Another "less damaging" strum technique is to not hold your hand (and the pick) rigidly at right angles to the strings (even with only a 1/$' sticking out), but rather rotate the wrist and the "attack angle" of the pick so that it hits the strings at an angle: \ or / not |
Play slower - don't necessarily try to keep up with a bunch of speed deamons. Develop your speed in your own time, don't be pushed. Better to play slower and correctly than fast and sloppy...
Concerned? Not really. You should perhaps wipe it down with a damp ag to get off the finger goo. How is the "fretboard worn? Is the shiny finish gone? Are the frets actually worn, or just polished? If you are damaging the finish or the wood on the fretboard, you really should learn to not scrape the fretboard with the pick. That's just a matter of fine control of your hand position. There is a Group here about things to do to care for your dulcimer. It sounds as if your fretboard could use a wiping of an oil such as Fast Fret or Dr. Duck's Ax Wax.
.3mm! I though you were talking SERIOUS separation like 4-6mm. Your wood/glue filler will do certainly do the job, we do that sort of thing all the time. I love the 'high silvery' sound of those older, smaller bodied dulcimers. I have a vintage one from the early 1960s that is like that. Enjoy your new sound.
Yes it's safe to tune and play. Yes it's repairable. Probably not a result of the wood drying. More likely the result of being dropped it on its back or someone pressing in on the back..
The way I'd fix it is:
1. run a line of masking tape along both edges of the split to keep excess glue off the surface.
2. Insert a popsicle stick or somethgn similar and pry up gently to expose the edges. Slather Titebond or similar glue on the edges.
3. Release the stick so the edges come back together again. Put a third strip of masking tape down the length, centered on the split, pressing down slightly as you go.
4. Make sure the new joint is flush. If necessary you can push up on the inside using a pencil or piece of dowel through the sound holes.
Mandy; They're hiding a special connection from you. They are all members of the Icabod Crane Society of Dulcimer Players
the oldest and most secretive association of dulcimer practitioners in the world. The group meets in odd (naturally) numbered years on October 31st, at the Gazebo in Sleepy Hollow...
I figure out tunes by listening to them over and over and over until I can sing/hum or whistle the whole thing. Then I start to pick it out on the melody string, and as I go, I write that down (tab) simply as a memory device. After a few days of playing the tune (mostly without the tab) the written tab just disappears... Once a tune is in my head and fingers I can play it with emphasis and variations, making it "mine". I'd guess I've got a couple hundred tunes in my head, plus those that i don't know that I know yet.
As Bobby sez, height of the strings above the fretboard as a measure, has too many variables generally. We normally do not measure the height of the nut or the bridge above the surface of the fretboard. However, the 'traditional recommended starting point' for good action height is a dime sitting on the fretboard at the first fret. A dime is 1.55mm,so 1.5 to 1.6mm is a good start. At the same time the strings should be the thickness of a nickel above the 7th fret. A US nickel is 1.95mm so 2.0mm above the 7th fret is the place to start.
Gary, like Dwain Wilder of Bear Mountain, has a VERY long waiting list, if the list is even open. Beautiful and beautiful sounding. Worth the money? Worth the wait? Both those builders are making Master class concert grade instruments; and if you're just starting out I can think of a dozen builders who's $300-$500 class instruments are more than enough for 99% of the players out there...
I recommend that N&D players use a noter that is about the same dimensions as their index finger, or a bit larger. Say 1/2" or 5/8" diameter and 4-5" long. Yes, that large of diameter will work fine 'way up the fretboard where the spaces are narrower. Another thing is to try Lisa's Noter Dog - wrap the noter for most of its length in foam rubber, like a hot dog inna bun.
Dowel rod is, IMHO, marginally hard enough to work well as a noter. Something harder like Maple or Elm, or some of the exotic woods will last a lot longer. I particularly like Ebony and Snakewood. As JH says, bamboo works well as the silicon in the fibers is very tough.
If it's your index finger with the arthritis, you may want to try the Thumb on Top style grip or Randy Adam's Palm Down grip which will put less pressure on the affected digit.
Here's the link to my Noter Article:
http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?q=get+noterized
AS far as I know Hughes is up and running...
As many of you know HughesDulcimer Co out of Denver, was owned by the legendary Hughes brothers Virgil and Norman, who made dulcimers and dulcimer kits for many many years. Original Hughes instruments and kit instruments are fairly common on Ebay and can often be had for very little money. Not particularly pretty by modern standards, perhaps, but the fretboards were very accurate and the instruments were emminently playable.
I just read on ED that Hughes Dulcimer company is being re-vitalized by a new person, with the assistance of Norman Hughes. Let's hear it for the return of a classic!
Congrats on making your order with Nic. You'll really enjoy it, I'm sure. When I ordered mine, he had to box it and ship it half-way around the world to the tiny island I was living on in the Pacific.
Welcome Vivian;
Everyone is going to tell you that the one they have is the best, whoever the builder is.
I will only say that I've been playing for nearly 40 years, and when I finally got around to having a custom dulcimer made, back in 2006, it was Nik Hambas that I commissioned to make it for me. You can see at least a bit of Sea Eagle in my avatar photo.
Truth be told, I personally think that buying a fancy, expensive instrument right out of the gate, isn't such a good idea, but that's just my opinion, and you obviously think differently. Dulcimers are not like guitars or mandolins or violins, etc. There are some passable instruments out there that are "gratuitously" expensive. There are some great instruments that are moderately priced. There are some pretty instruments being passed as good whether or not they are fine players.
Caveat Emptor is what I'm trying to say. If you don't know what goes into making what you think of as a good instrument, it can be easy to make expensive mistakes. What makes a good instrument can't even really be determined until you've played for a year or so and decided what style of playing you want to take up and what sorts of music you want to play.
Hi Cindi - type of strings has nothing to do with make or tone of dulcimer. You need to know the VSL(25", 27", 29") and the keynote you want to tune to (C, D,G etc), Buy dulcimer strings unless you can't find them, In general any set of strings with .010 to .012 melody and middle drones and a .020 to .024 wound bass string will do just fine for most average VSLs and tunings.
No problems, Pop.
Assuming thatafter you re-tune you are "playing the same song" by playing the same fret numbers on the melody string(s), then it is the same tune, but not in the same key or Modal tuning. All you've done is change the scale from one starting at G (the GDD tuning) to one that starts at F (the DGC tuning). Because the drones are not identical (same notes but different octaves and string types) in the two tunings you certainly will get a different sound, but not a different tune. If you ignore the drones the two tunes are the same, just in different keys.
It's the same tune if you play mostly the same notes, regardless of Mode. Adding lots of embellishments (even to the point you begin to lose the basic melody) is just "personalizing" a tune.
Remember a Mode is a scale, but only the Ionian Mode is is the familiar do, re, scale:
Ionian = do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do.
Mixo = do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti-flat, do
Dorian = do, re, mi-flat, fa, sol, la-sharp, ti-flat, do.
If you have the 6+ fret on your dulcimer you get both the ti and ti-flat notes of those scales.
Over on EverythingDulcimer, there was a thread about Jack and his dulcimers in 2007.
http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?t=12598&view=previous
He even joined ED and posted to the thread. But with his website gone I'd guess he's either no longer building or otherwise passed on.
When I had a house with large walls, I hung them there, using hooks and a small loop of leather or string around or through the peghead. No problems there as long as you put them on an interior wall and out of the direct sun (temperature stability).
Personally i don't like storing them in cases as they tend to get played less. But living aboard a boat as I do now, I have two in my BagLady double bag, and one hanging from the ceiling of the forward V-berth, plus one stashed at my Lady's house.
The biggest problem of any storage is keeping the temperature and humidity stable. Most houses are dry as the proverbial bones in the winter - if you get static shocks shuffling across the carpet, it's wwaaaay tooo dry. Pans or bowls of water set out near heat vents will help moisturize you and your dulcimers.
Yeah... December to March without a word is kinda hinky. Frankly I thought a December field test wasn't the best idea. It should have been ready to sell by November 1st or held back until spring for Festival season. So that appears to be what they're doing.
Frets4Fun -- it's Real Soon Now! Expect yours when you get an email from Folkcraft and the FedX guy shows up at your door.
Last I heard from Richard they were still finishing the instruments and in fact had to make a second batch of trial instruments. Some of those testing the 1+/8+ fret versions will have to wait longer -- for the second batch. Those testing the modern 6+/13+ versions may get theirs sooner as there are fewer of us and they have enough instruments in the pipeline. On Nov 15th he told me "mid-to-late December". I am #59 on the list of testers. He also said:
" I'll email once an instrument is ready for you (it seems that most folks are taking the instrument with
the 1 1/2 and 8 1/2, so yours might be sooner rather than later - we made up a number of each,
but demand is higher than anticipated for the current "modern" extra frets
(as opposed to the 20-30 years less-modern extra frets of 6 1/2 and 13 1/2)."
Ayup; I'll be field testing one of the 6+/13+ frets instruments, and so will be getting mine Real Soon Now. Apparently a large number of folks want to try the 1+/8+ and other closer to chromatic additional fret setups; and because Folkcraft made a limited number of each kind, those testers may have to wait for the second batch of test instruments to be finished. Richard is very interested in my N&D opinion as apparently the fretboard is very shallow...
Fingerpicking doesn't mean picking the string up from the slot. More like fingering them individually sideways. BTW, it's always a good idea to know what gauge strings you are using. You will break one (or need to replace them anyway in a couple months), and will need to know what gauge to buy to replace it with...
The Border Scots ballad called Lament of the Border Widow, in Aeolian Mode (DAC if you like the key of D). Aeolian Moe is great for all those eerie, 'fingernails on chalkboard' mournful songs.
My love, he built me a bonny bower
And clad it o'er with lily flower
A bonnier bower you ne'er did see
Than my true love he built for me
There came a man by middle day
He spied his sport and went away
And brought the King that very night,
Who broke my bower and slew my knight
He slew my knight to me so dear
He slew my knight and seized his gear
My servants all for life did flee
And left me in extremity
I sewed his shroud, making my moan
I watched his corpse, myself alone
I watched his body night and day
No living creature came that way
I took his body on my back
And whiles I walked and whiles I sat
I digged a grave and laid him in,
And happed him with the turf so green
Oh, don't you think my heart was sore,
As I laid the earth on his yellow hair
Oh, don't you think my heart was woe,
As I turned about, away to go
No living man I'll love again
Since that my lovely knight is slain
With just one lock of his yellow hair
I'll chain my heart forevermore
Dacre's Gone to the War - originally the 1820 lyrics called The Laird of Gilsland - tune by Maddy Prior
Peace on the Border by Rick Kemp
Both are on the album Fyre & Sworde - songs of the Border Reivers by Fellside Recordings and friends...
