at the nut, the crude blocky heart soundholes, and the high gloss 'finish' on the peghead and elsewhere.  It just doesn't strike me as any kind of skilled maker or quality materials.

The case- don't get me started..lol.  Putting aside the rotting crumbling foam and the 1970s yellow carpet remnants (who knows what may have happened on that rug during its sordid past..) - the handle, latches and piano hinge are all the cheapest of the cheap, crudely bolted right through the super thin plywood.  They didn't even bother slapping finish on the plywood underneath the leather handle...uh, too much trouble?   

Don't get me wrong- I can really appreciate a homemade wood case put together from recycled material...but a good craftsman will create one that is a thing of beauty and carefully made to protect the instrument, last a lifetime, and be a real pleasure to touch and use.  I have a 'rustic' case made from discarded plywood, a thrift store Norwegian wool sweater, an old leather belt etc... made for me by fotmd member Michael King (who makes fine strumsticks and lyres, by the way).  It's beautiful and is truly a marvelous thing made with skill and love.

All that said, I'm sure whoever made and used this dulcimer and case must have enjoyed it, and that's well and good.  It's just that I wouldn't buy it myself, even if the price was cheap.

Everyone's idea of value is very different.  My apologies to anyone I may have unintentionally insulted with my above personal opinions ...which are worth approximately two cents.  

In any case, this auction and thread was from back in Sept 2015.

Swimming against the tide here, but I myself would not buy it.  

Welcome back Carol!   

Yes please, let's not jump into the mode quicksand again...staying on the thread capo topic.  :)

Maria, I too think you made a good choice with the Ewing. My old Ewing dulcimer capo far outlasted a later plastic cheaper one I bought.  

Capos can definitely be handy in various playing situations.  Some folks use them regularly, and others don't use them.  To each their own!   

Yay!  happy new year to all friends here...     

Here's hoping all members have a safe, healthy, and productive new year for 2016...full of personal joys like music and also the joy of kindnesses to others.

Happy New Year!!!!

Jane, you've gotten lots of good replies so far.  

I notice you say it's a 'student sized' 26" with DAd tuning.  I assume that along with the shorter scale length, the "student' means it's also a smaller shallower body.  Though small tweaks can indeed change an instrument's sound a little bit, changing strings in my opinion is not likely to make a small soundbox entry-level short scale dulcimer sound "very warm and rich".  More than any other factor, I would say that dulcimers with larger or deeper (taller) bodies/soundboxes will sound deeper, richer, and warmer.  Think about the difference in tone between a smaller tenor guitar and a large dreadnaught guitar.  Or between different sized wooden recorders.  Perhaps an extreme example, but- you can't make a viola sound like a cello by changing strings.

The good news?- you may have to have more than one dulcimer for different sounds.   

I wrote a review of a JJNiles reissue cd for the Oldtime Herald magazine a few years ago (they paid reviewers the princely sum of $20).  I did a lot of reading before I wrote the review, because I wanted to be fair and not listen to his music out of context.  It was an interesting adventure. 

There are many possible reasons for buzzes, but there are some 'seasonal' buzzes that seem to arrive with the winter indoor heat and disappear in the more humid Spring.

Tell me about it- happens to me regularly with various things I 'learn'...lol!  Glad you sorted things out.  

Steve, is your issue solved?

Wow, all of the responses to Unclekb were very wise and helpful.  

I have nothing to add except this-  It's always nice to have a cheaper instrument around for those times when you don't want to risk taking an expensive or custom instrument with you, but you would love something to play.  Like when you travel or go camping, iffy weather conditions for playing outside, etc.  It's handy to have a 'knockabout' on hand!  

Those are amazing!

Hmm...the only thing i can offer is that it's a known thing that 'mystery' buzzes appear most often when the seasons change to dry Autumn and indoor heat.  When you played it on vacation last year and it sounded fine- were you in a humid climate on vacation?

Dusty outlined the method well.  

One little detail though- if you are typing in "@" or hyphens when typing in their name, you should not do that-  just start typing their user name without  a @.  Don't put hyphens in either.  For example, for Dusty Turtle, I'd just start typing Dusty...and he would pop up as one of the choices of members who have "Dusty" in their profile name...and I could select him probably before I even get to the "ty" of Dusty.  I would not start typing @dusty-turtle, I'd start typing Dusty.

A couple of quick questions first Colleen-

Where was it being stored?- in a location that has different temperatures and humidity than your normal living areas?  If so, has it had time to adjust for a day or two?

Also, have you changed the tuning from what you were using a year ago?  Or have you put on new strings since last time you were playing it?

Ozark, there is also a large image picture on our Home Page which will take you right to the For Sale forum if you click on it:

Please follow the link here to check the public domain status of the Christmas carol you're thinking of posting on Fotmd...  Thanks!   

http://fotmd.com/strumelia/group_discuss/833/common-christmas-carols-are-they-copyrighted-or-public-domain

NEW!-

Want to more actively promote your talents, merchandise or service more visibly?

Now you can!   Purchase your very own Banner Ad in FOTMD's new Main Page rotating slideshow of Sponsor Ads!  See the new slideshow in action at the bottom of our site Main Page, and get rates and all the details: Click HERE . These ads are large, eye catching and very reasonably priced. Professional graphic design assistance is also available for any budget- we want to help get your ad up and running right away and looking awesome .

Be among the first Sponsors and get in on the ground floor right before the HOLIDAY SEASON !  FOTMD can help you reach new potential customers.

Thanks Patty, that was an old post, so I deleted it just now.  

Hi Ethany! -we have a Forum with various thread about how to do things on the site...and in it, there is a thread about how to send private messages:  http://fotmd.com/forums/forum/new-site-questions-how-do-i/14488/private-messaging-system-questions

hope this helps  

Hey don't 'shoot' the messenger!  

The chances that you are playing the more modern oldtime version of Angeline/Angelina are about 90% I'd guess.

When i looked through the Stephen Foster original sheet music, it seemed odd to me because I was so used to the modern version.  Doesn't quite do the 'expected'.

Here's a handy modern site with some basic Stephen Foster info and sheet music, lyrics:  Stephen Foster online songbook

These are Foster's lyrics:  Foster's lyrics   (gotta love the reference to a "wellumscope")

and here is the original sheet music:   http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/catalog/levy:067.003

Here is my banjer friend Paul Draper doing an EXCELLENT job playing and singing the original Stephen Foster Angelina Baker as it was published by Foster in 1850, including the lyrics (and notice how "beat on the old jawbone" became "beat on the old banjo" over time).  Foster's version has a subtle edginess because of the way both the A and B parts have lines that end on a note that sounds unresolved and anticipatory...I just love how rich and alive it all sounds. By the way, Paul shakes a plastic bottle of aspirin for his percussion section   :

P.S., for what it's worth.... when I was fooling with my ocarina way back then, I did notice that various Christmas carols sounded very pretty and festive on ocarina.  It's that time of year now, so don't be afraid to try your favorite holiday/winter tunes.  

Terry, I'm afraid I didn't keep up with learning my ocarina.  I'd have to start all over from scratch again, and now I'm spending my 'learn new instrument energy' on learning the bones.  Sure wish I had three more weeks every month to just have fun and play everything I wish I could!  I'll be reading this thread though, to have vicarious fun from you all!  

This is all pretty cool.  Ok, so where are the vids of you all practicing and playing??  

Angelina Baker is the original tune as written & published by Stephen Foster in 1850.

Angeline The Baker is an oldtime tune/song that was clearly based on Foster's tune, but has evolved differently enough that I would consider them two separate tunes at this point.  If folks tried playing them together, it'd get confusing.

Both versions are 'traditional' - public domain.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a modern song that's under copyright, so one has to consider that when playing or distributing it.

Dave does have a membership here on FOTMD by the way, here is his profile page:

http://fotmd.com/dave-haas

Good for you Sheryl!   

First of all....Kimberly i'm so pleased to see you posting!-  I'm a big fan of yours.  

Rob has given some great tips already.

My 2 cents-   If you are 'leading' the jam you may have a certain short set list in mind that perhaps you have let the group members know about in advance.  Still, it's good to also allow folks to go around the circle at least once and be able to choose a favorite tune for everyone to play.  Two hours should certainly allow for all this.  

The important thing about that is that it can allow a relative beginner to start a tune they know, at a tempo that is do-able for them.  I feel that when someone at a beginner level chooses a tune, they should be allowed to have it NOT speed up.  I remember how bad i felt long ago at my very first club setting when I was a beginner player -- every single tune would eventually speed up so that I had to drop out.  I certainly understood this and everyone knew I was a rank beginner, but I looked forward to being able to start my one tune at my pace when it was my turn.  It was finally my turn to pick a tune.  I began the tune very slowly, as that was the best I could do.  Several more advanced players very quickly sped it up and half way through the first time through it, I couldn't keep up with my own beginner tune, and had to drop out.  That felt really bad.
As the group leader, you can prevent this from happening.   You could handle it by starting the jam with a welcome to the new beginners, and by assuring them that if they start their own tune slowly, everyone will follow and respect THEIR tempo and not speed it up.  Indeed, if others speed it up anyway, you can after the tune ends then say "OK let's play that tune one more time through but SLOWLY this time so we can all play together".

This is also the reasoning behind having some time set aside for a slooow beginner session or a beginner teaching help session.  No one should go home from a jam without being able to play through even one tune to the end.  A separate beginner help time would accomplish much the same goal, HOWEVER I still think it's important for seasoned members to be able to adapt to different tempos set by whoever starts a tune, and learn to not run roughshod over others simply because they themselves 'can' play everything fast. Playing well in a group is a SKILL that requires the ability to adapt to others in order for the group as a whole to succeed and sound good, after all.      Tunes can be at varied tempos...some can be expressive and slow while others can be fast and lively.  Then everyone can have a good time!

Two hours can get eaten up pretty quickly by pre-socializing, late arrivals, announcements, tuning issues and broken strings, book/stand/chair shuffling, and misc talk.  If you add a half hour of slow/beginner help, I think it should not be a part of that 2 hours, but rather come first and be in a different spot to the side if possible, to discourage seasoned players from joining in or disrupting it.

Tom Strothers has now fixed the online string calculator...yay!  It's working again at:

http://strothers.com/string_choice.htm

When i was first trying to play 'folk' music in a jam setting, I would take my little mandolin (I was not very good on it) to a night 'adult education' folk jam at a nearby community college...this was round about 18 years ago.  (seems like 100 years ago now) The jam was hosted by a biology professor there, who would bring his guitar.   There were Bunson burners and bottles of creatures in formaldehyde, and we all sat on lab stools.  There were mostly guitar players.  

One week, he brought an instrument I knew nothing about... but when he played it (Hang me O hang me) I thought it sounded like pure Heaven.  After the jam I asked him about it and he showed me how easy it was to begin playing, and I  had to get me one.  I knew nothing about the history or traditions of the dulcimer, the sound just really blew me away...there was something primal and pure about it.

At home I got on my then-first computer (windows 95, dial-up, blue screen of death...) and learned everything I could about mountain dulcimers before I made any decisions to buy.  After researching reliable makers, i ordered an all walnut hourglass McSpadden with a scroll head.

When it arrived, I got learning materials (which all seemed to be for DAd chord playing) and I happily began to learn to play. It seemed to me that McSpadden had a voice like an angel .

Later on, My younger teenage daughter began to play it too, in fingerpicking style.  She sounded so marvelous that I gave her my McSpadden and that's when I ordered my Keith Young teardrop.  My daughter took the McSpadden with her and now she's 34 and still has that walnut dulcimer, though she doesn't play anymore.  Maybe she will again one day.   

Many FOTMD members currently have just one dulcimer- their first one.  Perhaps they having only been playing for a week.  Others of us have more than one dulcimer, have been playing for many years, and we may or may not still own our first one.

Well I'd like to hear from everyone  about their very first mountain dulcimer - whether you got it last week or 50 years ago.  What kind was it?, how/why did you get it?, and do you miss it or still own or play it?  What were your feelings about that first dulcimer?

-Please don't tell us about or list your other dulcimers (I'll edit or remove posts about people's dulcimer collections or later dulcimer acquisitions).  Please, I'd like this thread to have only member stories about our very FIRST dulcimer.

Don't be afraid to sound sappy, sentimental, or bitter!       All I ask is that we be respectful of people's names and reputations.

Tell us about your first!

Ozark i just tried the strothers calculator and I believe it's currently not functioning.  I sent them a message about that.  Please see my recommendation for you in the beginners group where you asked this.  

We have a new feature added to our Groups function- something that folks have been wanting!

As it has always been , when you join a Group you can click the 'Follow' button in any group discussion so that you will receive a notification when there is a new post in that discussion .  Thus you can pick and choose which group discussions you want to keep updated on.

But members worried that unless they visited the group often, they might not be aware of when a new discussion started in a group, and they might miss out on something that interested them.

Well now we have a new added button that allows you to also 'follow' a group's discussion area so that you'll be notified when a new discussion is created as well!  -then you can go check out the new discussion and decide whether or not you want to 'follow' it.  

You will no longer miss any of the 'action' in your favorite Groups!     Hope you all enjoy this new feature.

Needless to say, you'll need to be a member of a group to be able to follow things in that group .  You'll also need to have your notification settings ON in your profile Settings --> Notifications TAB...if you have them turned to OFF then of course you won't be getting any notifications at all.

Here is what you will see now on the Group's page if you want to get notified of NEW discussions in your favorite Group, OR if you want to get notified about a new post in a particular group discussion:

Beating the straws, beaters, fiddlesticks,  ....it's an old fiddle percussion technique.  No need to associate it with anything negative, any more so than beating a drum.  Here's a great thread on fotmd about it:

http://fotmd.com/forums/forum/general-mountain-dulcimer-or-music-discussions/4572/fiddlesticks

 Shawn, try going to your profile page, and then hover over your name link at top right to view the drop-down menu, which should include "Groups I Belong To"- there you can see a list of the groups you are a member of.  If you don't get that menu item, try refreshing the page.  The Groups you are a member of does not show publicly on your profile.

Woot, I enjoyed all of those videos, thank you for making and posting them.  

It's funny how one can get some good deeper tones when the 'thumb-side' bone is held a lot more UP than the far bone....but it seems the result is always poor when the thumb-side bone is held a lot lower than the other bone.

I couldn't understand a lot of your words in the videos though, because your voice was too soft and low.  Can you tell me more about those very dark and flat ones you were demonstrating?

P.S. it was nice to see you!

The holiday season is fast approaching!  Here's a timely reminder with a link to some common holiday songs that are copyrighted or public domain: common-christmas-carols-are-they-copyrighted-or-public-domain