Contra dancing :)
OFF TOPIC discussions
Katie, since we are both upi the Hudson Valley from NYC, I wouldn't be surprised if you and I haven't attended the same contra dance at some point. 
Forum Activity for @strumelia
OFF TOPIC discussions
Contra dancing :)
OFF TOPIC discussions
Great old movie scenes, Patty. That 'Grand March' seems a bit stiff and formal! 
Contra dancing :)
OFF TOPIC discussions
Patty, in a square dance, four couples form a square and dance with each other through the entire dance. In a contra dance, couples generally form double lines that stretch the entire length of the hall. A large hall with lots of dancers may have as many as 3 to 5 full lines, a smaller dance may have only 1 long line of couples.
Every other couple moves in one direction while dancing with people along the way, and the other half move in the other direction while dancing with couples they encounter along the way. The end result is that each couple winds up dancing with every other couple in the line. When you and your partner eventually get to one end of the line, you turn and start back again, dancing in turn with each couple you meet in the line.
You and your partner mostly stay together as you work your way down the line dancing, but you wind up also dancing with just about everyone else in the line too. I think that makes it particularly fun. You also cover more ground, from one end of the hall to the other, as opposed to staying in one spot like the 4 couples in a square dance do. Both contra dancing and square dancing do incorporate some steps in common, such as do-si-do and swing your partner...
This contra dance video shows how people keep dancing with different other people as they work their way up or down the line:
Here is a very lively and crowded contra dance: It looks like chaos to a non-dancer, but you can see the well organized double line of couples go 'forward and back' right on time at the 0:42 mark. they know exactly what they are doing! lol
Again, another crowded lively dance: At the 0:56 time mark in this one, again at 2:00, you can again see those organized long lines of couples go forward and back. The caller stops calling the moves after a while, as the dancers get the hang of the sequence of moves. Each dance is different. I have danced in that Greenfield MA hall, and I've danced with half the folks in that video at one time or another. That particular band is terrific- they are only two young men and they play everything you hear- electronically looping each part on top of the next as they play on different instruments- live. The tension builds as they add more parts and loop them on top of what they just played a minute before. lots of energy! I do square dances occasionally, but I find contra dances to have a different feel. Hope this adds some info...or maybe just confuses it more for you!
Contra dancing :)
OFF TOPIC discussions
I bet there are some other contra dancers here...!
Tomorrow night I'm going as usual to a double-long holiday contra dance in Lenox Mass, with a potluck in the middle between two whole long dances. I usually go to a couple of contra dances per month, and have been doing so for about 4 years now I think.I love the exercise, and I always laugh a great deal- so good for the spirit. 
I just now came upon this video someone took from a year ago of the dec 2012 Lenox dance- hadn't seen it before and was surprised to see myself dancing in it!:
I'm wearing a black top, flowered skirt, and am in the right half of the screen. At the very start of the video, I'm dancing with the fellow in the red shirt, but of course partners keep switching throughout the dance.
Anyone else here like to contra dance?
updated by @strumelia: 07/31/23 07:34:50PM
poor children's instruments made from garbage...
OFF TOPIC discussions
Very amazing little clip, it'll make your day...
updated by @strumelia: 08/03/23 02:07:27PM
Patty, can you tell us a little about what kind of dulcimer you have? Does it say who made it? Is it used or brand new? Where did you get it from? Is it possible to post a photo of it? All this info would help us figure out what the problem might be. Also, as Ken asked- just how badly out of tune are you talking about- a little or a lot?
P.S. I re-named this thread to better reflect your question so more folks could help.
Remembering "Deputy Mo" / The Friendly Beasts
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
FOTMD member John Henry in the UK recently posted a video of his beautiful version of The Friendly Beasts, one of my favorite Christmas Carols.
John Henry then mentioned that he was encouraged years ago here on fotmd by our then-moderator Rod Westerfield affectionately known to us all as "Deputy Mo". John Henry writes:
I had more or less abandoned noter play until I found my way here, used a peculiar form of chordal play instead, but thanks to our friend 'Deputy Mo', who offered encouragement not only in my use of the noter, but also in the way I approached this infernal machine...I gained a little confidence, and now you have me , warts and all. All I ever try to do is (i) illustrate that expression can be coaxed from a tune when using a noter, and (ii) share what I do in the hope that it may help others....
John (it was Rod who drew my attention to the use of this tune as a Christmas Carol ???
Rod loved this site dearly- tirelessly helping and encouraging everyone, particularly beginner players. He was a good friend and a great help in all ways. His posts and explanations are still helping people here. Sadly, Rod passed away unexpectedly on Christmas day in 2010, but his contributions, posts, and FOTMD page are still here on fotmd: https://fotmd.com/rod-westerfield
I remember Rod particularly at Christmas time here on the site, and John Henry's video and comments made me recall how Rod and I agreed that The Friendly Beasts was one of our favorite carols.
So I thought it would be nice to pull Rod's recording of The Friendly Beasts from his profile page playlist and post it here below. I've attached the MP3 clip at the bottom of this post. We can raise a little toast to 'Deputy Mo' this holiday season, and know that he continues to help and encourage players, both here on FOTMD and up on high...I like to think of him teaching the angels how to play the mountain dulcimer...
updated by @strumelia: 12/10/20 07:17:18PM
Ocarinas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Ruth It's an Aria tenor, not nearly as high as the soprano. Cats don't seem to care for my ocarina OR my rebec....just too piercing for them- they run for the door like crazy! lol 
I like those brown raku-style seedpods, they sound nice too I think. The twleve hole isn't much diff from the ten hole ones- those two tiny 'extra' holes on the 12 hole give you a couple of very handy sharp or flat notes, but you don't have to use them. That enables you to play in a couple more keys, or songs that have an accidental note here and there. I notice lots of xmas carols have those notes. But good thinking to start on a 6 hole or 8 hole pod Oc.
Ocarinas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Yeah right, I'll be playing Stairway to Heaven soon....or Zelda's Lullaby....
Ocarinas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I bought an ocarina last week, and have been having some fun on it.
I've always loved the sound of recorders and whistles playing early music- medieval and renaissance, even just early folk tunes. Well made ceramic ocarinas can sound pretty nice once you get the hang of controlling proper intonation with your breath, especially if you learn a little vibrato. I've never played a wind instrument before, but always wanted to try one. I do have a passion for learning new things and exploring new musical challenges.
The challenge in this case is- I'm using it as a little tool to improve my limited skill at reading music (standard notation sheet music). I can pick out tunes in standard notation, but it's a laborious process for me- I want to be able to sight read sheet music better than I do. Surprising how this ocarina is actually helping a lot with that. My ocarina plays in key of C, but can play sharps and flats as well, so I'm just starting by playing very simple early tunes in C with limited range and reading them from the sheet music rather than using 'ocarina tab' like many folks do. Ocarina tab is pretty annoying, and if I'm going to spend any effort learning to read anything I figure it might as well be something I can use for any instrument.
I'm learning a lot and it sounds pretty...sometimes. To me at least. lolol...
The high notes can be a bit intense, and after only like four days, the cats Suki and Sheba just know. As soon as they see me take the ocarina out of the box they both rush to the door and run downstairs to get away from me. Brian set an ocarina curfew of 10 PM. Whaa....?? Suddenly I'm a leper.
updated by @strumelia: 04/14/18 06:50:17AM
Strung out and needing advice
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Ellen, I'll just add one thing here- your 24.5" scale length/VSL is rather shorter than most dulcimers. McSpadden dulcimers for example are 28 or 28.5". What this means simply is that if you and someone else with say a McSpadden were BOTH tuned to DAdd and you both had the very same strings on, then your dulcimer's strings would feel a little 'flabbier' because of your shorter scale length. To correct that, one would typically put slightly thicker strings on a shorter instrument to achieve enough tension to play and sound taut enough in standard tunings. If you tune a regular string and a slightly thicker string to the same note, the thicker string will feel tighter at higher tension. But then, you've also learned that one can tighten a string too much! That's why we use VSL length and string calculators to figure out what gauge of string we need for tuning a string to a certain note.
Advice starting a website
OFF TOPIC discussions
Garland, can you post that link here? I'd love to know it too! Thanks.
Advice starting a website
OFF TOPIC discussions
Dusty have you really considered Wordpress, or wordpress with using their social network plugin = BuddyPress? Sounds like it might be quite do-able with the simplicity of what you are talking about.
Check out the Wordpress site that Brian and I had a big hand in designing and setting up for our local village's new site:
We got to choose all the colors, fonts, layout, our own banner, etc. This was done even without a BuddyPress plugin. We did pay a very small fee for the calendar, which was better than the free ones.
Look Who Came to Visit!!
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Mike, that's so cooooool that the giant one will be in your shop window for a while.
Look Who Came to Visit!!
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
What an amazing meeting and photo. It doesn't even seem real! I think you guys should also have swapped places and gotten another picture that way, too.
John, I envy you the stops you are going to be visiting on your trip.
Your "Dream Dulcimer?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I often have inner conversations with myself about what instruments I 'need' vs. what instruments I 'want'....because the two are sometimes the same, but not always.
If I bought instruments based only on owning my 'dream instrument' I would have many wonderful instruments that might not get played much. There is undeniable pleasure in owning such things, but neither do I want to feel like I'm buying only for the sake of owning something special. And I dont really want a house full of instruments that aren't played much. I certainly can't say that about my dulcimers.
I find i have had to consciously discipline myself against impulse buys, because I could easily get in over my head. In the past I bought a few instruments just because they were tempting, but I later sold those that I didn't play much. Like when trying to lose weight...it always seems far easier to accumulate than to shed. lol!
I really try to consider any purchase in practical terms now- will this instrument allow me to play in some way that my other instruments are limited by? Scale length is the first thing that comes to mind- for playing in various keys. Other practical factors might include: fretless/fretted, steel/nylon strings, volume/punch/tone for solo/outdoor/group playing, arched bridge for bowing, number of strings and/or frets, travel weight/size, ...stuff like that.
Good thread, CD. Always nice to see the spread.
By the way, some folks migfht be interested in seeing the thread on the same subject started 3 1/2 years ago by our own dear departed Rod Westerfield. It's fascinating reading!: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/forum/topics/how-many-dulcimers-do...
I still get by ok with my two steady playing dulcimers...my Keith Young teardrop and my Ben Seymour Galax. Not that I don't covet more...I do...I'm only human!
I'm not so sure this is as complicated as it seems, nor does it call for unusual or minor tunings. The whole thing can be played in plain old C ionian tuning using no extra frets and the drones sound good all through the tune.
Walter is in a normal (not minor) fiddle tuning- hear him check his tuning in the beginning. He's playing it in the key of C, even though it modulates in the 'low part', which he starts out playing first.
Tune to C-G-G (C being your bass string) and the tune's 'home base' is located on the 3rd fret, ionian mode.
Walter starts on the modulated 'low part'. That's what is confusing people, because it 'sounds' minor, leading one to think a special mode tuning is needed, but it's not. Try playing that first/low part by starting frets 5-7-8, 5-3-4... etc.
The high part goes back to the root C major feeling, and he plays in the upper octave starts by using frets 10-11, 10-11-12...etc. You can also play it in the lower octave, starting on fret 3, but then it will sound yet lower than the other part. It's kind of nice with that real high part, gives it some punch.
Some folks might choose to start the tune on the high/major sounding part, and if Walter had done that it would have probably been easier for people to figure out. It would have been a more 'predictable' way to play this tune. But it's pretty cool and more fascinating to start it on the modulated quirky sounding low part.
The advantage of folding canvas chairs and stools is that they are lightweight and easy to haul around at a festival or campground, for jamming. They are great for walking around, stopping to visit and sit and jam for maybe an hour and then moving on again. But they are seldom comfortable for long periods of time- for hours of sitting, you really need a sturdier flat-seated chair with more support. Some folding chairs with metal frames and plastic seats are a little heavier and more awkward to carry- but are better if you need to sit more than an hour at a time.
You could go to a large camping/sporting goods store- they have all kinds of folding canvas chars that are designed to be comfortable but lightweight to carry. The chair you linked to would not work for me, since it puts my knees higher than my hips and I need a fairly level lap to play my dulcimer. We find this type of chair to be convenient for traveling/camping/music playing, and to carry when walking around at fairs and festivals while impromptu jamming in different places:
If you aren't going to be walking and carrying the chair very much, then a simple folding chair that is sturdier would be more comfortable- a metal or wooden folding chair that has a level seat and good supportive back is best. It doesn't have to be specifically designed for musicians- I think that's more of a marketing ploy than anything else.
Newbie goes shopping
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Ellen, that's wonderful news! Sounds like you found a good support system in your friend. Walnut is a wonderful choice of wood- a very warm and resonant sound. We look forward to seeing pix. You are on your way down your musical journey!
Newbie goes shopping
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Ellen, Walnut Valley is not a generally well known maker. Frankly, I feel that $400 one you link to is quite overpriced. I would not myself buy the one for $280 either, if the strings are shot and I couldn't hear somebody playing it well first. With tax, that's going to be around $300. There are many dulcimers available out there to buy that are in the $150-400 range that are made by highly regarded makers, which you can buy with more confidence.
Newbie goes shopping
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Everyone's different. here's my own journey-
Long ago I used to buy real inexpensive bargain instruments as a first instrument. I usually found I wanted a slightly better one only a couple months later, and I then I'd avoid the hassle of selling the cheapo one in order to buy the next level up. Repeating this pattern, I wound up with too many cheap instruments that were a pain in the butt to resell. And some of them had 'issues' that I didn't feel good about passing on to the next person. My personal epiphany came one day when I wanted a really awesome banjo (after playing for two years), but I felt overwhelmed and discouraged by the fact that I had EIGHT cheap Ebay impulse buys hanging on my wall- gathering dust and not very playable for one reason or another. I buckled down that year and sold ALL of those cheap problem banjos. I learned that for me at least, it made way more sense to buy 1 quality $350 instrument during the first two years than three $125 ones during that same first two years.
From that, I learned it was a better plan for me to first do a little homework online, and then to buy something that wasn't the cheapest level. Buying a mid-range instrument is not only easier and nicer to play, but it's also actually easier to re-sell without taking a loss, should you either give up playing or want a more custom instrument later on.
That's just my own experience.
I'd like to also mention that Lark in the Morning is I believe run by Larkin Bryant and her husband (is it still?) and they are good people. If you can possibly go try out what they have in person, it might be a smart way to comparison shop before you plunk any money down. I know it's hard to not go for instant gratification, but sometimes a couple weeks of shopping around can pay off bigtime, with benefits that last for a long while to come.
PLEASE Click to READ THIS before posting items for sale here. New requested small fee for sellers.
FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...
Fotmd received your donation- thanks so much Pamela!
PLEASE Click to READ THIS before posting items for sale here. New requested small fee for sellers.
FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...
Thank you so much and hope you sell your dulcimer quickly. :)
PLEASE Click to READ THIS before posting items for sale here. New requested small fee for sellers.
FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...
Please read before posting an item for sale:
For Sale forum listings must be for an actual currently existing item for sale (a CD or book, a specific single instrument, a music stand, photos of some specific dulcimer wood pieces for sale...) and the ad must include a photo of the item being sold. In other words, no open-ended, ongoing listings like "I make dulcimer stands", "I will make you a custom dulcimer", "Music lessons available", "I make bamboo noters", "Selling various wood for building", etc. It needs to be the actual existing item for sale, with its photo and price. Large items like instruments are limited to ONE item in an ad- small items like noters or earrings can be 5 items per ad...with photo and set price of actual items for sale. For complete details of what is or isn't allowed in the For Sale Forum ads, see the site rules HERE .
For years this site has provided a: For Sale forum ... free to use for all members. Over the past few years, our site maintenance costs have slightly increased, and our total member donations have slightly decreased.
To avoid falling into the red, I'd like to ask that anyone who uses this forum to advertise and successfully sells items totaling more than $100 to please make a $5 donation to Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer , to assist in keeping up with our 'rent'. This applies also to items sold on Ebay but advertised here on FOTMD. I ask that you please donate $5 for every completed Ebay sale of over $100 that you have listed here to our members.
I do not ask this of sales of less than $100 -unless you've sold enough of them to make more than $100, such as having sold ten or more CDs for example- however no donation will ever be refused.
FOTMD's Paypal Donation Button is located at the bottom of our site's Main Home page. You need not actually have a Paypal account to use the donation button- a credit card works fine with it. Donations are processed through Paypal's secure server, so no worries there.
Though it's easy to keep track of who has donated and who has not, I don't really want to have to remind or notify people, so this request is based on the honor system. Please do remember to click on the Donation Button and make your $5 contribution to the site after selling goods or services of over $100 that you have advertised in our For Sale forum.
With your help we can keep FOTMD running smoothly and all paid up!
Thanks so much,
-Strumelia
updated by @strumelia: 02/09/25 08:52:52PM
Beth,
First, this post in my traditional playing Blog may help you tune:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-notes-do-i-tu...
I will try to answer a few of your questions:
And, I understand it, the melody line is played on the string closest to one's body when held on the lap. And, that is string gives the highest notes. (Or those two strings if one has double melody strings.)
Correct.
Now, If I'm right in this, the other two strings are both lower than the melody string.
Correct.
Here is my problem. If I tune to DAaa, the aa strings are my melody strings. I have a very limited range left in my voice. a below middle c to c above middle c is the best I can stretch on a good day.
Is it possible to get strings for the melody that will tune to low A? And would it have to be a wound string?
You will actually be tuned to DAA (or DAAA), not DAa or DAaa. The melody string(a) in this tuning will be tuned to the EXACT SAME note (A) and in the SAME OCTAVE as the middle string A.
Most importantly- if tuned to DAA you will usually be playing and singing in the key of D , not in the key of A .
People normally dont put heavy low wound bass strings as melody strings.
Or should I just tune to DAaa and sing an octave lower than the notes I'm playing?
Tune to DAA (since double melody strings are usually tuned the same as a pair, we usually just give them one letter, not two, when naming the tuning) and you'll be in the key of D (the melody will be based around the THIRD fret, a D note, not based around the open melody string which an A note). Sing in the key of D, in whichever octave suits your voice. Or sing a harmony to what you are playing. Or, tune all your strings DOWN one step from DAA to CGG and you'll be playing and singing in the key of C instead of D, which might be easier on your voice. Lots of us do this. I suggest you just start in CGG and learn to play a simple song like Hot cross Buns or Frere Jacques, rather than trying to transpose guitar or uke music right off the bat. You need to understand the very most basic simple concepts of tuning and playing the dulcimer, without worrying about what you do on other instruments ...for now.
I give a lot of this kind of advice in my noter-drone traditional playing dulcimer Blog, here: http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/
Beth, I don't know what the norm is on pianos, but I can say that on dulcimers and banjos, a lower case note letter is in a higher octave than an upper case letter. Thus, a standard banjo tuning of gDGBD shows the shorter "g" drone 5th string as being an octave higher than the middle string G. You should also know that these days it is customery to name/write out the dulcimer tuning starting with the low bass string first. So- for example a dulcimer tuning of DAd means the first "D" is the lowest bass string, and the last "d" is the highest melody string which is tuned an octave higher than the bass string D.
Becca, that's a big decision that only you can make, but remember you can always wind up starting with one and then playing both instruments later.
Here is the best place to learn more about how to play BP's and what beginner tools to get: http://psalterystrings.ning.com/
If you tune your BP strings properly, you cannot play 'out of tune' since there is no fretting done- all strings are played open. However, with either instrument you can play wrong notes! LOL.
Being that you have access to more direct learning support in your area for mtn dulcimer, my first impulse is to advise you to get a mtn dulcimer and take a few lessons. Perhaps you could borrow/rent one for a couple weeks before you buy, and get 2 lessons?
Helen, also keep in mind that in learning something new, you never have to completely change everything all at once. Continue doing as you usually do, then take a few minutes at each practice to experiment with the new technique. Over time it will seem easier and then you can decide whether you want to incorporate it into more, or all, of your playing.
Yet one more video about where to put in extra strums, or not: http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-tips-for-beginners-where-to-add.html
Ultimately, as others have said, you should do what makes you feel good , whether it's learning new stuff or continuing what you are doing now.
Opinions on new dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Gail Webber said:
I guess that high silvery sound is really what I am looking for.
Gail, if you are looking for that sound, then you'd most likely find it in a fairly narrow and shallow soundbox. I can second Ken's recommendations of three people who build this kind of dulcimer here on FOTMD: Bobby Ratliff (Slate Creek Dulcimers), Kevin Messenger , and John Knopf. All three are dependable, high quality builders who specialize in traditional style dulcimers with that kind of sound.
Of course, to really bring out a 'silvery' effect, you'd want to try playing with a noter- that's where the bestest zzziiiiiiiiing! comes from.
Opinions on new dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Descriptions of sound are subject to variation based on people's definitions of things. To one person, a 'traditional sound' may mean bright and high...to another it might mean sweet and quiet. So rather than my attempting to define what is a 'traditional sound', I simply say that soft soundboards (spruce etc) and larger/deeper soundboxes usually produce rounder more mellow tones, while shallow/smaller soundboxes and hardwoods tend to produce a crisper brighter sound.
I know exactly why I myself sort of have to look at the fretboard when i play dulcimer ... when I play banjo, not only are my fingertips pressing on the fretboard, but my left hand or at least my thumb, is curled around the neck and thus giving me a physical reference point , a sense of where 'home' is for frets 1-5. Much the same as when folks plant a pinky when flatpicking across strings on mando, guitar, bluegrass banjo, and dulcimer too. Without that pinky plant, it's much harder to pick individual strings accurately when not looking- the pinky tip is the reference point. even with clawhammer banjo, most folks at least have their thumb on the back of the neck and it works well as a reference point. I can play banjo pretty well without fretboard looking, but not dulcimer.
With a mtn dulcimer, we don't have our left hand wrapping or curling around the neck for a reference point, once you go up and down the neck either fingering notes or using a noter, it's hard to know where the frets exactly are anymore. Of course this is a skill that can be developed and improved (look at highly skilled hammered dulcimer players), but most folks use the eyes becasue the physical reference point is not there as it is with necked instruments.
I know I have a terrible time when we play at night while camping, if we are playing by low lantern light and my fretboard is not getting any light at all. 
A good exercise is to try playingh for varying time lengths with your eyes closed....quite an education!
All that said, I'll look at my fretboard if I please to! :)