Many such instruments were played on a table rather than on the lap- you may find that more stable or more comfortable.
Your instrument almost looks more like an epinette to me than a scheitholt. Tell us the measurement in inches from the nut to the bridge.
It's lovely! 
Hey thanks guys. Actually, the last 'call to arms' was over a year ago i think, and we might need another reminder soon... 
I think Stephen's original post questions are important and fascinating.
Stephen said:
I recently heard someone bemoaning there just aren't as many non-tablature/by-ear folks as there used to be. They talked about how all the clubs seem to be more standardized and tablature based. I suggested to him there are not only more tablature players than ever, but also more non-tablature/by-ear folks than ever.
Getting back to the main subject of Stephen's original post above --
1) Yes there seem to be more dulcimer players overall than ever before...more players of all kinds.
2) Yes the clubs are more standardized and tablature based. Unless they diversify their approach they will continue to naturally mostly attract those who play from tab. (nothing at all wrong with that, if that's what they like).
3) Yes there are more non-tablature/by-ear/variedtunings/noter/diatonic type folks than ever. They tend to play with other musicians because they play/learn by ear and consequently they can manage to play along in various music jamming situations. Thus they have less interest in attending the dulcimer club scene, and less interest in attending dulcimer festivals that offer 90% of their workshops based on the tab/DAd/chording players. They are more likely to attend music gatherings that feature jams with various instruments, such as general folk or old-time festivals. Mind you, I don't mean to imply that they are more 'advanced' in their playing than the tab players- but rather that they can learn from a wider range of methods and don't have to translate everything into D/tab/chording format in order to learn a tune.
4) Even though there is a higher number of all types of dulcimer players overall than there was 15 years ago, I do also see the proportion changing rapidly . Within that whole, the percentage of diatonic/noter-drone/Galax/traditional/by-ear players is increasing by leaps and bounds, older beginner players too are interested in those areas of playing, and people in general are i think more wanting to play with other musicians and friends, not just in club/tab-book settings of dulcimers only. Ten years ago on EverythingDulcimer forums, I remember it was a rare treat to read posts about diatonic, drone playing, noters, Galax, playing with fiddlers or old-time sessions, etc. DAd chording/flatpicking pretty much ruled the day. Even fingerpicking topics seemed a bit outside the norm, as I recall...lol!
All that has changed now- these traditional playing genres and learning methods are super hot topics for everyone, even older beginners are eager to jump into such areas of play. It's great , now in addition to the most common tab/chord approach, there is much wider diversity of interest, information, and learning! Something for everyone's tastes.
James, I too enjoy using tab for various reasons. Tab is the home grown musician's practical way of writing down what they play, and tab notation has been in use for generations and on many instruments. I don't think you need worry one bit about tab becoming extinct.
I totally agree with everything you've said here, Stephen.
More dulcimer players of all types now- and the proportion of noter and quill and diatonic and chromatic/blues/rock and Galax and box dulcimer and mixed instrument jam skills and traditional and singing and WestCoast and DAA and by-ear players is getting bigger. I do think that festivals/workshops/clubs/learningmaterials need to take stock and get with the new changes...they are really lagging behind, stuck in focusing too much on same-old-same-old chord/DAD/flatpicking/tab-book, especially festival workshop offerings which seem to repeat the same subjects over and over. Shake it up already! Not everyone is ready for the nursing home, and senior players too are eager and able to learn some new things and have a hoot trying!
Stephen you are skilled and passionate enough to set an example for many.
As soon as I began to focus on noter style playing, even as a relative beginner to the style, I stopped going to festivals, dulcimer music camps, and workshops, and I stopped buying newer instructional material- simply -because there just wasn't much being offered for me. If festivals offer 90% of their courses aimed at chording/DAD players (whether flatpicked or fingerpicked), then those are the players who will find it worthwhile to go to that festival...others will tend to stay away rather than invest the time and money in attending.
The above-mentioned focuses are no longer 'novelties' that only merit a 5 minute passing mention in workshops. Many more people of all ages and all levels are serious about pursuing such focuses in depth now. This was not the case even as recently as 5 or 6 years ago.
Ed, I like that ! And, there is always someone who plays worse then us, and someone who plays better than us.
Ken, you make some great points. But one problem I have with your definitions criteria is that it calls for everyone to be able to play in more than one style in order to be classified as an intermediate or advanced player. Some folks are very advanced players in their chosen style of playing, -why should they have to be able to play in multiple styles in order to be considered anything other than a beginner? This is definitely not true in the banjo community for example- imagine if all clawhammer players were classified as beginners unless they could play banjo in bluegrass style as well...!
I also feel that 'performing' should not necessarily be a requirement for evaluating players. Some folks don't want to perform for one reason or another, but I feel some of them are highly skilled players regardless of that.
P.S. Dusty, Robin, FF,.... isn't there an old Anglo ballad by the name of "False Nut on the Road" ...?
Brian and I host an old-time music camp-out every year, and we get about 250 fiddlers, banjo players, etc.
We host workshops in Fiddle, Guitar, and Banjo, with different respected players teaching every year.
One thing I notice is that the workshops are always full of beginner and intermediate players. But all the 'advanced' players are seldom there- they are out in the campgrounds, just playing music, not taking workshops.
So I too would be interested in seeing who goes to a class aimed at advanced/expert players. Wouldn't they all just be the teachers, playing together?
Well that certainly lets me out...I'll never be an expert!
Heck, I honestly don't even think I meet all the criteria to be an Intermediate! 
Hey, I thought an expert was "Someone who knows more and more about less and less until finally they know everything about nothing". 
John, Robin usually plays in crowded pubs with bunches of whistles and concertinas and fiddlers, so he probably hasn't noticed all this time that there was something a little 'off' about his mixolydian tunes. 
john p said:
Hi Robin,
...Whilst it's true you can play an Ionian tune from the Mixalydian position with a 6+, the reverse is not true, you can't play a Mixalydian tune from the Ionian position....john
Paul, great post and great explanation. However I see most dulcimer players calling this kind of thing a ' reverse tuning', as in 'reverse ionian tuning for the key of G' for DGdd, etc. I seldom see dulcimer players referring to it as 'new modes' or inversions. Just thought I'd mention that in case anyone gets confused.
Robin, I have several lovely mandolins from waaay back almost 20 years ago when I was learning to play it. I wish after several years of playing I could have sounded halfway as good as you do right now! I think you sound terrific already!
have you learned to do tremolo yet? That's one of the most wonderful things about the sound of the mandolin, and is beautifully incorporated in any style you might choose to play- traditional, folk, 'old world' European ethinic, bluegrass, klezmer, even modern pop and jazz styles. To me, tremolo is the icing on the cake of mandolin playing. I learned how to play the Puerto Rican cuatro (learned actually in the mountains of PR) before trying mandolin, by the way- the traditional cuatro uses a lot of tremolo.
Here's a fun old pic of me (in back) with one of my mandolins- my 1915 Wurlitzer....lol!
Your link works fine now. Nice job Phil !! Great spirit, and love the hat. It sounds real pretty to me.
(Yes, I believe little drummer boy is copyrighted. A good list for checking some carols can be seen here . Thanks!)
I was just thinking about that when I was looking at the new Wartz n' All group photo yesterday! It's just so great that the internet can bring like-minded people together this way. 
We all know that Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer is a place where we meet lots of wonderful 'cyber buddies'. 
It occurs to me that there must be some nice stories here about members getting together in person...meeting, playing music, and then becoming real life friends as well .
Let's hear some of these stories to bring cheer during our holiday season and brighten the bleak midwinter. How about sharing your tale of your FOTMD friendship 'jumping ship' into the real world?
Yikes, I remember when PopTarts were invented! I was 10, and it was 1964. Everyone thought they were so exciting and new. Before that there was only toast. My brothers and I wanted them for breakfast desperately, but a box only lasted for a few minutes around our place. I have not eaten a Poptart since 1969.
Congrats Mandy- I know you will be putting that new dulcimer through its paces!
Robin, I'm glad you jumped in here- you have lots of solid practical knowledge in this particular subject!
Nigel, I just want to assure you that things will work out!
Sometimes it's even harder for a dulcimer beginner who already has some music experience and is used to playing in groups with various other instruments, in multi keys. It means you want/need to jump right in and play in various tunings and keys, rather than build slowly on simple skills first. People like yourself get frustrated because the diatonic dulcimer does not behave like the trusty guitar or uke- those darned missing frets! But don't worry (don't fret? lol) ... once you accept that the dulcimer is not a guitar or mandolin, and once you begin to catch onto uniquely dulcimerish solutions and the reasoning behind them, you be full speed ahead again! Believe me, it's not rocket science, and you are a smart man- take one step at a time and very soon the clouds will clear and smooth sailing for you.
To add to the explanations already given- using a capo only to go into different keys:
I'm just a guitar player, very new to theMD, so I'm used to using a capo, to quickly change keys, without retuning.
question...if Nigel is tuned to CGCC for ease of playing simple 3 chord songs in C, couldn't he just place the capo on the 2nd fret to play in E,capo at 3rd fret to play in F, or capo4th fret to play in G ?
A guitar is chromatic- it has all the half steps and all the frets to play in any key by moving a capo around.
If Nigel tuned CGCC and then put his capo on the 4th fret to play in G as you say- he'd indeed be playing in G, but in the dorian mode- anything he played would sound plaintive and sort of minor/sad, because the 'missing' dulcimer frets would mean some notes would be minor of flat sounding and create a whole different sound than what you'd want.
So you can't just do like a guitar player does with a capo.
Here's a fun little exercise I did a while back that shows how the mood of a song changes completely when you go from playing it in its normal mode to playing the exact same song in the Dorian mode- and you'd be getting the same results if you put a capo on the 4th fret:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2012/03/ghost-of-gray-goosego-tell-aunt-rhody.html
One difference between the function of a 'normal' capo and a 'reverse' capo is- a normal capo merely presses the string down to the fret, so the notes are governed by where your frets are. A reverse capo actually becomes a sort of fret, independent of the real frets. It can be positioned for example in the location of a 1.5 fret and give you that note even if you do not have a 1.5 fret on your instrument. That is an interesting advantage. Another advantage to a reverse capo is that by its very nature it can be positioned under one, two, or all strings- thus being very versatile compared to a 'normal' capo that presses down onto the strings. This is made possible partly because the reverse capo is automatically anchored firmly by the strings that run over it, whereas a normal capo has to have some sort of anchoring clamp that can hold firmly- not easy on an instrument with no neck, as we all know!
Interestingly, even though they are full width staple frets, the dulcimer appears to be set up with the melody string set far from the two drones, as a noter player would like, and the two drones look to be too close together to do any practical fretting. Looks like the original bone bridge that was set up that way. Looks like it was set up for traditional playing and not for chord playing.
Oh wow, so beautiful! Did you save any damsels in distress while you were there Ken?
David, you did GREAT. With all that pressure in front of judges, on a stage...I would have made mistakes for sure!
Not only did you not make any mistakes, but you smiled too!
I know what you are saying, Gayle. When i use a tab to learn a tune, it takes me a while to 'get' the tune, and I sometimes will refer back to the tab when i forget parts- Like you, I do sort of 'see' the tab numbers in my mind, but once i play the part many times then again it's the sound that helps me actually 'learn' the tune. Tabs can help me pick my way through a tune that's complex or unfamiliar to me. Learning tunes by ear is a skill that is improved the more you do it, even when you start with something as simple as Mary Had a Little Lamb. Now after many years I can pick up a tune through tab or by ear, but it's when you internalize a tune and play it your way from the heart (no matter how slowly or simply) that it becomes your own. I'm sure we all feel that way.
Mandy said:
Wowzers! You call knowing 75 tunes a smaller number. I would be thrilled to be able to really know that many songs.
lol, Mandy! I actually said "I usually work on a current repertoire of about 75 tunes, putting other stuff on the back burner for a while." That doesn't mean I can play all 75 tunes by heart, it just means I'm working on those right now. I am usually working in 3 slightly different genres at any given time- old-time fiddle tunes, old songs or ballads, and lately a minstrel repertoire from the mid 1800's.
I'm pretty familiar with several hundred tunes and songs, but I certainly can't play them all by heart at any given time- I have to work on chunks of my current favorites to keep them polished up. Many of them don't have lyrics, and many are ones I play a supporting part in but maybe not the lead (but I better know the supporting part I created).
I could memorize tab, but listening to tons of version of it being played helps me much more than any tab ever could.
Do people actually memorize tab ?- as in memorizing the tab NUMBERS, as opposed to the how the tab sounds? If people could memorize tab numbers, then they wouldn't need to look at the tab paper...but they do! I can't imagine trying to memorize a whole page full of numbers. How else would one 'memorize tab' if not by memorizing the numbers? If one memorizes how the tab sounds, then they are memorizing the tune version, but not really memorizing the tab itself. I know, maybe it's comparing apples to oranges...
I don't think of it as memorizing a tune. I think of it as knowing a tune. Once i listen to a tune many times, and then play it many times, either alone or with others...that's when I know the tune. I might still make an occasional mistake or lapse, but I'll know it's a wrong note immediately and I'll hear in my head what it was supposed to be.
I learn tunes through several methods- sometimes sheet music, sometimes TAB, sometimes a recording, sometimes from other people playing it live with me so I can learn it. But no matter what method i use to 'catch' the tune, once I know it well I won't need to look at paper anymore.
That said, if time passes I might need a memory jog as Robin said, but usually I can pick the tune back up pretty quickly at that point, because I once knew it under my fingers.
I'm all for really knowing a smaller number of tunes, rather than half-knowing a whole bunch. I usually work on a current repertoire of about 75 tunes, putting other stuff on the back burner for a while. I don't try to 'keep knowing' everything I've ever known how to play well, and when i go back to stuff i knew in the past I often need to refresh it for a while. I've read that the great fiddler Tommy Jarrell only had a repertoire of less than 50 fiddle tunes that he played wonderfully over the years.
More likely it is missing the 6 1/2 fret, which is a fret put in more frequently after the 1960's. It's an option, not a defect.
Your dulcimer is probably pure traditionally/diatonically fretted.
But to be sure, we'll need to see a picture first!
Skip don't feel bad...you are not alone in that aspect. Sometimes information runs out of my brain too, like a sieve!
