Forum Activity for @ken-hulme

Joni Mitchell although she was a solo performer. Richard&Mimi Faria duo (she was sister of Joan Baez)

I fully agree with Robin. A Ginger in Gdgg is a GOOD thing. A Ginger in DAd is an OK thing. Having two dulcimers set up in two different keys -- D and G is an even better thing.

For playing solo in high noise backgrounds, nothing punches through crowd murmur better than a dulcimer in G. I play in G for open mic nights every week.

When I'm with a bunch of other dulcimers players, especially those not experienced at re-tuning out of DAd, I'll chose one of my other dulcimers tuned to the key of D.

DAd and Gdg both use the same tab. There are many other tunings, of course. I spent decades playing in DAA/CGG, but lately have come to appreciate the Bagpipe tunings Ddd, Ccc, Ggg.

Mark - as Lexie pointed out in her response above, go to the Members section on the blue line at the top of the page. Then enter Australia in the Search box.

I know of at least one other Aussie here -- Richard Troughear, who mostly posts on Everything Dulcimers, and who has become moderately famous for his scientific experimental approach to dulcimer building.

There was also a man a couple years back, whom we helped talk through his first dulcimer build. If memory serves he is/was from Tasmania.

And don't forget Helen Seiler from Creswick, Victoria who posts here very frequently.

Wouldn't put one inside the instrument, but that's me. If you get static shocks shuffling across the floor in socks, your house is too dry. Bowls of water set around, wet sponges on a saucer, or a humidifier will keep the humidity up where it needs to be. Winter is cold country can be very dry unless you have gas heat.

Marilyn -- You didn't say whether you are playing Fingerdancing on the Melody string, Chord-Melody across all three strings, or Noter & Drone. There is a wealth of music in the Tabulature section at www.everythingdulcimer.com .

A good trick to know is that you can easily convert DAd tab to DAA. All you have to do is add 3 to each DAd tab number to get the correct number for DAA. If the DAd tab has a 6+ fret marked, you play fret 9 in DAA. It's that simple.

I've been playing DAA almost exclusively for nearly 40 years -- although I do re-tune when a particular song needs to be played in a different Mode.

Tim. Absolutely nothing to worry about. I answered you in more detail over on Everything Dulcimer

Those look like nicely made pegs. I'd guess the wood is osage orange. Have you tried applying "peg dope" to help them stick better? It's something that all wooden peg instruments like violins, need to have added periodically. A couple drops usually does the trick. I've seldom had problems tuning my Thomas replica with wooden pegs, but I apply a couple drops of 'peg dope' every few months. You can get dope from any shop that sells violins/parts, or from online sources like Musicians Friend. Just google-search "violin peg dope". It sells for under $10 a bottle, which will last a looooonggg time.

Not all peg holes are created equal. And they are tapered, narrower inside than out. So are the pegs, of course, and the tapers must needs match. If you don't like the color of the wooden pegs, you could always dye (not paint or stain) them black, which is more or less the standard color.

If I were you, the first things I would do is contact Scott Wilson. I don't have his contact information handy, but someone may be able to help. You could ask if he has other color pegs he would sell you. At the very least you could find out the size and taper of his pegs/holes and a recommendation for replacement pegs.

If you want to be rid of wooden pegs entirely you could look for "planetary" tuners, of several makes, which will fit in the existing holes but have internal gears and work like conventional geared tuners. The ultimate planetary tuners are the Knilling or Perfection brands, which look exactly like a black ebony peg, but have internal gears. Planetary tuners run about $70 per set of four.

Yah... senior moment there. DAc it is... Another 40 years and I'll have it totally right

Hi Tim;

Thanks to Dan Goad for mentioning my article.

We don't refer to tunings from left to right, or highest to lowest, but rather from bass string to melody string.

Normally we reference with the instrument on your lap, tuning head to the left. Some older books use melody to bass string order though.

The conventional dulcimer has three courses of strings, and one of which can be doubled or even tripled -- bass, middle drone, and melody. Yours has a doubled melody string. Doubled course notes are not mentioned in tunings, unless the two strings of a course are tuned to different notes -- DdAd would be a doubled bass string, one tuned D, the other d; then a middle drone course tuned A and a melody course tuned d.

The difference between D', D and d are octaves. They are all three the same note, just an octave apart in pitch. The D is D3 of a piano; D' is an octave lower than D, and d is an octave higher than D. The sequence goes C', D' E', F', G', A', B', C, D, E, F, G, A, B, c, d, e, f, g etc...

There are 4 course dulcimers, but the strings are spaced equally apart.

The most common tunings are

DAd - Mixolydian Mode

DAA - Ionian Mode

DAC - Aeolian Mode

DAG - Dorian Mode

Each is used for different kinds of songs -- major or minor key, etc.

Wally - you've posted the same question in two places. I answered you most completely in your other posting.

String gauges are established, with certain ranges, by the VSL of the instrument and the open note to which you want to tune the string. The goal is to have approximately the same tension on each string regardless of diameter. Further the gauge determines the range of notes to which you can tune that string for the specified VSL. If a string is too tight (trying to tune up or play up to a specific note) it will break. If you try to tune down too far the string will flop around and make terrible mushy noises...

To avoid a bunch of "by guess and by gosh", as well as avoid having to learn a bunch of esoteric mathematics, several people have created String Gauge calculators which do all the guessing and math needed to pick The Right Gauge.

One calculator we use commonly is found at http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.htm Plug in the VSL and the open note to which you want to tune the string, and you get an answer that works. The Strothers calculator is, however, notably "light" in its recommendations, so you can go up at least one number in gauge without any problems, and most of us do.

Welcome Tom. Another resource you might want to check out is the article/booklet I wrote here a few years back called Get Noterized . It's intended to be an introduction to N&D for new players, and discusses techniques, noters and where to find them, etc. The article is here:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profiles/blogs/get-noterized

Get the wood combination that looks best to you. On a list of things which affect the tone of a dulcimer, the species of wood(s) is pretty far down the list. All else being equal, wood choice will matter somewhat, but the characteristics you're seeking can be obtaining in a variety of ways that have nothing to do with wood species. What you call 'warmth' and volume will come from the larger than average volume of the body.

That's the number you need to remember, Liz. Overall length only effects the internal volume of the dulcimer. The VSL is important for picking the right string to tune and play the notes you need (called tunings).

A 28" VSL dulcimer can, generally speaking, be either a baritone or a 'regular' dulcimer depending on the gauges (diameters) of the strings you put on it, and the notes to which you tune the strings.

I strongly suggest you read the article-blog I wrote several years, aimed at folks like yourself, called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms so when you ask questions you can use terms we all understand; plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your new friend.

The article is here: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profiles/blogs/i-just-got-a-dulcim...

IMHO as a player for nearly 40 years, starting out with a "regular" dulcimer rather than a baritone would be to your advantage. To tune your 28" VSL dulcimer to 'regular' dulcimer tunings like DAA and DAd, you will want strings of the following gauges: bass string = 20 wound; middle drone = 12 plain steel; melody string (or 2) = 10 plain steel. Many acoustic music shops sell sets of 4 strings, any of which will do fine for getting started.

If you have access to a micrometer, you can measure the diameters of the strings on the dulcimer. If they are significantly larger in diameter than the numbers I gave below, then your dulcimer has been rigged as a baritone.

The number of soundholes is not what matters; it's the total area of the soundholes. Whether yours has one or two holes per bout, the builder has no doubt given enough hole area to let the sound out appropriately. There are other factors that also affect the volume of the dulcimer such as how hard you strum, how large the interior volume is, and many more. Basically, don't worry about it!

I see that you're a "Panhandler" from Milton, FL. If you ever come down coast to Fort Myers, give me a call and we can meet up and play some tunes.

Another cause can be holding the pick too rigidly upright. When I strum, I angle the pick nearly flat to the plane of the strings, rotating my wrist like this ///// and \\\\\\\\\ not this ||||||||. No deep digs, no scratches, and almost no pick clic.

Not scratching the fretboard is a matter of control of your pick hand and the pick. If you have more than say 1/4" of pick sticking out, and you have not so good control of your pick hand, the result can be scratching of the fretboard. I've been playing nearly 40 years and never significantly scratched a fretboard. Others play 6 months and it looks like a spastic beaver has been chewing on things.

Playing over the Strum Hollow (what John Gribble calls the "scoop') is the easy solution. Learning to control your hand properly takes practice and determination.

Uff da! I thought I saw th 1+ on the melody string....

If you play the 1 fret and the 2 fret in the same time as called for that 1+ note, it will work. Or just skip the 1+ note entirely....

If you add 3 to the fret numbers to convert from DAd to DAA, as Cynhia suggests, you convert the 1+ to a 4 and won't need to bother. I've played the tune a time or two in DAA, noter & drone style, and it works just fine.

There is a version on Everything Dulcimer in the Tabulature collection, but it's a .TEF (TableEdit) file. There's a free TEF Viewer available if you don't have TablEdit.

The problem is that the 'hammers' need to have hammer heads. That's why plain sticks don't work, and splits of bamboo would be the same. If you have some 3/4" wide splits of say 2" bamboo, hammers with heads could be sawn out. You could try gluing small block heads onto sticks, also.

Hi Tumbleweed;

Tuning/Key-- yes, if you are tuned DAd you're in the key of D, as we say. The dulcimer's keynote is D. If you are tuned CGc you are in the key of C and the dulcimer's keynote is C. In both cases you are tuned to Mixolydian Mode.

If you "can't find a note" changing the key may help. Remaining in the same key, but changing the modal tuning may also help. A tune like Star of County Down can't be played properly (it can be faked, with varying degrees of success) in DAd or DAA tuning, but is played perfectly simply in DAG -- Dorian Mode key of D. Each Mode has a slightly different scale, not the usual Do, Re, Mi that you can play in DAd or DAA with/without the 6+ fret.

In a comment on my I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? blog, Evy Bush asked:

I understand how to read all the tablature except the ones that are set up like this one where you can choose between DAD or DAA.

I just can't make sense of which strings are which because any way I look at it they don't fall in order. Can anyone explain this for me? Thanks! I, sure it is something very simple that I am somehow missing.

Here's a link to an example: http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/tab/amazingddul.pdf "

The subject comes up fairly often so I thought I'd answer publicly, so others can benefit.

The link is to Amazing Grace posted by RLWalker:

The top two lines, marked AD are for those who are tuned to DAd, and represent what you, the player must fret on the Ad strings of the DAd tuning.

The bottom two lines: DA, are for those tuned in DAA, and show you what to fret on the A melody string of the DAA tuning.

This particular illustration is the perfect example of how to "convert" DAd tab to DAA and vice versa. If you have DAd tab and want to play in DAA, simply add 3 to the d melody line numbers and play the new numbers on the A melody line in DAA. If you run into a 6+ fret notation in DAd, play that as a fret 9 in DAA.

Dusty has a good additional category of song to throw in the mix -- humorous or silly songs. Abigail, Side by Side, Five Constipated Men, Hole In The Bucket, even a funny rendition of Darlin' Clementineor Oh Susannah can really wake up an audience.

I think it's wise for everyone to have a "set list" of at least half a dozen songs that are practiced and well developed. A long time ago I had a single page that listed something like 200 songs that I know, plus their opening measures. I'd get in a jam circle and blank out when it came my turn to lead a tune, so I created that page as a memory aid. Well the original is long gone, but earlier this week I decided to recreate that list to help me pick out tunes to play at a weekly Open Mic I attend. Still adding to the list...

Mix up the fast, faster, slower and slowest tunes. Playing two slow pieces back to back isn't bad, but make sure there's a peppier piece on either side of them. Same things with tunes that may have "down" connotations or words; they should be followed by something more upbeat. For example Streets of Laredo and St. James Infirmary should not follow each other. Both are beautiful tunes but the subject matter in both is depressing (death & dying).

Make sure you really DO play tunes at different speeds; many groups have a tendency for all the songs to slump down to a common, below normal, speed.

Start and finish with songs your audience will know by heart -- tunes from the 1940s - 1960s. You Are My Sunshine is always good. Also Tennessee Waltz and Danny Boy. A mixture of folk and popular tunes with a hymn or two like Amazing Grace and Simple Gifts thrown in goes over well. Mix up the "ethnicity" of the songs too -- American, English, Celtic, etc. Do, please be aware of copyright and performance rights issues. Public domain songs are the best, always. You can play Aura Lea, which the audience may recognize as Love Me Tender, but tell them Elvis "borrowed" a much older, public domain tune, and wrote his own words for it. There are several other examples

Playing songs alphabetically is. frankly, a bit weird. Number the songs as they will fit in the set/play list. Make them a printed "playbook" with each song, in order, stapled together at the corner.

I would start with your BEST tune, not necessarily a fast or peppy one. Don't assume the audience will know all the tunes -- announce the name of each one, with a bit of background if you can.

Just a few thoughts while floating on the river aboard the s/v ManCave thinking about what I'm going to perform at Monday's Open Mic...

john's right. Most of the "church" carols and Christmas songs are folk-based.

Hark is pretty nice if you take it a bit up tempo. But Jingle Bells, Chestnuts and that modern stuff just doesn't make it. Here's a list of Christmas music I just assembled, since I'm re-making my Giant List of Tunes I Know.

Away in a Manger

Il Est Nee

I Saw Three Ships

Hark The Herald Angels

We Three Kings of Orient Are

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Silent Night (originally performed as a single guitar accompaniment to a solo voice in 1818)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Oh Holy Night

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

I also do Once in Royal David's City and Dona Nobis Pacem, but they are more "classical" music in form, not folk. I do the modernLittle Drummer Boy with a striker. My favorite modern Christmas song is The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Brown, and it plays well on dulcimer.

Just discovered this online collection. If you love American folk music you owe it to yourself to vist and at least scroll through the titles.

http://kodaly.hnu.edu/

Wow! Most builders fret the neck before it gets assembled to the body! You can't really raise a piece of fretwire well. You could, I suppose, put something thin (like tape) on either side of the slot before you tap the fret in place, so that the shoulders of the fret rest on the tape on top of the fretboard; and then carefully cut away the excess.

Pamela -- if you look at the list I posted above, you'll see all of the mode names and tunings for the key of D. This list here:

Mode.........Tuning

Ionian........DAA
Locrian.......DAB
Aeolian.......DAC
Mixolydian...DAd
Lydian........DAE
Phrygian.....DAF
Dorian........DAG

Do you mean "key" or "tuning"? D is the key note of DAd, C is the key note of CGG, etc. As far as tunings, you need to learn to quickly re-tune the melody string(s) to change across all the modal tunings for a given key (bass string note):

Ionian........DAA
Locrian.......DAB
Aeolian.......DAC
Mixolydian...DAd
Lydian........DAE
Phrygian.....DAF
Dorian........DAG

Another excellent N&D tuning is Bagpipe: Ddd or Ccc etc.

You may want to read a couple of the blog articles I wrote here:

Uncontrite Modal Folker

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profiles/blogs/uncontrite-modal-folker

and

Get Noterized

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profiles/blogs/get-noterized

As Ken says, we need pictures. Detailed pictures. Your description could apply to any one of a thousand builders. Did you look inside through the soundholes to see if there is a Maker's label?

First question is "What kind of music?" Child Ballads? Celtic? American folk? Hymns & other secular music?

I think every player owes it to him/her self to spend six months of solid practice/playing in each of the 3 basic styles: Melody-Drone with fingers, Noter & Drone, and Chord-Melody; to see which style and sound appeals the most.

I like to teach people first to play Melody-Drone as it is IMHO the simplest, most intuitive way to pick out a tune and learn it.

The first thing you need to do to stop sliding, is stop wearing "slippery" pants made from polyester blends. I get very little sliding from cargo pants, chinos or denim jeans.

Second thing is proper position and posture - sit up straight, knees wide apart, 1st fret over your left knee, dulcimer angled back to your right hip not square across your legs, thighs parallel to the floor (use a foot rest, special chair or other aid if necessary).

Third, use the little finger of your right hand to continuously pull the instrument back in place about every third strum.

I agree with John about the shelf liner. It's good stuff, if you can't manage good position and posture. Just don't leave it under your dulcimer, in the case, for days/weeks/months in the summer!

Yep. "Sniff" has been around for better than a decade. Too bad the author only set it to work on an old subset of the Mudcat Cafe song database...

Be aware that for dulcimer tab the db uses the olde 'backwards' listing of strings for tunings -- AAD for DAA etc. Perhaps your best use is to enter the tunings of your strings rather than use one of the 'canned' tabs.

If you want that "rich mellow" guitar sound, rather than the traditional "high silvery" sound, then you want an instrument that is both wide and deep -- the greatest internal volume. Larger internal volumes give more bass/baritone response. Look for a depth of at least 2.5" (6cm) and a body length (not just VSL length) of say 32" (80cm) without the tuning head. You'll probably find the ultimate sound in a Tennessee Music Box or other box shaped dulcimer rather than a teardrop, hourglass or other shape. Type of wood has not been proven to effect the sound of dulcimers to any major degree. Any builder who has made more than a handful of dulcimers will know how much area of soundhole each of his/her designs requires for optimum sound production.

Rather than searching Ebay and similar sites, I would advise you to search the "For Sale" both here and the www.everythingdulcimer.com . You will be dealing with knowledgeable dulcimer players, not someone's great aunt who can't spell dulcimer let alone play one. Prices won't be any higher here or at ED, and the seller won't try to rip you off over the cost of postage.

After nearly 40 years of messing about with dulcimers, here's my partial list of some of the best dulcimer builders in the USA whose instruments show up periodically on Ebay and elsewhere. Most of these builders are still alive.

Bear Mountain (Dwayne Wilder)

Modern Mountain Dulcimers

Bonnie Carol

Blue Lion

Capritaurus

Warren May

Homer Ledford

Gary Sager

Ben Seymore

Mike Clemmer

Jerry Rockwell

Ron Gibson

Jean Ritchie & George Pickow

Cripple Creek (Bud & Donna Ford)

MacSpadden

Folkcraft

Dave "Harpmaker" Lynch

Kevin Messenger

John Knopf

Bobbie Ratliff

Dan C and a couple other here that I've forgotten (sorry guys....)

Robin's got a great idea there. Publish, as it were, the jam list, including links to where folks can get the tab for themselves. It would get pretty darn expensive to make 30 or 50 copies of tab for each of those tunes -- money the festival organizers will be loathe to spend...

"I daughter's think my dulcimer's sound is reminicent to a harpsicord. Is that good?"

If you or she like that sound it certainly is good. Narrower, thinner dulcimers (smaller interior volume) tend to have a "high silvery sound" deeper, wider dulcimers tend to have a more "mellow" or "bass/baritone" or "guitar-like" sound. Which you prefer is up to you. I had "mellow" instruments, but as a traditional N&D stylist, I came to love the high silvery sound of the more traditional instruments, and that's all I have today.

As far as naming them -- no. Except in the sense "my Thomas replica" or "my Virginia Hogfiddle"

If the bridge was moved, John, all the frets would have re-cuts, not just a couple. I suspect the builder didn't have his/er table of numbers right next to the cutting, and mis-remembered a couple numbers in transferring from the table to the wood.

Yes, lots of players play above the 10th fret -- especially chord-melody stylists working on variations into the second octave

Check my response to your question in the thread Jennifer started:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/beginnerplayers/forum/topics/worthwhile-to-buy-from-craigslist-as-a-brand-new-dulcimer-fan?commentId=3745489%3AComment%3A592478&xg_source=activity&groupId=3745489%3AGroup%3A36

Way to go, Greg. Congrats on the exposure. Keep up the good work building!

Here's my Mirliton, made from $5 worth of 1/2" PVC fitting and pipe.

On the right is a Compression Slide-Repair Coupling, then a plain 1/2" coupling rounded on both ends, a 4-5" length of 1/2 pipe and last, a second coupling sanded into a mouthpiece. A 1/4" hole is drilled below the end. A membrane of plastic bag is held in place under the screw cap on the right end.

Sounds pretty good, actually.