Awesome and useful explanation, Cynthia!
There are so many amazing and wonderful things to discover when experimenting with dulcimers- it's good to try out various things. I find for myself that one year I'll be in love with doing something musical one way, and then 3 years later I'm really into a slightly different thing, then I may go back or try something different yet. I definitely have my personal favorite musical things, but variety is fun and helps me learn more when i explore. 
If you mean that on a 28" scale length, you are tuning your .012 gauge melody strings to "high high g" meaning the g above the usual high d that people often tune their melody strings to, then I honestly don't see how that's possible with breaking the string. But you say you are tuning in ionian mode, so a melody string tuned to g would have you playing in ionian key of C, not A or G. Unless you mean that your melody string is tuned to the usual high d, and you are playing in ionian key of G. In that case, your bass and melody strings would be tuned to either D and G (reverse ionian), OR to G and D. Either way, that's a pretty normal pitch level.
I'm still not sure what you mean by "low, low key of A". What notes are you actually tuning to for all three strings here? I think we are using different terminology and hence some confusion.
Noah Aikens said:
I am talking about ionian, but my dulcimer can do it in different modes. The g I am talking about is the g above middle c, and the a is the a below the a below middle c. I normally play drone but do cross handoccasionally.
but my dulcimers-both 28 1/2 in vsl, tune and play very well from the low,low key of A and the high, high key of g.
I'm not clear what you mean by this- what tunings are you talking about exactly?
Great that you got all inspired!
Looks like someone took the fretboard off one newer crappy dulcimer, cut it to fit (without regard to losing half the space from the nut to the 1st fret ) and then glued it on this older dulcimer after pulling or sanding down the original fretboard.
IMHO it's completely unplayable. It's even rather hideous as a wall decoration. It should just be put out of its misery. 
Maybe save the peghead for some other project.
Ok, I see it is offered free on Bob McNally's website, here:
http://www.strumstick.com/index.html
There was no name or author listed on the pdf.
...I like to make sure the author's name is made clear, and that they are giving their work out for free if we link to it here.
Hi all,
You know, I hadn't been aware of this thread until just now, and I did not realize that we have over 50 members on FOTMD from Australia- but I saw that after reading this thread just now and doing an 'advanced' search by country as Mark suggested above. I now see that there are many more Aussie members than I thought, and that you are indeed having a hard time connecting effectively.
Anne did ask me yesterday about having a new Aussie group, and I decided against it, since I am very reluctant to add more new Groups over time.
But you know what? I now think that wasn't the best decision and I can see a real need for this here. I'm changing my mind.
Let me go ahead now and create the new Australia Group for you all, and you can all join up there and dive in.
At the moment I don't even no where to begin with finger picking. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Monica, do join the Finger Picking Group on this site, and get all kinds of awesome help in beginning finger picking!
James, you are 'calling the tune', so please do it by starting a new thread for each tune in our "Call The Tune Group" located here for that very purpose: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/callthetune
This will keep the tune discussions organized and easy to find for folks in the future.
Thanks!
Tom, you may also find some helpful tips in my noter-drone blog for beginners: http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/
Just be sure to start reading from the earlier posts and work your way towards the more recent ones- if you want the easier and information material first.
Hi Ann,
That song is copywrited, so you'd either have to buy a dulcimer book with the tab in it (and I don't know of any), or get help with tabbing the song privately. Due to copyright laws and ethics that protect musician's created works, I can't encourage the sharing of tab of copyrighted material here on FOTMD. Thanks for understanding, and I'll be closing this thread to replies.
If anyone is in doubt about whether certain holiday songs are public doamin or copyrighted, there are some handy lists to check over on our "Public Domain...or Not?" Group here on the site- see the Groups section, thanks!
I find that dulcimers with larger bodies and TALLER bodies (not shallow) tend to have bigger rounder voices. Tops made of softwood like spruce or redwood seem to have lots of resonance, like guitars do. Walnut is known for sounding 'warmer' than say maple or cherry, which is a bit brighter and crisper. I've had one of each and found that true in my case. If you are plugging in, you can control the volume pretty easily.
I would strongly recommend against gluing a shim underneath the nut. Shims are usually considered to be temporary fixes, even if they are left in for many years. Personally, I prefer no glue at all under a nut even when it doesn't have a shim. String tension holds it in place nicely, and nuts are something that people change or adjust fairly frequently, so having it easily removable is convenient.
(Marg, you seem to have started several threads on the same subject in various locations- next time it would be less confusing if you only post one thread per subject or per question... thanks much!)
Rod "Deputy Mo" Westerfield will always be missed and remembered.
Here is his FOTMD profile page, still up:
mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profile/RodWesterfield
While you are visiting his page, do have a listen to his sweet music player clips in the left hand column.
P.S. I was wondering just the other day about YOU, CD, and why we hadn't heard from you in a while. ;) Glad to see you post today.
Hi Mark, glad you joined our friendly site!
If you join our Beginner Players Group, and look at the discussion forum there, you will see several very helpful threads with suggestions about various instruments that can be great for beginner players. really any well made dulcimer will be fine for a beginner, and the folks you mentioned would be reliable as well. Much depends on your budget. But you may find some helpful advice in those discussions, and you can ask a zillion beginner questions in our Beginner's Group! 
You sound just like me Eileen...we both can't resist all kinds of activities and learning processes....
Hi Eileen- great to hear of your latest research and explorations!
Time, yes more TIME is what I wish I had so I could learn to play and the instruments I would LIKE to learn to play! 
I have not had enough time to work on my frame drum as I would like, BUT I did get a rebec-like antique Cretan Lyra with a fiddle fingerboard- that I got on ebay and had it fixed by a luthier to be made playable again...and I actually HAVE been practicing that and enjoyng it a great deal. So that is GOOD. It's much like our little rebecs, with a bowl back too...but with steel violin strings. I play it in my lap like a little baby cello. Still not up to doing a little video yet- it takes a long while to play in tune, like most violin/fiddle thingys do. Glad to hear you got your rebec pegs improved- it really does have a lovely sound I think, with the gut strings.
Hey thanks Travis!
I'll post more updates on this when I return from a mini vacation on monday. I'm currently on very limited computer time.
Here is my cool frame drum... I am in awe of it . I have to say it's a bit intimidating due to its size, beauty, and resonance. It looks like a planet or moon.
Did my first practice session yesterday... could be worse i suppose, but there is a LOT to learn and coordinate!
Putting in the practice time is the key to improvement of course. Happily, it's more fun than frustration to practice on it, and Brian says he doesn't mind the sound drifting down the stairs at all. I'm pretty lucky in that respect!
Oh my gosh...the 'Tar' frame drum arrived this afternoon!
---It's really beautiful. The Remo head is synthetic so will not sag in humidity (like my cheezy tambourines do), but they use a technique of somehow imprinting the head with a real photo image of goat skin- looks SO real, and has a nice texture like real dried hide. Even the sides are aged looking. Awesome! I'll take a picture tomorrow to post here.
---It's pretty big...18" across. It sits vertically, on one knee while you play with one hand holding the top and the other hand doing most of the strokes. Has a very resonant nice tone, since it's tight. My arms are sore after just an hour's practice for the first time...to be expected I guess.
---After watching some Youtube lessons for the past few days, I knew some of the beginner moves to try out, and although I've never actually drummed before in my entire life and naturally don't sound good yet, I found it was still tons of fun to try the different tone effects in combination. There is a lot of variety in sounds one can get using your hands on a frame drum like this. Even Brian was surprised at the different sounds coming from upstairs after just an hour.
I'll be needing to do LOTS of practice, since I've never done any real drumming before- I pretty much still stink at it. But wow, so much fun, I didn't expect it to be so fun! That'll make practice very enjoyable.
Good advice, thanks Skip and JohnHenry!
I imagine it'll be a while, if at all, that I manage to get a bit of control and sound like anything. I was amazed at how many great free youtube lessons there are out there for frame drums, and I can just play slowly along to whatever tunes I punch up on my computer- the advantages of living in the hi tech age! I'll be using my hand rather than a tipper/beater stick, so that may make the volume more controllable. I ordered a "Tar" rather than a bodhran. It will be shallower depth than most bodhrans I think. But it 18" diameter, so fairly large..best to be held vertically on the lap while sitting I think- thats what most people do with that size frame drum.
I've had a couple of cheap tambourines sitting around for a couple of years, but still can't play them very well. But maybe if I practice on this Tar enough, it'll eventually help my tambourine playing as well...might make sense. I'd love to be able to play a decent tambourine when in minstrel banjo gatherings. Always good to have musical options in various playing situations!
Ok, so I recently ordered myself a "Tar" -a frame drum based on those from North African and Middle Eastern cultures. It should arrive in a couple of days. Thank goodness for Youtube beginner videos, that's all I can say...lol. Not sure what I'm in for, or whether I will have any sort of success. It might be that all I do is annoy Brian and the cats, and become shunned in my own house. But I'm game to find out!
Frame drums are single-headed hoop frame drums. The smaller ones are often hand-held while the larger ones can be held vertically on the lap. Their head diameter is wider than the hoop is deep. In most cultures they are played with the hand, though Irish bodhrans are typically played with a tipper or beater.
Anyone else here who plays frame drums?- please share! As a total drum beginner, I'd love to hear about what you do with your frame drum.
P.S. I was partly inspired to 'go for it' by member Helen of Australia, who recently bravely agreed to share with us her beginning adventures with a didgeridoo !
Hi Tumble,
Whatever you do in private is your decision, and is not the responsibility or concern of this site. Just please do not discuss or arrange such exchanges publicly here, as our site does not encourage or condone copyright infringements.
Thanks for asking!
Hi James,
I just stumbled upon an older blog post by John Henry that discusses mean tone fretting, it might help explain!:
http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mean-tone-fretting
Pamela:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/09/few-of-my-posts-ab...
(DAC is aeolian, DAG is dorian...in the key of D.)
and here:
Pam, I suggest you start with DAA tuning because you have a book coming for that tuning, and it's a very easy tuning to play in with a noter. Then after you get comfy with various tunes in DAA, get a few simple tabs for DAd in noter style (fretting the melody strings only- the other strings showing only as "0"zero), and learn a few tunes in DAd tuning. Then you might enjoy learning a few 'lonesome sounding' tunes in the DAG and DAC tunings. At that point you'll know a whole lot more than you do now...but just start with a few tunes in DAA in your coming book. Keep in mind that in all the tunings I mention you will probably be still in the key of D...just in various modes in the key of D. Don't worry about any of that now though!- start with some easy things and simple concepts.
Later still you might like to try other playing styles too, like chording style and fingerpicking style. But noter style is as fine a place to begin as any, and you don't want to try doing everything all at once.
You can experiment with a couple of different ways of playing Pam, just remember you don't have to stick with any one particular way to play. So feel free to try various things! Also keep in mind that anything new will feel a bit awkward at first- that's natural. Time spent practicing and experimenting makes everything smoother little by little.
The rubber shelf liner material only damages the finish if you store it against the dulcimer....like folded under the dulcimer in its case, or leaning the dulcimer against the shelf liner on its stand. Using it for regular playing times does no harm. Just keep them away from each other while not in use.
John- good point about the thighs being level.
Dustin, read my blog post on fingertip fretting:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2012/07/lazy-fingers.html
Many people these days are fretting angled as though they are typing on their keyboard- it won't give you as clear a sound.
Yes, good call out RanMan. Robin makes it sound so smooooth and easy, but it takes a huge amount of work to get to that skill level. Beautiful playing Robin.
